Torque as it is applied to the mill is determined by how much resistance is taking place in the mill compared to how much force is applied to the input shaft of the mill. Therefore, as the mill needs to turn to work, torque to the input shaft of the mill is determined only by what is being ground and the setting of the mill burs. How that turning force is generated prior to reaching the input shaft of the mill does not matter. You could have an army of hamsters turning a wheel or a 5000+ horse power diesel engine and the torque on the mill would be the same. I think the manufacturer's/vendor's concern regarding the adaptation of modified drive mechanisms has to do with the reduction in human fatigue. As the mill will last many years if it is only used to the degree someone is willing to crank it by hand. If the mill is motorized or connected to a bicycle or something similar, the mill will probably wear our earlier. Lateral force applied to the input shaft may also result in premature wearing of the bearing on one side if too much tension is applied to the belt. Of if there is a lack of lubrication. The speed reduction can also be accomplished with a bicycle chain/sprockets or gears. On my mill, which is a Diamant, I'm using an electric motor. The mill is turning at the manufacturers recommended speed. By using a small enough pulley mounted on the motor, the belt speed is reduced to the point where the mill is turning at the correct speed. I also disassembled the mill, drilled, taped and mounted oil cups to allow the oiling of the bearing surfaces of the mill. Small diameter holes alone would also work. I have an oil can filled with vegetable oil and I oil the mill every time I use it. As the bearing contact surfaces are riding on this film of oil, the mill will last many years, even though it is motorized. The bearings on this mill are pressed-in sleeve bearings, they can easily be replaced, however I doubt if this will ever have to be done. So, because I exceeded the design specifications of the bearings by motorizing the mill which applies a lateral load on the bearings, I compensated for this by providing a method of lubrication to the critical wear points. As for speed, this needs to match what the mill is designed for. To calculate, first divide the diameter of the driven pully (mounted on the mill) into the diameter of the drive pully (mounted on the hand crank). This will tell you the ratio. Draw a sketch, it will help. Example: a 6 inch diameter drive pully (at the hand crank) turning a 12 inch diameter driven pully (at the mill) will reduce the speed of the driven pully (at the mill) in half. 6 inch divided by 12 inch equals 0.5 So, if the input speed at the mill needs to be 80 rpm, the hand crank pully would need to turn 160 rpm (revelutions per minute) double the speed. 160 rpm divided by 60 seconds per minute equals 2.6 turns per second. The benefit to all of this is that your torque at the input side (where you are cranking) will be cut in half from that needed at the mill, however your rpms (revelations per minute) will be double. Of course there is a little added torque due to the friction inherent in your belt and pully setup. This configuration is generally referred to as a "jack-shaft". Something to think about would be to have your crank arm adjustable. The distance,(radius) from the center of the shaft to the center of the crank handle. Ergonomically, this will allow for the adjustability of the crank location and will be a great benefit to you. As grinding our own grain is a step toward personal empowerment, I will help whomever asks. You can email me at Paulemorneault@yahoo.com and I will do what I can to assist.

YES!!! I've had it about 2 months now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I ordered it online straight from the Country Living website (countrylivinggrainmills.com) It is very nice, well made, (quite heavy!) very efficient, and I am looking forward to hooking it up to a bike (my biceps are getting pretty toned! time to work on my legs!) I figured if I was going to eat bread I'd better work for it ; ) The manufacturer tests every mill and sends you a little sample of flour that was ground with your mill. They leave the mill set at the setting that ground the flour (it was perfect) but you can play around with the setting if you want to. For the record, I was a very out of shape, not very strong new mom with lots of baby weight to lose. I found the grinding to be a pretty good workout! DH can use it no problem with one hand, I still have to use two. It takes about 600 revolutions of the wheel to make 3 cups of flour. I usually do 100,then rest 5 mins then another 100 etc... takes me about 20 mins. much more productive than the gym. (I've lost 11 lbs!)

Carol, We bought some pullets and also some straight run. Most of the straight run birds turned out to be roosters. It has been hysterically funny. If you think listening to one young rooster trying to figure out how to crow is funny, just multiply it by 5. They all can crow pretty well now but for a while it was just pitiful. Now that they've figured out the whole crowing thing, they are working really hard on crowing in unison. So far, they get along and aren't fighting. One of the Welsummer roosters is clearly the alpha male, and as long as the others respect that, they may not fight very much. The bad thing about having roosters is that they start crowing around 3-5 a.m. and I am a light sleeper. These roosters are kind of sweet. Every other rooster we've had in the past had to be taught that if you spur the human, you get kicked in the head. (They learn fast.) These roosters haven't even tried to spur a human. Hooray--civilized roosters! We're getting oodles of eggs, and one hen is acting like she might go broody and sit on the nest, but it is getting late in fall for her to start that because it would be cold when the chicks hatch out. So, we'll probably continue gathering the eggs and then let her set on a clutch of eggs in the spring. Barb, It is not at all hard to build a secure coop/run. There are photos and plans all over the internet. With a chicken run, what has worked for us is having it fenced on all sides, including the ground and the top, so they can't fly out and predators can't fly in, dig in, climb in or jump in. If the coop has predator proof doors that are closed every night, they'll be fine. Snakes are sometimes a problem here, and we kill every one that comes into the chicken coop. Tim tried catching and releasing chicken/rat snakes against my will, and they always came back, usually within 24 hours, so now they all get shot. We've had one snake take out a half-dozen chicks in one day, so we keep chicks in a brooder cage made of 1/4" hardware cloth until they are 3/4s grown. This year we have had exactly one snake in the chicken coop, and it didn't do any harm, so it has been a very good year in that regard. Check out some of the chicken housing on the link. I bet at least one of your sons is handy enough to help you build one. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken Coop Designs

I wish I lived close -- I'd happily mill your wheat for you. Coffee/spice mills don't mill wheat as fine as a good quality mill will, and the finer the flour, the finer the crumb. The loaf looks wonderful for a coffee/spice mill ground flour. If you could use a sponge method (as little as 3-hours or overnight) it would help the texture even more. I always used a sponge with my 100% whole wheat bread recipe made in the Zo for a high-rising loaf of bread. There is also a neat little book - No Wheat Grinder Wheat Recipes - by Cindi Van Bibber, for using whole wheat berries when you don't have a mill. You make a cooked wheat "Wheat Base" (stove-top or crock-pot method) and freeze the cooked berries until needed for a recipe. The recipes use a blender to mix the ingredients. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Cindi's Lifestyle Treasures