# Corn Meal Grinder



## Wado (May 15, 2011)

I don't know what this things proper name is. We used it to grind corn into meal at my grandparents ranch in South Texas. What struck them to do this I don't know. I guess we would have had to live in the depression days to understand a lot of old timers ways. We had lots of chickens too. May have ground their own chicken scratch. I called it a "hammer mill" in the classifieds, maybe that's the wrong name.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Most likely they raised their own field corn and used the hammer to grind it up to make it more digestable for the cows. Mix the meal with salt and you can regulate how much the cows eat so they don't kill themselves.

What powers it?


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## Charlie2 (Aug 21, 2004)

*Corn Mill*

We used this mill, which is called a 'hammer' mill to grind corn for chicken feed.

We would take our corn to a gristmill where it was ground into cornmeal to make cornbread and whisky mash. It was slowly ground between two millstones. This slow process didn't scorch the meal and retained the natural oils (and flavor). Mechanical grinders often scorched meal giving it an 'off'flavor.

I still use only Water-ground cornmeal for frying fish or making hushpuppies.


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## Wado (May 15, 2011)

It used to have a big electric motor off of an air compressor that ran it. Likely five horse. It took two of us to get it off. I don't recall the cornmeal being scorched but it was a long time ago. I have a corn sheller also that must be ninety years old. I cranked it a lot in my younger days. It takes a pile of whole corn to get a feed bucket full of shelled corn. Going to clean it up we might need it again for the next depression.


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## Charlie2 (Aug 21, 2004)

*Corn Sheller*

I spent many an hour shelling corn with a corn sheller as you describe. It beat shelling it by hand. A few ears for the chickens OK; but no large projects!

We also had a pointed thing? with a strap that fitted over the hand which you used to remove the husk from the ear to get at the kernels.

Does anyone remember Corn Husker's Lotion? It was designed to toughen your hands to dehusk corn among other things.

Speaking of Depression: Do you know that you can make a passable(drinkable) liquid by roasting corn in an oven? Pseudo coffee! Memories!

I still like to parch corn to eat as a snack. Tastes like popcorn. C2


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

When I was a boy I went with my grandpa to bring field corn to a hammer mill for feed, it ran off a belt from a tractor, for a 8y/o that was cool. My uncle bought a old grist mill that ran off a one-lunger he restored it to new condition, had it all on a covered lowboy. He made most outdoor flea markets n made a killing selling fresh cornmeal. The one-lunger drew a crowd, along the the mill, still today my dad grows, shells and has all our corn milled locally...WW


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## Reality Czech (Jul 17, 2004)

Wado said:


> I have a corn sheller also that must be ninety years old. I cranked it a lot in my younger days. It takes a pile of whole corn to get a feed bucket full of shelled corn. Going to clean it up we might need it again for the next depression.


I shelled about 100lbs last summer for old time sake......bout died of heatstroke.









 


Charlie2 said:


> I spent many an hour shelling corn with a corn sheller as you describe. It beat shelling it by hand. A few ears for the chickens OK; but no large projects!
> 
> We also had a pointed thing? with a strap that fitted over the hand which you used to remove the husk from the ear to get at the kernels.
> 
> ...





wet dreams said:


> When I was a boy I went with my grandpa to bring field corn to a hammer mill for feed, it ran off a belt from a tractor, for a 8y/o that was cool. My uncle bought a old grist mill that ran off a one-lunger he restored it to new condition, had it all on a covered lowboy. He made most outdoor flea markets n made a killing selling fresh cornmeal. The one-lunger drew a crowd, along the the mill, still today my dad grows, shells and has all our corn milled locally...WW


I may have bought some cornmeal from your uncle 15 to 20yrs ago.
It was someone that had a cool one-lunger grist mill that came to the antique show. It was painted bright red. He gave out copies of cornbread recipies also. The popcorn cornmeal was my favorite.

I still use this grinder when I need some cracked corn for the chickens.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Most prob was, his mill was fire engine red don't know about the popcorn, I do know he had to start getting food grade corn to grind. He had a big sheller that ran behind his tractor....WW


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I bet I bought cornmeal from Wet's Grandpa. I bought it at Weatherford,Bowie,and Canton from a feller with a hit-n-miss engine running the grinder.It's strange how that meal makes cornbread twice as good as store bought.You'd think corn is corn,but the texture is coarser and corn tast is more intense.If you don't freeze home ground,it'll get weavels pretty fast.Bet the store bought is full of **** so that don't happen.


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

*CM*

Go to E-Bay search "corn grinder"..The way I remember it a hammer mill was used to grind the whole thing (dried corn on cob with shuck on) sometimes added Molasses to it for cow/ horse feed..Some farmers had there own Hammer mill some powered by tractor PTO some ran on a long wide flat belt from belt drive on older tractors. At feed mills they were run off stationary engine/electric motors.The closest thing that I can think of to a hammer mill nowdays is a chipper shreader used to grind up limbs..cva34


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