Fanning Mill Question

[uncle]

There is an old fanning mill coming up at auction. I have never used one or seen one in use. The frame is wood and it has a hand crank. Some of the wooden fan blades are worn on the outer edge, there is a thing that shakes and a screen.
The question, is it worth having one around on a homestead? What do they go for?
Brian

[Windy in Kansas]

They are basically used for cleaning grain. Do you have need for grain cleaning?

Someone that buys bin run grain might have need, especially those that have a corn burning stove and must use cleaned kernels in it. Some still require that as far as I know.

How many different sizes of screens comes with it?

As to cost/value, Craiglook shows them advertised for $25 to $500 so I suppose it all depends on the supply/demand market in a particular area.

[uncle]

It looked like it had a course pre-screen and a lower screen that looked a little courser than window screen, maybe 1/64th openings.
I do buy corn out of the combine for the pigs. I don't clean it though.
Brian

[rambler]

Most have the crank replaced with a 1/4 hp electric motor & a vee belt.

They were for cleaning seed to run through a drill. Drills plug up with stuff too big or too small in them.

Top screen the big stuff rolls over, grain drops past airflow from the ajustable fan to blow away light stuff. The bottom screen lets small heavy stuff (weed seeds, cracked seed, shriveled seed) to fall out the bottom.

There are different sized screens for different crops.

--->Paul

[springvalley]

I have a Clipper fanning mill my father owned, it has a whole set of screens for it. It will clean all differant types of grain and seed, all the way from corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, clover and grasses. Now being it is made of wood and has been around the block a few times, it`s not in the best of shape anymore. I happened to go to an auction last year and found a light weight metal version of what I thought the same cleaner. It had no screens with it, but I thought if mine would fit, I`d be in business. Well I bought it for 35.00 and loaded it up and brought it home, wouldn`t you know it, the screens from my old one fit in it like they were made for it. How lucky can a guy get. We clean our oats and other small grain before we drill it in. That way you are not reseeding weed seed, you would be surprized how much weed seed will come out of the bin run grain. >Thanks Marc

[Stephen in SOKY]

Look around in the barns, feed rooms and outbuildings and see if you can locate the other screens. Especially up high where they'd be out of the way. With only one set you'd be very limited in what you can clean.