Building a Thresher from a Fanning Mill.

[Rustaholic]

Since a fanning mill is made to clean grain I am planning to make mine into a simple home use thresher.
Onto the side of it I will mount a box with a shaft spinning with leather belt pieces that will knock the grain off onto the top tray of the fanning mill.

My side of that box I will just be sticking the ends of the straw into it then pulling down a handle that lowers a block that will clamp the straw there. Then another lever that might be a foot pedal will start that flailing shaft spinning.

Yes it will do a handful at a time.
It will be a large handful.

Next to me will be one of those hand balers to bale the straw.

Comments welcome.
Any idea more welcome
It just seems like a full scale thresher would take more top build than what I would has use for it.

[FarmboyBill]

Like to see vids of it.
How many feet/acres are you doing?
How many bundles do /will you have?
Do yiou figure 30secs a bundle?

[farmerDale]

What kind of grains? Many grains will take more than rotating leather to thresh the seeds out. The threshing system on most combines is spinning at between 400 and 1100 rpm, using heavy, narrow spaced steel rub bars. I would worry you will not get a good threshing action on most grains.

[sammyd]

I think you might strip some heads off but no actual threshing happening.

[Rustaholic]

Please keep this up.
I would love more info about how the real ones work.
I know what I have in my head right now is not the best way to do it.
All I have at this time is the fanning mill to clean the grains of chaff.

I am probably never going to grow much grain other than buckwheat and oats.
Probably never more than a half acre at a time.
Next summer's plan is for 1/6 acre of buckwheat.
Probably no more than that for several years as I work over my first acre.

[Rustaholic]

Originally Posted by farmerDale

What kind of grains? Many grains will take more than rotating leather to thresh the seeds out. The threshing system on most combines is spinning at between 400 and 1100 rpm, using heavy, narrow spaced steel rub bars. I would worry you will not get a good threshing action on most grains.

Is it just the heads in there or all of the straw too?
I sure would love a more detailed description of the spinning drum and the rub bars.

[||Downhome||]

You should take a look at this design Rusty, should be easy enough to build.

http://fromscratchclub.com/2012/07/2...heat-thresher/

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by Rustaholic

Is it just the heads in there or all of the straw too?
I sure would love a more detailed description of the spinning drum and the rub bars.

A lot of the concept of threshing involves the straw and grain material rubbing against itself. Combines work on the principle that the fuller they are, the better the threshing will be, and the gentler on the grains it will be, because it is relying more on plant material rubbing against itself, than the steel itself.

Basically you have a rapidly spinning drum with serrated bars, inside a stationary concave, which also has bars. The concave is adjusted tighter or further from the drum, allowing for change in aggressiveness, due to the spacing between the two.

For a small system, and for oats and buckwheat, which are not usually too hard to thresh, and with a heads only design, the concept would not have to be the same. I actually think your idea with the leather may work to an extent, if you can get up enough speed. Or you could try using tightly spaced steel fingers instead of leather, just for wearability???

Wheat is one thing, oats and buckwheat are less intense to thresh...

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by ||Downhome||

You should take a look at this design Rusty, should be easy enough to build.

http://fromscratchclub.com/2012/07/2...heat-thresher/

Other than the wooden design, which would wear down quickly, that looks decent for a small scale system.

[Allen W]

I think your idea is workable with heavy enough straps to do the flailing. I would do it separately from the cleaning process because I don't think it will thrash fast enough to justify the fanning mill running also. A fanning mill requires a certain amount of grain going through it to work efficiently.

[rambler]

I was going to say might work with oats.

Wheat needs a little bit more robust thrashing action.

I see that was covered already.

Paul

[Allen W]

Pieces of old v belt or other belting might be some thing to consider also.

[DaleK]

I would try swapping the leather strips out for short lengths of chain. Short lengths of used roller chain would swing straighter than regular chain

[haypoint]

The Allis Chalmers All-Crop is common. Take a look at how the beater bars come close to the stationary bar. Make something like that, spinning at 600 RPM, then a place for the grain to drop through. I'd expect that the large amount of chaff that will result will plug up a fanning mill. A Fanning mill is made to separate the weed seeds and chaff from the grain, not the massive amounts of trash that results from threshing. Think of a Fanning Mill as a finish cleaner.

[farmerDale]

Also, if you go out and take a drive, you may just find an old combine parked in the bush somewhere. I know around me they are every where. I have a couple myself! If you find an old machine, and the right owner, they may almost PAY YOU to remove it from their land. I have an old pull type sitting in the bushes here that if someone offered to tow home, or even scrap it out on site, I would be happy to oblige.

That way you could actually get the actual threshing components. on some of these old machines, they are pretty small and narrow, and would be light enough to mount on a stand of some kind with a tub underneath? Run it with a decent sized electric motor or off the pto of a tractor if available, and away you go!

Better yet, find an old combine that is useable, but worthless to the owner. There are plenty of those around too. Then you could just go out, combine your grain, and have it fairly clean right off...

Just some thoughts???

[Rustaholic]

Originally Posted by farmerDale

Also, if you go out and take a drive, you may just find an old combine parked in the bush somewhere. I know around me they are every where. I have a couple myself! If you find an old machine, and the right owner, they may almost PAY YOU to remove it from their land. I have an old pull type sitting in the bushes here that if someone offered to tow home, or even scrap it out on site, I would be happy to oblige.

That way you could actually get the actual threshing components. on some of these old machines, they are pretty small and narrow, and would be light enough to mount on a stand of some kind with a tub underneath? Run it with a decent sized electric motor or off the pto of a tractor if available, and away you go!

Better yet, find an old combine that is useable, but worthless to the owner. There are plenty of those around too. Then you could just go out, combine your grain, and have it fairly clean right off...

Just some thoughts???

Combines?
They are not laying around here.
In 30 years of going to auctions I have seen one sell for $650.
It only came with a bean head.

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by Rustaholic

Combines?
They are not laying around here.
In 30 years of going to auctions I have seen one sell for $650.
It only came with a bean head.

Interesting, they are all over the place here in guys yards, because as time goes on and a thirty year old machine has no real value, they get parked. I mean the 1950's to 1970s types...

I have one that is a 1982 that I rob stuff from to fix other things. It became worth more to me for that reason, than it is if I were to sell it. Mine is one of thousands on farms in western Canada!

Often an engine went and became to pricey to fix, or they had a fire issue, or just became far too small to do the acres needed. This very year, I ended up with a newer machine because my older one had engine troubles that would cost me more to fix than it did to trade up a bit.

Bring a trailer up here this winter. You will find all kinds of choices! lol. Providing you can unfreeze it from the tundra, or the trees that surround it.

Backyarditis, huh? lol

[Rustaholic]

Originally Posted by farmerDale

Other than the wooden design, which would wear down quickly, that looks decent for a small scale system.

Farmer dale, What you were talking about, Was that a drum inside a drum?
My take on what I read was a drum with rods welder to the outside was inside a drum that has rods welded to the inside of it.
Is just the inside drum rotating?
Or just the outside one?
Making them both rotate opposite ways would be kinda fun??????

[Rustaholic]

SO FAR I AM LEANING TOWARDS A DRUM WITH RE-BAR STICKS WELDED TO THE OUTSIDE OF IT WILL BE ROTATING INSIDE A LARGER DRUM WITH RE-BAR STICKS WELDED INSIDE OF IT. THE OUTER STATIONARY DRUM WILL BE ADJUSTABLE TO MAKE IT WORK WITH DIFFERENT GRAINS.
ALL OF THE STRAW WILL GO THROUGH IT.
MY IDEA IS TO HAVE THE DRUMS AT AN ANGLE AND THE RODS AT AN ANGLE.
THE RODS ANGLED TO WORK THE STRAW UP AND OUT ONE END AND THE DRUMS ANGLED TO MOVE THE GRAIN TO THE OTHER END TO RUN OUT THAT SIDE.
Sorry about all the caps but I just pasted that from a family chat page where all we write is in caps.

[plowhand]

I sold my gleaner C, and bought an All crop 72.....for somebody backed off a grain farming and just raising feed....Wow...best $1400 I ever spent....It was in good shape, couple belts , and I was cutting oats...........somebody came along and had to have it.I didn't want to sell it.......now I can go get a binder.....and another combine....I often see all crop 60s for around $400 to $600....2 running with 2 for parts..for $350 a few months back