Ok. I have to admit that some aspects of prepping has forced me to embrace things I would have never thought of as time moves on. As an alpha male it sometimes feels weird or out of character for me to watch videos of grandmothers in their 70's talking about pressure canning methods on specific food types. This is all part of the game when it comes to prepping though - as I've realized. Maybe I'll learn about sewing next week....
That being said I've recently turned my attention to making flours from both grown and wild food sources. I have an upcoming workshop on making bread from scratch and thought I'd include some wild garlic mustard and sumac amongst other ingredients from my recent wild foraging adventures. Sumac flour turned to bread? Should be interesting...
I think a lot of people underestimate the importance of being able to be self-sustainable from a food perspective. Sure, you might have your canned goods, freeze-dried foods and perhaps some 5 gallon pails with various foods in mylar bags but it won't last forever. I can guarantee that.
So the question is - what type of breads will you or I be eating when we run out of food stores (realistically)? What will they taste like? If you think about it - it's doomsday bread of sorts and that's why I want to make it from scratch using grown and wild sources to try it out now. And one of the key tools to do this is through the use of a grain mill.
I've been told that the Country Living Grain Mill is the Ferrari when it comes to grain mills http://countrylivinggrainmills.com/ ). I do have a simple one and I'm thinking of upgrading. After tax and shipping here in Canada it's going to clock in at around $500. That's a lot of money for a device to make flour and I'm seriously entertaining it. One neat feature is a pulley wheel in which you can add a belt making the milling process connect to something mechanical such as a bicycle. Does anyone have one? Can they attest to the quality? Pros / Cons? Compatible items?
I could buy a nice SKS rifle instead but (to me) prepping is all about embracing all aspects of prepardness. This includes food and furthermore the capacity and ability to make fresh breads from growing your own wheat and/or wild foraging sources.
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I don't know how much you intend to shoot but you'll be eating at least every day.
There are certain things you simply have to have damn good equipment to do reliably, long term. Don't cut corners on those things - like water filters or grain mills if you're going to make bread a lot. I have one of those mills pictured. It does a fine job but it would get tiring grinding a lot of grain by hand. Pedal power is probably a good option.
I don't know how much you intend to shoot but you'll be eating at least every day....
I appreciate the response although I think you skimmed through my post. I'm well aware that I'll be eating everyday. In some cases I may shoot, others I may grind - and there may be special occasions when I'm feeling really frisky where both may occur. I'm not sure what your point is about "how much I intend to shoot".
There are certain things you simply have to have damn good equipment to do reliably, long term. Don't cut corners on those things
Are you referring to the grain mill in question? Or are you lecturing from a generic standpoint for anything - that you need "damn good equipment to do reliably, long term"? Allow me to re-iterate the point of my post for you:
My motivation was to get intelligent feedback on a particular product. One way to research whether or not a tool or piece of equipment is reliable and/or decent is to acquire people peoples opinion on a specific item. In the case with this thread that's why I've started it's the Country Living Grain Mill. More insight into why people think it's a good mill grinder is what I'm striving for. I apologize if I failed to make this clear in the original post. For good measure I'll post the original questions here again: Does anyone have one? Can they attest to the quality? Pros / Cons? Compatible items?
Pedal power is probably a good option.
Yes, I did mention this in the original post. One neat feature is their 'fly' wheel being designed in such a way as to accept a belt as a means of being mechanically driven.
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This topic is a good reminder of the necessity of a wood fired bread oven. If one can mill their own grains and bake their own bread, then they have nearly everything they need.
When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fail, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
-Edmund Burke, 1729 - 1797
I have one of these mills. I like the quality and simplicity. I got a handle extension to help with manual operation. This is a 15 minute workout to get enough for 3 loaves. I am still looking for a 12V motor that turns slow enough to get the mill to rotate at 70 or so RPM's. Until then I enjoy the grind! I purchased some red fife wheat and I am experimenting with adding spelt in as well. Loaves mostly work out well but still new at this. I got some spare grinding plates and service parts.
I think this is a great mill but I cannot give an opinion of any other brands. You get what you pay for!
Che- I think you skimmed through my post. If you NEED something to eat every day and it's going to be bread most of the time that grain mill had better work long term every day. Get a damn good one. I got one of these because it's the best.
If you want the mill to turn that slow you probably need an idler in between the motor and mill. On the idler shaft you'll have a small pulley that goes to the mill, and a large pulley that goes with the small pulley on the motor. Either that or a gear head motor with all the gearing internally.
None of this is going to work with the power out. While it's hard work driving the mill with your arm, your legs are much stronger and have just the kind of torque needed for a low rpm-high force application.
Here's a post on the CPN Blog about grain mills and why you want one. http://www.canadianpreppersnetwork.com/2012/03/manual-grain-mill-and-why-you-need-one.html
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For those people that have a wind mill, they already have the power requirements for useable power. Before the steam engines came along many manufacturing firms relied in wind power to run their machines. The size of the wind mill, determined the torque provided, or horse power. The speed was controlled by an adjustable speed reducer hook up to a spinning governor. 
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
Idler, good idea. I saw on you tube someone running one of these mills with an exercise bike. Great idea as well. But then you have to store an exercise bike. I don't mind the work out. Some grain is easier to grind than others. Softer I guess.
Windmill! Hey what about one of those water wheels!
One of my longest dream was to own a house with a waterwheel on it. For a small water wheel /turbine, you still need a good supply of running water and in most cases a small drop in height. It would depend on the amount of water that the wheel can capture, that would determine the torque provided.
"We 'Prep.' to live after a downfall, Not just to survive."
Thanks for everyone's insight. I decided to splurge and fork over the $500 to get this grain mill. Perhaps I'll post a personal review here.
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Post your first trial recipes too!