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Author
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Topic: Grain grinding & quernifactionary goodness
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Gwynfor
New Member
Member # 1055
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posted 11-01-2006 07:32 PM
    
One of the fun things that I've got into recently as part of my work, is grain grinding. It all started when I commenced construction of a mud oven in the back yard (which is still not finished, but...). I've always enjoyed "ground up" projects, and so it seemed obvious that, if I was to bake bread in a mud oven, I should grow the grain (using medieval agricultural implements I'll make myself), reap, thresh, winnow and grind the grain, and then make the bread and bake it.I went out and procured a few blocks of basalt, forge hardened some stone chisels and started hand carving a grinding stone. You can see some video of me doing this at [/URL]Quern making 101 . Due to time constraints, I made a hand quern and a rotational quern using power tools (is there any better tool in history than an angle grinder?). We then took the concept on the road, and did a 90 minute presentation to the Australian Early Medieval Association's Annual Conference. We have a 9 minute video of that presentation at AEMA Conference "The Daily Grind" . The fully hand made quern is now split, and I'm working on facing the two surfaces before fitting the spindle and handles. The mud oven will be completed over the summer and then the farming implement making (probably need to make a pole lathe first), then growing the grain for next summer. -------------------- Gwynfor
www.gwynfor.org/daysofknights
Registered: Apr 2006 | IP: Logged
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Woodcrafter
Member
Member # 197
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posted 11-02-2006 09:06 AM
Excellent!What different type chisel heads did you make and use? -------------------- Woodcrafter
14th c. Woodworking
Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged
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Gwynfor
New Member
Member # 1055
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posted 11-02-2006 08:48 PM
Ummm... it was a chisel made from 12mm square stock with about an 18mm wide head. I'm going to buy a scutching chisel for the facing, though. When I started the process I had no idea that there were specialised masons' chisels, let alone so many different types! The other primary chisel I used was a 10mm cold chisel.Then I discovered masons' chisels online, and also discovered that they were way too expensive, as they all seemed to be imported from Italy and England. Then, at the Australian Blacksmiths' Conference a few weeks ago (where our compnay, Days of Knights, was doing a demo) I discovered a bloke who makes stone masons' tools, and he is 20 minutes away. So, next time I have monay, I'm heading down there to spend it.  -------------------- Gwynfor
www.gwynfor.org/daysofknights
Registered: Apr 2006 | IP: Logged
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