The Stone Case and Grain Feed

Around the set of Millstones is the Stone Case. This is a wooden cylinder held together by iron bands. Its purpose is to collect the flour that comes from the Millstones so that is can fall through a chute in the floor to be bagged.

On top of the Stone Case sits the Grain Feed. This structure is called a Horse due to its shape when viewed from the side. It consists of a wooden frame with a hopper at one end. Beneath the hopper is a chute that is set at a shallow gradient called the Shoe. The Shoe slopes down from under the hopper to the just over the hole in the centre of the Millstones. Just before the end of the Shoe an iron spindle that has a needle like eye in it passes through it. This is called the Damsel. Together this makes up the Grain feed.

The way this all operates is as follows: Grain passes down a chute from the Bin Floor above and into the Hopper on the Horse. From there it trickles onto the Shoe. The Shoe is vibrated by the rotation of the Damsel, and this rotates because it is attached to the Stone Spindle (see Millstones). This vibration moves the grain down the Shoe and into the hole between the stones in a measured manner. The stones then grind the grain. A small bell is attached to the Hopper on the Horse to tell the miller when the grain runs out, as it is very important that a steady flow of grain is maintained once the millstones are started.