Old Gristmill Creates New Grits Business

2011 - Volume #35, Issue #5, Page #09

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Rescuing two old stone burr mills has led retired engineer Ron West into a second career. West produces up to 500 lbs. of grits a day, selling his product at area farmers markets and to area restaurants. The key to his success is his old stone mills.
“A friend of mine restored an antique engine-powered grist mill, and I fell in love with the idea,” says West, who started looking for one himself.
The first mill he found was in such bad shape that West had to reverse engineer it. However, the 20-in. granite stone wheel was in good shape.
“I would be standing there holding a part and wondering what it did,” recalls West. “I researched the company that built it and discovered they were still in business.”
He was able to get many parts for the 100-year-old mill from the company, Meadows Mills, which not only makes parts, but also restores grist or burr mills for customers or for resale. The company also makes and sells new gristmills. West also located a small foundry to make some parts he couldn’t find.
In addition to replacing and mending metal parts, including pouring new babbitt bearings, West had to replace all wooden parts. That included finding traditional close-grain, yellow pine for the pillow blocks that hold the shaft. West also trimmed the machine in black walnut. Any wood surface that would be touched by the corn kernels was lined with steel to protect it from wear.
The engine was a 1926 Hercules made in Evansville, Ind. The twin flywheel, 6 hp engine weighs about 1,200 lbs. It required only a valve job with new push rods, resetting the timing gear and cleaning and painting.
“I hadn’t planned on that much work. It took about a year,” says West. “I even had to learn how to pour babbitt bearings.”
West also had to learn to “dress” the stones, which are made from native North Carolina, Balfour pink granite. Meadows Mills sponsors miller training programs at a local community college. West says there are also how-to videos on stone dressing and babbitt bearing pours on YouTube.
Once the mill and engine were restored, West fired them up and poured corn kernels into the hopper. What came out was some of the best grits West or his wife had ever enjoyed. The process also produced corn meal and corn flour, each of which was screened out of the grits.
After finishing restoration of a second mill, this one with a 16-in. wheel and powered by an electric motor, West had everything state inspected. This allowed him to produce grits and meal for sale.
Since then West has become a grits expert, making the yellow grits preferred in South Carolina, the white grits preferred in North Carolina, and roasted grits. He even makes cracked corn for moonshiners (legal), as well as corn meal and flour. He also makes and packages coarser Geechee grits, named for the islands off the coast of South Carolina. These are especially popular with chefs, as they can be kept on the heat for hours, slowly cooking.
“Roasted grits were my innovation,” he says. “I roasted the first batch of corn in a rotisserie basket over my grill. I let them cool down and then milled them. They made the whole shop smell wonderful.”
West is now working with a coffee roaster to roast his corn for the grits. He has also experimented with popcorn grits and blue corn grits.
The key to quality grits is the stone grinding and careful quality control, says West. The stone burr mill shears the corn or other grains, rather than crushing it as steel wheels do. This keeps the temperature down, which protects the flavor and nutrition of the grain.
“Sifting produces the different products,” says West. “I bought a multi-screen sifter from Meadows Mills so I can produce all stages of product, including the coarser cornmeal for pizza making.”
West has his 20-in. gristmill mounted with its engine on a trailer he can take to farmer’s markets and special events. The bulk of the grits he sells are made with the stationary 16-in. mill. That mill was modified to make it easier to clean.
“The housing comes apart easier, and it has a vacuum and air blower system,” says West. “When I change from yellow grits to white, I have to be able to purge the system.”
West did most of the restoration work himself. However, Meadows Mills has a fully reconditioned, 1932 12-in. wooden frame, stone burr mill for sale. It’s priced at $4,250.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carolina Grits, 6136 Sunrise Lane, Rocky Mount, N.C. 27803 (ph 252 505-9378; gritsnc@gmail.com; www.carolinagrits.com) or Meadows Mills, Inc., P.O. Box 1288,  North Wilkesboro, N.C. 28659  (ph 336 838-2282 or  800 626-2282; www.meadowsmills.com ).

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Old Gristmill Creates New Grits Business FARM HOME Food Rescuing two old stone burr mills has led retired engineer Ron West into a second career West produces up to 500 lbs of grits a day selling his product at area farmers markets and to area restaurants The key to his success is his old stone mills “A friend of mine restored an antique engine-powered grist mill and I fell in love with the idea ” says West who started looking for one himself The first mill he found was in such bad shape that West had to reverse engineer it However the 20-in granite stone wheel was in good shape “I would be standing there holding a part and wondering what it did ” recalls West “I researched the company that built it and discovered they were still in business ” He was able to get many parts for the 100-year-old mill from the company Meadows Mills which not only makes parts but also restores grist or burr mills for customers or for resale The company also makes and sells new gristmills West also located a small foundry to make some parts he couldn’t find In addition to replacing and mending metal parts including pouring new babbitt bearings West had to replace all wooden parts That included finding traditional close-grain yellow pine for the pillow blocks that hold the shaft West also trimmed the machine in black walnut Any wood surface that would be touched by the corn kernels was lined with steel to protect it from wear The engine was a 1926 Hercules made in Evansville Ind The twin flywheel 6 hp engine weighs about 1 200 lbs It required only a valve job with new push rods resetting the timing gear and cleaning and painting “I hadn’t planned on that much work It took about a year ” says West “I even had to learn how to pour babbitt bearings ” West also had to learn to “dress” the stones which are made from native North Carolina Balfour pink granite Meadows Mills sponsors miller training programs at a local community college West says there are also how-to videos on stone dressing and babbitt bearing pours on YouTube Once the mill and engine were restored West fired them up and poured corn kernels into the hopper What came out was some of the best grits West or his wife had ever enjoyed The process also produced corn meal and corn flour each of which was screened out of the grits After finishing restoration of a second mill this one with a 16-in wheel and powered by an electric motor West had everything state inspected This allowed him to produce grits and meal for sale Since then West has become a grits expert making the yellow grits preferred in South Carolina the white grits preferred in North Carolina and roasted grits He even makes cracked corn for moonshiners legal as well as corn meal and flour He also makes and packages coarser Geechee grits named for the islands off the coast of South Carolina These are especially popular with chefs as they can be kept on the heat for hours slowly cooking “Roasted grits were my innovation ” he says “I roasted the first batch of corn in a rotisserie basket over my grill I let them cool down and then milled them They made the whole shop smell wonderful ” West is now working with a coffee roaster to roast his corn for the grits He has also experimented with popcorn grits and blue corn grits The key to quality grits is the stone grinding and careful quality control says West The stone burr mill shears the corn or other grains rather than crushing it as steel wheels do This keeps the temperature down which protects the flavor and nutrition of the grain “Sifting produces the different products ” says West “I bought a multi-screen sifter from Meadows Mills so I can produce all stages of product including the coarser cornmeal for pizza making ” West has his 20-in gristmill mounted with its engine on a trailer he can take to farmer’s markets and special events The bulk of the grits he sells are made with the stationary 16-in mill That mill was modified to make it easier to clean “The housing comes apart easier and it has a vacuum and air blower system ” says West “When I change from yellow grits to white I have to be able to purge the system ” West did most of the restoration work himself However Meadows Mills has a fully reconditioned 1932 12-in wooden frame stone burr mill for sale It’s priced at $4 250 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Carolina Grits 6136 Sunrise Lane Rocky Mount N C 27803 ph 252 505-9378; gritsnc@gmail com; www carolinagrits com or Meadows Mills Inc P O Box 1288  North Wilkesboro N C 28659  ph 336 838-2282 or  800 626-2282; www meadowsmills com 

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