Milling your own flour...

I just got back from a 2 1/2 day whirlwind trip to N. Carolina to help my friend Richard pick up his 16" stone flour mill from a gentleman that rebuilds the nearly 100 year old machines. It was a good, but way too long drive. The mill will be added to the growing pile of tools, machines and equipment that Richard and Aimee Douglass are setting up on their non-electric farm in anticipation of troubled times ahead. Richard is building a horse powered "sweep" that will power an overhead pulley system in his machine shed that will run all of his stationary equipment. A fascinating return to sustainable technology! The mill is circa 1919 and weighs almost 800# and had been returned to new (or better than new) condition for a total price of $6000. New ones that are smaller cost the same and will not last as long.