Bought this for my students to grind corn, but we couldn't get it to work. We made sure it was not tight at first to just process it to a finer grain later, but the handle kept slipping and if we would loosen it more, it would just pop out whole kernels. The holes on the handle had huge chunks of metal around and couldn't even fit on correctly. We used a rubber mallet to try to get it on, and it was a pain, finally did and it just kept slipping off. I was hopeful this cheaper version would work just as well as our more expensive one, but it does not. Look elsewhere (our vittorio is great!)

It works great, I love it
I was hesitated to buy it since no one gave a good answer to crack soy bean to make tempeh.
So here it is, this grinder works great for anyone who wants to make tempeh with a great value for your bucks.

I'm trying to make life more simple - homestead, pioneer, survival, etc. I was on the search for a good quality hand grain mill. Comparing prices with the aesthetic appearance made me decide to order this mill. When I got it, it appeared sturdy. The size is nice, also.

I have been trying to find a way to grind chaga that I harvest. Several nights ago I started grinding chaga in my electric coffee grinder and after doing close to a pound, my coffee grinder broke. To me, dried chaga is like petrified wood! All of a sudden I thought about the hand grinder and wondered if it would be able to handle grinding something so hard. I should have started with the hand grinder to begin with! It's grinding with ease!

I have no doubt that it will be able to grind any grain that I put through it. So far, I've only had it set to do a medium grind, similar to store bought coffee, but I was so happy with it that I just ordered another one! I plan on dedicating one to chaga and coffee and the other one to grains and rice for flours. I would recommend this grinder, especially to preppers, and those going back to a more simple lifestyle.

I have yet to really use this though it will be tested extensively when I grind 20 lbs of grains for brewing. So far I have ground coriander and haven't seen any metal chunks or unsettling things, and believe it will hold up well for what I intend to use it for. I attached it to a large metal 'Kitchen utility shelf' I bought from Williams-Sonoma which are identical to ones available on Amazon, using a chunk of wood supporting underneath the ledge as well as a portion added to the top, and am pleased with how it has held up. This could get rather messy however as the spinning of the grinder will of course throw all kinds of things around and will likely make some "dust," however that is expected. Don't overlook the techniques advised on how to use it (never try and grind something course as fine without going through the processes of gradual grinding to fine from medium, etc.) This was designed for course materials.

The only concern I might have is that I believe they might have sprayed insecticide for storage purposes (if this is of concern I would advise washing the assembly and drying it well, as I also suspect the metal won't hold up to moisture.)

This did exactly what we wanted it to do....make corn meal from the corn fields behind our house, in case there was an emergency and we needed food to survive. My wife made a cornbread out of the flour that we ground, and fed it to the kids. So now, we know for food storage to keep corn kernels, dried milk, baking powder and soda, and sugar (which we have in our pantry for prepping) as well as the eggs (we have chickens and dried eggs also. This gives me peace of mind, as I know there are thousands of acres of bean and wheat and corn fields around me.

This thing is built like a brick &*(*( house, also.

You will have to adjust the grinding plates tighter and tighter to get the corn down- but it makes a fine flour as you steadily progress tighter and tighter. Totally recommend to anyone whose looking to grind their corn into a flour.