Talk:Millstone

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The boundary markers of the Peak District National Park (in England) are designed to look like old millstones. They are not in fact millstones; the detailed proportions are incorrect; I believe that they are in fact sections of columns from a disused building - possibly a church in Sheffield. I have therefore used the word "imitation" before the description ofthe PDNP markers. Peakscan

A point regarding the presence of stone particles in the finished flour: would it not be possible to separate the flour from the stone dust by shaking them so that the heavier stone dust sinks, leaving pure flour above? This would seem to be a simple procedure requiring no advanced machinery. Was this technique used or does it work? If so, it would be an interesting point to add to the article.--ChrisJMoor 01:09, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

The 'show your metal' derivation is surely folk etymology. The word is mettle - meaning character or temperament. The OED has numerous citations of "show one's mettle" - none for "show one's metal". Cisgjm 09:19, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

...ditto for a Google search. It also seems highly implausible thay anyone would work in such a way as to regularly allow flying fragments of metal to embed themselves in their arms. Think of the possibilities for infection. I've taken the liberty of removing the derivation. Macboff 18:31, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Ok, but you left the <ref> in the page, which refers to a book that corroborates this "showing of metal". I have read the book and the author has obviously done a lot of research and talked with a number of old time millers. I, too, find it hard to believe, but is it not a bit hasty to dismiss this author's research without any evidence to the contrary? Alf Boggis 19:31, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd be interested to find out more about how grindstones and grinding work. For example: 1. Do the stones touch in normal use or is there a clearance? 2. How does the design cause the flour to fall out from between the stones but not the unground grains? 3. Does the inside of a cereal grain have a naturally powdery structure that makes it easy to mill? Macboff 18:31, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

The stones do not quite touch. Their separation is adjusted continually while operating, according to several conditions, including how fine a flour is required. If they did touch I imagine they would wear very quickly (introducing grit into the meal) and the load on the mill machinery would make it difficult to drive the mill. On point 2, I believe the furrows get shallower towards the edges until they are not deep enough for whole grains to make it through unmilled. (I suppose I should add this to the article, once I have checked my facts.) Alf Boggis 19:31, 11 January 2007 (UTC)