Manual to Electric Coffee Burring Tip

Grind me a pound will ya!? Burr

This tip, is a real world way to an idea that I saw on-line someplace. I had wondered about it for some time, so thought I’d get all of the pieces in order & offer it as a successful tip here. I have used a large ratchet & socket to speed grinding up, WAY back (in the early `80s). I just hammered the socket on the post at the time. Using the lever & fulcrum approach to speed grinding; I used a 1/2″ breaker bar to spin the mill. It really sped things up. Holding it wasn’t so easy. It did fine in the vise though.

First, of course, you’ll void your warranty on your grinder/mill & maybe even your screw driver by doing this.

I’ll jot a link for what you need below. ONLY if I get permission to do that. Otherwise you’re on your own, sorry.

The goal of this was two fold really. One, to have a cheap burr grinder, then have a faster, & quieter way to grind up some beans.

Most electric screwdrivers won’t be able to fit the 4 point post that these grinders use. If you have one (coffee mill) with a hex, you’ll stand a better chance.
They are about 5/32″. I say about, because that doesn’t fit either. I tried a socket set that went down to 4mm. Hard to get a good fit.

Tools & Beans

What we’re doing here is putting an electric screwdriver on to a manual coffee burr machine. I am using one I picked up for super cheap on Amazon. You can use what you already have if you’d like to.
You are going to add a keyless chuck to hold the four point shaft with, insert that into your screwdriver, & burr your beans or grounds down to espresso fine. Much of that, depends on how you like your beans, & your grinder. The one I used, has a few grinds to choose from.

I want to tell you that this unit, takes forever & a day to grind the pre-ground coffee in espresso. I used that to point out how slow it really is. Not a bad thing, just SLOW.
Having actual beans in there, was a bit longer on espresso, but livable on medium drip. This video shows that.

Course grounds to espresso ultra fine

I also want to point out that you could get a decent pepper mill & so this as well. If your drvier goes in reverese, you can get the larger grinds, IF your mill grinds larger in reverse. There’s an insider note for you. Most pepper mills do a larger grind in reverse (Shhh, tell chef you did it by hand), & don’t tell the servers!!

This isn’t the have all answer, just an idea which works.

You don’t want to use a drill, as they are much too fast spinning to be safe. Even my driver spit out a couple bits of bean at the end as it was whirling about. Also, don’t just keep your finger on it, grinding all day. Give it a break or you’ll certainly void that warranty too.

jumped out

1 Electric screw driver ( 1/4″ drive hex)
1 Keyless chuck for electric screw drivers ( 1/4″ drive hex shaft)
1 manual coffee burr or grinder machine/mill
coffee

Put coffee in grinder/burr machine. Select desired grind. Put the chuck over the grinder post & tighten. Put driver on that, spin.

In the video, I have the chuck going on the grinder, after going into the screwdriver. It works fine either way. Depends on your chuck or your dexterity. These tiny bit chucks, tighten on the back end, so it may be easier to have it on already. Also, they sometimes can get stuck if you do a bunch of grinding. Have a small wrench (spanner) handy or pliers.

That’s it. Grind away. Low priced, “quiet”, electric grinder. The emphasis is on the quiet, which is what spawned this tip.

“Stay, I was going to make espresso”.

The icons in the header picture are: Manual coffee beans grinder or mill to electric coffee beans grinder

Links aren’t available as yet, check back later.
Use picture as reference