User:Europeanbreasmuseo/Hand mill

The hand mill is a tool used for grinding wheat. It consists of two millstones, two circular stones of similar size, which are placed one on top of the other. The millstone at the top has a hole in the centre, into which the wheat was poured, and a wooden and later iron handle, which was held and thus turned the stone to grind the grain. In the middle of the hand mill there was a small and fixed iron shaft which held the upper millstone in place. The operator of the millstone, which was found in almost every home as a personal mill, was usually a child. With the help of the handle, he repeatedly performed the circular motion, causing the fruit to be carried through the hole between the surfaces of the two millstones, crushed and turned into flour.