Grinder ?

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shooterrick

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Jan 13, 2008
2,035
20
South Louisiana
Thinking of getting a grinder for occational use. I saw this #22 on Ebay and was wondering if worth it or not.

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From the pic it looks like a good unit. Do they list a brand for it? I have seen ones similer to that one at TSC and other farm stores in my area and also at Northern Tools. Just to give yourself an idea of how much its worth I would check Northern Tools. Hope that helps.........
 
Northern has one that looks like the same one and they are asking $79.00 for it in their catalog. So $50 isn't to bad of a price for it.
 
Define "occasional use". A few butts now and then for sausage or whole hogs and deer?

If the former, I would not pick that grinder. Do an ebay search for "Enterprise Meat" or "Chop Rite Meat" and a number of new or like new #5, #10 (both clamp on grinders) or a #12 will pop up. Starting bids at $10 and ending bids in the $20 to $30 range, and even these old machines are many times better than the new knock off's on ebay.

For reference.....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=75149


I recently ground an 8# butt on that #5 grinder in less than 10 minutes. With a #22 you would not even be working up a sweat at the end of 10 pounds. For a high quality machine where replacement parts are a concern (about all you will need are plate and blades) a #10 clamp on or #12 screw down would be all a part time home use guy would likely need. Even up to 20 pounds of meat, it may take you longer to clean it than that it takes to grind that much meat.

Beyond that, start thinking of electric grinders.
 
ShooterRick
I picked up the identical #32 grinder off eBay quite a few years ago and motorized it with a 3/4 horse (overkill) motor. When using pulleys make sure the grinder you get has ball bearings and not bushings; bushings will wear out quickly because of how the belt pulls on the grinder.

Here is a few pics of mine.










I have added a stainless steel meat tray since the original build but I can not find those pics right now. Anyways if this interest you here is where I got my plans to work off of - http://www.sausagemania.com/grinder.html
 
My setup is simular to mossy's except that I only use 1 belt. So far I made 30lbs of sausage (both gringing and stuffing) with it, and it worked amazing. I thought that the motor (1750 Rpm) might be too fast, but with the big flywheel it wasn't. I have a Northern Tools #32 grinder and currently a 1/8 hp, which I am upgrading to a 1/2 hp electric motor.
Dennis
 
One word of caution, be very careful to keep your fingers out of the auger area. I made one of these years ago and added an extension tube with a tray similar to what you find on a commercial grinder. I did this as I was having someone else do the grinding and did not want to risk an accident.
 
That auger doesn't even slow down the tiniest bit as it crushes your fingers off you hand and sucks it down into the chute; I've seen it happen and believe me it's not pretty, and it only takes a split second. Use a stomper. You can chew up as many of those as you like and won't feel a thing.

Between the open flywheel and pulleys and the short neck open feed, I personally would stay wayyy clear of those machines, even non-motorized. It only costs a few hundred bucks to get a good 1 hp. grinder with all the safety systems built into it that could save thousands of dollars of medical bills, bone and skin transplants, to say nothing of loss of work and job and a life-changing experience in a matter of split seconds. I've been fortunate and not had fingers caught in grinders or cubers but have witnessed it and it's not good at all. I've cut off a couple fingers and had them reattached via the electric meat saw and that's bad enough so I do know the pain and rehab part tho.

Pops §§
 
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