# A new look for the LEM 5 lb sausage stuffer



## boykjo (Jan 1, 2017)

Ordered the LEM 5 lb stuffer with metal gears to go with my collection. Thought I would share what changes were made with some pics. No review... just a preview.....
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






In the box













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 UN boxed













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The new framing













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Metric button head allen bolts that hold the top together













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The crank handle shaft













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Removed bolts and the upper housing is made of cast aluminum













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Pressed in upper bushing













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Top view













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Easy access to the gears. You no longer have to disassemble at the base to remove shaft and gears













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Hand crank is held in place with a set screw. Allen wrench was included













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shaft lifted right out













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Pressed in plastic lower guide bushing













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A pic of the bottom













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The plunger













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Threaded aluminum insert













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The relief  valve













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O-Ring













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Lower end shaft where the plunger screws on













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Underneath the top. There are 2 counter sunk nuts













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The tubes... On the right is a tube I made for sticks. The smallest plastic tube on the right is the 1/2" tube and my 1/2" stainless tube is made of stainless sanitary tubing. You can see the difference in the size. The plastic tubes are measured from the inside diameter. My tube is 1/2" outer diameter. You will need one this small to do 19mm or less













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Some heavy duty clamps included













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Another look













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I like it so far....













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Hope this helps and thanks for looking

Boykjo


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## gary s (Jan 1, 2017)

Nice Preview  Looks good

Gary


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## SmokinAl (Jan 1, 2017)

Thanks for showing us that Joe!

I've had the old style 5# LEM for several years & never had a problem with it.

The new one looks like they made quite a few design changes.

The only thing I wish they would have added is a release mechanism that would allow you to pull the plunger up without reverse cranking it out.

Al


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 1, 2017)

Thanks Joe

Dang gumbit. My wallet gets leaner.


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 1, 2017)

Where is DS?


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 1, 2017)

nepas said:


> Where is DS?
> 
> :fire:



Lots and lots of water! Can't wait for the knockoffs to roll out at a cheaper price!!!


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## smokin jay (Jan 1, 2017)

Thanks for the preview! I got the same one for Christmas.


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## crankybuzzard (Jan 1, 2017)

Looks like a lot of new engineering in this one.


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## whistech (Jan 1, 2017)

Boykjo, thanks for the detailed breakdown.     Congratulations on the new stuffer and I'm sure you will give it a real workout.


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## dward51 (Jan 1, 2017)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Lots and lots of water! Can't wait for the knockoffs to roll out at a cheaper price!!!


I was wondering about that also.  It seemed the prior model and all the other brand variations previously came from a single assembly plant.  I need to go bigger than 5lbs on my next stuffer though.


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## cal1956 (Jan 1, 2017)

great job on the review,

i have never owned/used a LEM , but I'm sure it will do the job ,

there are a couple of things i personally probably wouldn't like about  it

(1) its to small for my use 

(2) it looks to me like they overly complicated it 

(3) they used to much plastic/nylon

but with that being said , if you only make small batches of sausage , it will work fine and give you

great service for many  years

enjoy it and be sure to post pictures of your success


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## pc farmer (Jan 1, 2017)

Thanks for the preview.

Looks like its made very well.


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## driedstick (Jan 2, 2017)

Nice pre-view Joe,,I have the old one and like it so far,,, did you get it on sale?? what is the going price on these now?? 

I think then next purchase for me will be the 15lber for larger batches of the larger type snausages,,, 

Looking forward to your review when you do use it. 

DS


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## boykjo (Jan 2, 2017)

driedstick said:


> Nice pre-view Joe,,I have the old one and like it so far,,, did you get it on sale?? what is the going price on these now??
> 
> I think then next purchase for me will be the 15lber for larger batches of the larger type snausages,,,
> 
> ...


I got it for $129  Amazon had it on sale at christmas for the 129 but it went off sale back to $149. There was another option to buy it for the $129 but the delivery date was like jan 20th to march 25th so I selected that to get the 129 price. Then the next day I got a notification saying my delivery date was being changed and I got it the next  day. ????? go figure.

I got it for small 1 lb test batches as I am always in the kitchen inventing seasoning recipes


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## crankybuzzard (Jan 3, 2017)

Would you say the base is the same footprint as before?  I'm about to finish the counter base for the one I have now and if I upgrade I'd hate to lose all the work.


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## boykjo (Jan 3, 2017)

yes


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 3, 2017)

Local BPS says they wont get the new ones until the old stock is gone.

I think i need a pa-sy-chiacrist


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## crankybuzzard (Jan 3, 2017)

boykjo said:


> yes


Thank you sir!


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## driedstick (Jan 3, 2017)

boykjo said:


> I got it for $129  Amazon had it on sale at christmas for the 129 but it went off sale back to $149. There was another option to buy it for the $129 but the delivery date was like jan 20th to march 25th so I selected that to get the 129 price. Then the next day I got a notification saying my delivery date was being changed and I got it the next  day. ????? go figure.
> 
> I got it for small 1 lb test batches as I am always in the kitchen inventing seasoning recipes


Awesome, LOL,,,,  I hope they do this design on there larger stuffers 

DS


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 9, 2017)

Joe

How is the new stuffer working compared to the older version?


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## boykjo (Jan 10, 2017)

nepas said:


> Joe
> 
> How is the new stuffer working compared to the older version?


Haven't used it yet. Will give it a go tomorrow


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 10, 2017)

boykjo said:


> Haven't used it yet. Will give it a go tomorrow


Thanks Joe

Its peer pressure i guess cuz i just ordered one. Guess i need to sell my 2 LEMs now


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## actech (Jan 10, 2017)

Right before Christmas I got it at Gander Mountain for $99.99  So far 55# thru it. Only thing i wish was 2 speed for reverse. Next time bringing in the 1/2" cordless drill to see if it fits. Havent tightened set screw. No need it fits deep enough handle doesnt come off.  Price is back to 154.99


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## boykjo (Jan 10, 2017)

I made a new tube for snack sticks. I noticed something that I'm not diggin.... The lower threaded housing on the stuffer cylinder is welded on an angle pointing down. Looking at pictures of it on the web it looks like its designed that way. I like to make longer stainless steel tubes so this might make the tubes too low to the table and may require me to angle my tubes...I like to keep my hand around the tube when stuffing.....

Here's some pics













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The angle













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Let ya know how it works out tomorrow


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## g dog (Jan 10, 2017)

Longer tube to get more casings on?


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## boykjo (Jan 11, 2017)

No not really..... It keeps my hand away from the stuffer so I can better manage the pressure while stuffing into the casing. IMO adding extra length to a tube to add more casing is not a good idea unless your going to crank out a lot of sausage very fast. The casings will dry out the longer they sit on the tube and cause them to stick and get blow outs. Usually I load up the tube with casings and slide them to the end of the tube. Just my preference....

Boykjo


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 11, 2017)

Dang.

Hope mine is pretty much straight.


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## boykjo (Jan 11, 2017)

nepas said:


> Dang.
> 
> Hope mine is pretty much straight.


Let me know. Hope I didn't get a LEM'ON like DS....

Another thing I noticed is the top end is not as stable... with round rods instead of flat steel bars... Going to give it a whirl this afternoon.. Gatta go get some japs. Making some of that andouillie mix you gave me a while back













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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 11, 2017)

boykjo said:


> Let me know. Hope I didn't get a LEM'ON like DS....


Just


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 11, 2017)

boykjo said:


> Let me know. Hope I didn't get a LEM'ON like DS....
> 
> Another thing I noticed is the top end is not as stable... with round rods instead of flat steel bars... Going to give it a whirl this afternoon.. Gatta go get some japs. Making some of that andouillie mix you gave me a while back
> 
> ...


Spices Etc in Savannah. I used to go there and buy spice.


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## smokin jay (Jan 11, 2017)

I just used mine for sticks and noticed my tube is angled down too! When i did sausage with my bro,we used his. He has the older model,think i like It better. I put mine up on a cutting board to give  me clearance.


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## boykjo (Jan 11, 2017)

Gave the new LEM stuffer a go and it performed well. One thing I did notice was how easily it was to crank the handle making snack sticks using my smaller stainless steel tube. I added very little water to soften the meat and I felt hardly any resistance..... I still dont like the angled stuffer tube housing . Time to make some angled tubes 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	

















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adouillie from foamheart on the left and adouillie from nepas on the right













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Let ya know how they come out

Thanks for looking

Joe


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## whistech (Jan 11, 2017)

That is some fine looking sausage Joe.


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## crankybuzzard (Jan 11, 2017)

That's looking real good!

Looks like some gumbo and beans may be in your future


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 11, 2017)

Looks good Joe

I value your opinion. Is this a better stuffer than my old flat frame LEM?

I never had any issues with my stuffer but after all these years the gears are starting to get rounded.


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## boykjo (Jan 11, 2017)

nepas said:


> Looks good Joe
> 
> I value your opinion. Is this a better stuffer than my old flat frame LEM?
> 
> I never had any issues with my stuffer but after all these years the gears are starting to get rounded.


I would have to say yes.... IMO the cast upper housing allows an improved distribution of force to the center ( if that makes sense).   I was really impressed by the minimal resistance on the handle to stuff through the small tube. The new frame wobbles a little but not when stuffing but Its as solid as the old one when pressure is applied. My only draw back is the angle on the tube mount. I was having problems manuvering my hand under the tube at times.... I'm still not digging that but there's always a way around it I guess.


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## boykjo (Jan 11, 2017)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> That's looking real good!
> 
> Looks like some gumbo and beans may be in your future


I'm thinking more on the pickling side


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## crankybuzzard (Jan 11, 2017)

boykjo said:


> I'm thinking more on the pickling side


Now you're talking!


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 11, 2017)

boykjo said:


> I would have to say yes.... IMO the cast upper housing allows an improved distribution of force to the center ( if that makes sense).   I was really impressed by the minimal resistance on the handle to stuff through the small tube. The new frame wobbles a little but not when stuffing but Its as solid as the old one when pressure is applied. My only draw back is the angle on the tube mount. I was having problems manuvering my hand under the tube at times.... I'm still not digging that but there's always a way around it I guess.


Thanks Joe

My wife said Joe is using some big words for you! Do you want me to tell you what they mean  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





She sleeping in the car tonight.


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## driedstick (Jan 11, 2017)

Great review Joe,,, THANKS YOU JUST SPENT MY BEER MONEY!!!!!!! 

DS


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## driedstick (Aug 17, 2017)

Thanks Joe,,, Just pulled the trigger on this unit, should be here tomorrow. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  $143 on Amazon would have been free shipping but I was needing it for this weekend. so I paid a little extra for the shipping..... 

Steve


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## dirtsailor2003 (Aug 17, 2017)

driedstick said:


> Thanks Joe,,, Just pulled the trigger on this unit, should be here tomorrow.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## driedstick (Aug 17, 2017)

dirtsailor2003 said:


>


LOL I Hope not


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## boykjo (Aug 19, 2017)

driedstick said:


> Thanks Joe,,, Just pulled the trigger on this unit, should be here tomorrow.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sweet.................


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## driedstick (Aug 19, 2017)

Just got done with 3 different batches 2 snack sticks and one brats and all I can say is WOW!!!!!! Way better than the old one way smoother without adding any extra water,, I will post tomorrow or Monday on my batches 

A full smoker is a happy smoker,,,,, Is your smoker happy??? 

DS


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