Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2012 20:53:41 GMT -7
Yes, you can get motorized meat grinders, sure they are expensive...but you can pick up good old meat grinders and rig it up to work for you better than most of them you can get off the market...and it is still usable as a hand crank grinder should the power go out! This is something Jim made about 45 years ago, and it is still working on the original motor and all parts (even the belts!). I thought this was something that a few of you would be interested in.
He used a regular sized hand crank meat grinder (keeping the handle for in case the power goes out and he needs to use it manually). He put a 1/4HP motor on a heavy piece of 2x10 lumber about 6' long. Then he attached a plug in to a switch and rigged the switch to the motor. The motor was then attached to a gear reducing bar (he calls it a jack shaft) with grease serts on each end to make it work freely by a small belt driven pulley. Next to this is a slightly larger (but still small) pulley wheel that is attached to a much larger pulley wheel that has replaced the hand crank on the grinder. Am I making any sense? If not, I hope pics below will help.
Be sure to check the tension in the pulley wheel on the grinder end to be sure the belt is not slipping and that it is not binding up and causing the bearings in the grinder to overheat. If the motor turns the wheels to fast, it will cause excessive friction and the heat WILL burn up the grinder, just feel the bottom and sides of the grinder regularly by touching it and feeling for heat. If you feel ANY heat, it's working to fast and needs to be shut off and cooled or the wheel on the grinder bigger and the one on the motor end smaller. The larger the difference in the wheel sizes the more the rpm will be reduced on the grinder and cause less heating issues. Get the smallest speed motor possible, no more than 17rpm and reduce from there.
Use a small piece of hard wood small enough to press meat, but large enough it will not reach the internal grinder parts. NEVER EVER try to press or move meat with your fingers!!! He knows people who have lost fingers doing this, and a man who lost his entire hand!! NEVER EVER EVER USE YOUR HANDS TO PRESS THE MEAT!!! Make sure the meat is rinsed clean and cut into manageable chunks like you would normally put in your grinder if hand cranking, let the meat thoroughly cool and drain from as much moisture as possible. The less water and mush to the meat, the easier it is to grind. Cut chunks of fat up seperate so you can throw it in regularly while doing the meat so it is dispersed evenly throughout the entire process.
He puts it on the board so he can set it across 2 chairs and put a milk crate under the grinder with a bowl on it to catch the meat and he can be as comfortable as possible while doing the work. It works the same for when he grinds by hand. It is put on the board with nuts & bolts, when the grinding is done, he takes it of the board, cleans everything up, puts it back together and leans it up in a corner until it's needed again. He made me one a couple years ago, but we are still trying to find the right size wheel for the grinder end. Until then, he grinds my meat for me with his.
This is all exactly what he said to me and how he said it. I hope some of you can make sense out of this. If you have any questions, please ask and I will clarify with him what the answer is. Now for the pics...
He used a regular sized hand crank meat grinder (keeping the handle for in case the power goes out and he needs to use it manually). He put a 1/4HP motor on a heavy piece of 2x10 lumber about 6' long. Then he attached a plug in to a switch and rigged the switch to the motor. The motor was then attached to a gear reducing bar (he calls it a jack shaft) with grease serts on each end to make it work freely by a small belt driven pulley. Next to this is a slightly larger (but still small) pulley wheel that is attached to a much larger pulley wheel that has replaced the hand crank on the grinder. Am I making any sense? If not, I hope pics below will help.
Be sure to check the tension in the pulley wheel on the grinder end to be sure the belt is not slipping and that it is not binding up and causing the bearings in the grinder to overheat. If the motor turns the wheels to fast, it will cause excessive friction and the heat WILL burn up the grinder, just feel the bottom and sides of the grinder regularly by touching it and feeling for heat. If you feel ANY heat, it's working to fast and needs to be shut off and cooled or the wheel on the grinder bigger and the one on the motor end smaller. The larger the difference in the wheel sizes the more the rpm will be reduced on the grinder and cause less heating issues. Get the smallest speed motor possible, no more than 17rpm and reduce from there.
Use a small piece of hard wood small enough to press meat, but large enough it will not reach the internal grinder parts. NEVER EVER try to press or move meat with your fingers!!! He knows people who have lost fingers doing this, and a man who lost his entire hand!! NEVER EVER EVER USE YOUR HANDS TO PRESS THE MEAT!!! Make sure the meat is rinsed clean and cut into manageable chunks like you would normally put in your grinder if hand cranking, let the meat thoroughly cool and drain from as much moisture as possible. The less water and mush to the meat, the easier it is to grind. Cut chunks of fat up seperate so you can throw it in regularly while doing the meat so it is dispersed evenly throughout the entire process.
He puts it on the board so he can set it across 2 chairs and put a milk crate under the grinder with a bowl on it to catch the meat and he can be as comfortable as possible while doing the work. It works the same for when he grinds by hand. It is put on the board with nuts & bolts, when the grinding is done, he takes it of the board, cleans everything up, puts it back together and leans it up in a corner until it's needed again. He made me one a couple years ago, but we are still trying to find the right size wheel for the grinder end. Until then, he grinds my meat for me with his.
This is all exactly what he said to me and how he said it. I hope some of you can make sense out of this. If you have any questions, please ask and I will clarify with him what the answer is. Now for the pics...