Cleaned up the old Enterprise stuffer.

[muddydogs]

I've had this old stuffer for quite a few years and have been using it quite often as of late. I always kept the bowl clean and the stuffer wiped down in general but the black finish was kind of beat up and I knew the gears and screw had a buildup of grease. Well after a bunch of wire wheel work with a grinder and drill as well as a half dozen Dremel tool wire wheels I had the old finish off and the built up of gunk in every nook and cranny. Took some extra time to clean out the screw threads as the old grease was really packed into the threads. In truth it was a messy job and kind of gross thinking that I used this stuffer to stuff my food granted the bowl and stuffer plate was always clean but the rest of the stuffer really wasn't. After the finish was removed I boiled every piece which left a nice greasy slim in the pot, the parts were then baked dry. After everything was dry I coated the parts with vegetable oil and baked everything at 400 degrees for an hour or so. Here is the results.

20161210_123822_zpsbu5efoqh.jpg

• muddydogs
• Dec 10, 2016

20161210_123836_zpsuqls3gdr.jpg

• muddydogs
• Dec 10, 2016

I had to rework the crank handle as the original pin was sloppy in the crank hole allowing the wood handle to slop back and forth about an inch so I used stainless steel hardware to remount the handle. I also mounted the stuffer on a new poly board with stainless hardware and purchased 2 clamps just to hold the stuffer to the counter so I don't have to clean up my other clamps when I want to stuff. I picked up a cheap travel sized pillowcase at WalMart to cover the stuffer with when in storage.

 

[pc farmer]

Looks great. That's the best stuff you can get. Can't break it


I have one also.

 

[tony111]

Nice job on the stuffer. It turned out very nice. I have 2 of these,one I have cleaned up and another that is very rustic. I love the pillowcase idea. That will give the Mrs. an excuse to go to wally world. Again nice work 

 

[whistech]

WOW, I would love to find one of those.     You done a really nice job of getting it cleaned up.

 

[muddydogs]

Thanks guys, it took a couple nights of wire wheeling but I got it done. Wished I would have decided to change the handle hardware when I was seasoning everything as I would have seasoned it as well to get that nice golden brown color on it. Guess I could take the handle apart and throw the bolt in the oven but I'm not sure how well the stainless would even take the seasoning.

The Walmart travel pillowcases make great dust covers, they come in 2 sizes and I used the bigger size for the stuffer. I have a dozen of them covering my rifle and shotgun reloading presses already in use.

This 15" x 20" case covers the stuffer great as well as Mec 9000 and 650 shotshell presses and Hornady's AP LNL press.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Travel-Pillow-Case/16595109

 

[muddydogs]

 
WOW, I would love to find one of those.     You done a really nice job of getting it cleaned up.

My Dad always lucks out and has picked up a couple 3 of these over the years. Around here in Utah people seem to know what these stuffers are and how much there worth. Even a rusted up pile missing parts is still bringing close to $100. Anything that looks halfway decent and has most of its parts is $150 plus.

 

[redheelerdog]

Love the stuffer, you did a great job on the renewal.

How much does it hold? How much have you stuffed with it?

Tell us more! 

 

[SmokinAl]

Man that thing is a beast!

Nice job on the rehab!

Al

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Looks great!i have an Enterprice too. I don't use it too much meat passes by the plunger and too much meat gets left in the bottom. Fun to look at though. Mine also has all the stuff for pressing cider.

 

[muddydogs]

 
Love the stuffer, you did a great job on the renewal.

How much does it hold? How much have you stuffed with it?

Tell us more! 

Mine is a 6 quart which holds around 12 pounds. I stuff all my loose ground like burger and breakfast sausage in the 1 lb poly meat bags. The last 5 years a couple buddies and myself have been fortunate at harvesting game animals so the old girl has been getting a workout. As luck would have it this season I filled both a cow and bull elk tag with in 2 minutes of each other so I had a lot of meat to play with and one of my buddies just took an elk down in Arizona so that added to the mix. This year alone I have stuffed over 100 lbs of burger, 100 lbs of ground breakfast sausage and 35lbs of Chorizo in poly 1lb bags, 20 summer sausage cases and 35lbs of bratwurst in hog cases not to mention the 60 lbs of jerky I smoked. Over Christmas I plan on stuffing and smoking another 20 summer sausage and 35lbs of bratwurst or other similar sausage. This last go will finish off the meat I have to play with.

Looks great!i have an Enterprice too. I don't use it too much meat passes by the plunger and too much meat gets left in the bottom. Fun to look at though. Mine also has all the stuff for pressing cider.

If a bunch of meat is coming over the top of the press plate then your mix isn't wet enough. Some guys say you need about a cup of water for every 5 lbs of meat, I have never really measured the amount I put in but I have stuffed enough that I can tell by the way the meat squeezes through my fingers while mixing it if it's wet enough or needs more liquid. I just ordered a wiper plate for $10 off ebay that should be here next week to try. They say it's supposed to eliminate the meat squeezing by the plate.

As for the meat left in the bottom I always figured that was left there to cook for dinner. When I switch from burger to breakfast sausage I don't worry about the 1/2 lb or so left in the bottom and just stuff it into a bag, at the end of the stuff a pull what's left in the bottom and drop it into the last filled poly bag if stuffing bags or make patties and fry it for dinner or breakfast the next morning.