Old Motorized Grinder Find... Any advice?

[jiarby]

Hey guys...

A buddy of mine has gotten me interested in sausage making so I jumped at this item I found on OfferUp (a kind of phone app for selling stuff locally like on craigslist)

Looks like it's some old home made meat grinding rig with a big motor, a bunch of gears and pulleys, all on a poorly made welded angle iron cart.

Specs: 
Enterprise 32 Meat Grinder
Ajax 2hp Motor 1715rpm with a bunch of gears and pulleys

It's got a v-groove pulley wheel on the motor shaft, a large (maybe 12inch) pulley wheel with a mechanical linkage to a much smaller gear wheel that drives about a 6-7" gear wheel that finally turns the grinder.

It came with a set of various grinding plates and 4-blade knives.

The wife approval factor is very low on how kludgy it all looks.

Additionally, it shakes, rattles and rolls like a 1915 Farm-All tractor..  The mechanical linkage is not tight between big belt pulley and the gears.  Also, the motor is only attached onto the cart with a couple door hinges one one side... so the motor kinda bounces a little.
Even so, it runs. 

When i disconnect everything the motor purrs like a kitten.

OK...

Here are my questions...

It this thing worth messing with??  It looks like the makings of a heavy duty durable meat grinding station... but the plates and knives are a little rusty.. and I'm not sure if that linkage can be improved on.

Also, a 2HP motor sounds like ALOT of power... I was imagining doing this with a much smaller 1/4hp motor that I have. This thing weighs a ton! 

Any advice on taking this pile of crap and ending up with a working meat grinder!??

Thx, 

Glenn in AZ 

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

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• jiarby
• May 27, 2017

 

[mosparky]

Being I don't have a grinder, I'd use it. It could possibly use a spring on the motor mount for belt tension. That might smooth it out some. The upper pulley looks like it was intended for a flat belt. Best fix here would be to get a flat belt pulley for the bottom (motor) and a flat belt. I only say that because of the notched coupling between the upper pulley and the gear. If you have a way to duplicate this on a v belt pulley then that would be the way to go, but few people have access to that kind of tooling. I like the positive drive a v belt gives. I worked with an old Southbend lathe with a flat belt drive. Everytime you put it under a heavy load the belt jumped off. I think this will be an issue with the v belt running on that flat pulley and may still be the case even after being switched over to use a flat belt. But one could dismiss it as a saftey feature too. Maybe it was intended to work like that. If you put something in it that requires too much effort, the belt jumps and nothing gets broke.

 I'm not sure if your 1/4 hp motor will work or not. Try it and see. That's alot of gear reduction which will work in favor of the smaller motor. The hinges look a little light duty for the size and weight of the 2 hp and the belt is a tad long. Looks like it is almost at the limit of adustment allowed by the hinge mount. Probably stretched out a bit.

 I don't see where the linkage needs improving as long as the screw on the shaft will tighten enough to keep it engaged. It might be a tad sloppy but you want it to be able to be taken apart. The slop may contribute slightly to it being jumpy but under load all the slop will move to one side and be a very positive drive.

 One thing I would absolutely do if fabricate some sort of guard to go over all those open gears and pullies. I don't care if it's just a cardbord box or taped up cardboard peices, cover that drive !! Your hands, sleeves and such will be all around that area. THAT KINDA STUFF DON'T GIVE WARNING SHOTS AND ARE MERCILESS.

 All in all, I would build a guard, clean/oil everything, put a tension spring on motor, paint whatever rust offends me, clean up/sharpen blades & plates (or replace) and use it. Address the other issues as they arrive and become to big a PITA to ignor.

 

[DanMcG]

Personally I'd throw out all the added gears and belts and buy a hand crank for it. Or for about 70 bucks you can buy a new #32 and save a lot of work and headaches. but thats just my opinion

 

[bluewhisper]

How would you take the auger out for cleaning?

+1 on the guards, until then don't wear a necktie while running it.

 

[jiarby]

There is a thumb nut on the larger gear wheel, then it comes off and you can pull out the auger. 

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• jiarby
• May 28, 2017

 

[dward51]

I would make some sort of aluminum sheet metal guard to cover the gears and belt if you are going to keep it motorized.  Other than the potential hazard of getting pulled into those with loose clothing, etc.. while using it, it should work.  The other hazard would be the shallow depth of the throat for the feed.  It's tempting to use fingers to give the meat a little push.  With a shallow feed and a 2hp motor it would only take one "little bit too much" and it would end badly.  Get a stomper also.

You can still buy #32 sized grinder plates in both high carbon steel and stainless steel if you need to replace those.  You could also lap those on some carbide grit sandpaper on a flat smooth surface such as a piece of granite or plate glass and probably recover those.  You want to make sure they are both flat and the knife has sharp edges to cut rather than mush the meat through the plate. 

Also just a FYI, there is a similar #22 Enterprise geared and belt driven grinder on Ebay for $375 right now (and that one is smaller than the #32 plate sized ones).   You might be able to clean it up and sell it for enough to buy a nice large modern stainless steel model if you don't want to use this one.

 

[bluewhisper]

I have one of these diamond-embedded sharpening "stones" which can sharpen blades well. It can also grind plates but that takes a really long time. These work with water as a lube.

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• bluewhisper
• May 28, 2017

 

[jiarby]

It also came with these:

two aluminum stuffing horns, a bunch of blades and various plates, and a push rod. 

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• jiarby
• Jun 1, 2017

 

 

[jiarby]

I have disassembled everything, sandblasted the frame, gears and pulleys.. painted everything, put on new casters, cleaned up the grinder. Replaces all the rusty nuts and bolts that hold everything together. Fixed a couple welds on the cart frame, and straightened the welded on motor hinges, so the motor will sit flat now... and I will use a c-clamp on the other side to hold the motor down. Easy to remove to take the belt off. 

Still want to rebuild the electrical wiring (on/off switch) for the motor. It's pretty dried out. Also need to work on the plates and knives.  

Also, need to decide the pulley configuration.  As someone already pointed out there is a mismatch... a v-groove pulley on the motor and a flat belt pulley on the grinder gear assembly. It seemed to work without the belt flying off when i tested it at the time it was purchased.  I'm trying to keep expense down, so replacing the flat belt pulley would be expensive, plus the existing pulley has an integrated love-joy coupler in the casting, so replacing that with a v-groove pulley (unlikely to have the came built in coupler) would require re-engineering the whole drive train.  Then that opens a big can of worms, since the cart was designed for it the way it is...  

No, the flat belt pulley has to stay.  So, that leaves two choices.  But a new v-groove belt and just see how it runs... if it sucks then later I can always try out a flat belt motor pulley. 

Choice #2 is to find a flat belt motor pulley and also a flat belt of the correct length.   Both add some expense.   

I'm kind of a K.I.S.S. guy, so I'm going to try it like it is and see how the belt behaves.   

I am waffling on the grinder...   for the most part the tinning is in great shape, but pretty tarnished.  The ring threads are a little rusty, but I can wire brush that and just keep it oiled. It would cost about $110 to have the whole thing re-tinned.. plus shipping both ways. AND, it will take about a month before it comes back. Not sure it's worth it. Besides, I am seriously jonesing to run some meat through this thing! I can't wait that long.  I can ALWAYS send it off for tinning if I hate it later. 

But, with everything else all cleaned up and repainted it sure would look great to have the grinder all shiny too. I'm inclined to just use it as-is.. and just say it adds to the charm to have a vintage piece. 

About the grinder...   There were not any bearings like i see in some #32 grinders online.  Not sure if they are missing, or were never present. Do any of you guys have an old #32 without bearings??

Once it goes all back together I will figure out a plexiglass or sheet metal belt cover for safety... I agree with spending teh money on that for sure. 

I am also interested in a feed hopper... is there an after market stainless steel hopper with a feed tube that sits down on top of the oval throat of the #32?? 

I also am looking for a stainless steel catch pan (about the size of a "1/2 hotel" pan) maybe 6" deep.  Maybe a rubbermaid buss-tub would work too.  

I will probably be grinding by Monday! 

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• jiarby
• Jun 2, 2017

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• jiarby
• Jun 2, 2017

 

[jiarby]

I bought some 100 grit emery cloth sandpaper sheets for the rough rust removal..

And some various grits of silicone carbide sandpaper (220, 500, 1000, 1200 grit) for to really get them right. I will tape these down on a granite topped patio coffee table and then to the "karate kid thing"....  wax on, wax off!  

I have about 10 knives and 8-9 plates. 

No kidney plate for stuffing though..  anyone have a spare and want to make a trade for a plate/knife??

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• jiarby
• Jun 2, 2017

 

[djlemme]

I'm hoping you'll update on this, did you finish? Did you grind up a storm? I'm working on a stand alone motorised #32 myself but I would of taken your grinder in a heart beat. Then deal with the boss after lol.

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[jiarby]

So far I have the frame and the motor done (just cosmetic clean up and paint). The switch is half done. The cart had some bad casters so I removed them and bolted the whole thing on a mini furniture dolly from Northern Tools. Not the prettiest but very convenient.

I have been cleaning up the grinding plates which is going well.. but tedious. Especially when your wife wants to know how I'm going to get the rust out of the holes. (I'm not.. just going to call the sausage "iron fortified").

The biggie is that I shipped the grinder to Ohio to get retinned. It will cost a little money but come back in brand new condition. The cart looked so good all cleaned up and painted that it seemed like cutting corners to put the heavily tarnished and slightly rusty grinder on top. It was probably useable as is, but now it's going to be a crown jewel. It won't be back here in AZ for two more weeks.

Engineering wise I still need to figure out a plexiglass or sheet metal shield for the gears and belt pulley and maybe adding a belt tensioner/idler to reduce belt slapping. That will wait until the grinder is back from replating.

 

[djlemme]

Sweet, thanks for the update let us know when you get her right. As soon as mines done I'll start a threat and share. Cheers!

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