Paying to have your meat ground

[swampratt]

I grind too many. I think I will be ahead of the game just getting the grinder.
In the last 4 years i had 3 hogs and 3 cattle given to me and my buddy. Probably need a good grinder of my own.

 

[dennishoddy]

For those that are getting mush, the blades being sharp is very important. The clearance between the blade and the sizing plate is critical. People will replace the knives, or sharpen them, and not replace the front plate resulting in a fit like this:

When you sharpen your blade/knife you have effectively made it thinner, so even if you get a new plate, you will still have clearance issues.
Most grinders have shim washers included when purchased new. A lot of folks don' t know what those are for.
They are used at the back of the auger where it enters the gear box to move the assembly forward to make correct contact between the plate and knife. My Cabella's Carnivore grinder came with 3 shims.
Most grinders bought used will not have the shims unless somebody previously installed them.

 

[swampratt]

I never checked the plate for flatness.
I do use shims on mine though as being a mechanic I seen the rear portion was worn from iron on iron contact.Thought that needs a shim.
I stacked some valve spring shims and i smeared a light coat of vaseline between them.
I have also used crisco for shim lube.
I will need to check my plates Thanks Dennis.

OH and the plate before the shims would sit below flush and not work at all ,, that is the old one in the video.

 

[Erick]

Academy had a great deal on a grinder and slicer recently. It was their cheap version but they had good reviews. You can borrow mine if you want.