3012 S.Catherine, Lansing, Michigan 48911
I first saw this meat grinder in the flea market at the West
Branch, Michigan, engine show.
It was different than others I have seen. It has a memorable
hopper on top and ‘Made in Poland’ cast in the handle. It
was the first one I ever saw that had the auger completely worn
out. So, it was hard to imagine how many tons of Polish sausage had
gone through it. I hauled it around for the rest of the summer and
told people it was going to be my next engine. No one I showed it
to could imagine how I was going to do it.
I got the steel for the base from a scrap store display rack.
The brass flywheel I bought at the Wyandotte model show in
1992.
The small lubricator and grease cups I got at the Portland,
Indiana, show. I bored out the meat grinder to fit a heavy steel
wall tube with a needle bearing on each end for the main
bearings.
I drilled a few shallow holes on the outside of the steel tube
and poured babbitt inside the hopper to lock it in place. The oiler
for the mains is inside the hopper.
I made up a O.D. crankshaft with a 2′ stroke. I used the
head, piston, brass connecting rod from an old compressor. It has a
11/4‘ bore. The aluminum head had ball
check valves so I had to make new valves, guides and seats. The
gears are Volkswagen and the muffler is a horse hames knob. The
cam, governor and all the other parts I made from brass. I cut a
4’ piece out of the handle and made the crank. It has been a
fun project. It starts easy and runs nice on propane or gas. I hope
to show it a lot this summer.
