Keep plates and knives as a set..never separate. .they wear together.
Put auger, knives, plates, lock nut in freezer for 3 hours prior to grinding..helps keep meat from going mushy..proteins prematurely binding.
The meat to be ground should be chilled, but not frozen..makes grinding and moving the meat through the grinder more efficient.
Cheers
Steven
You won't regret it.
I have the 1 hp version. We can't feed meet fast enough for grinding.
I've used the stuffer attachments, and it's pretty fast, you have to be on your toes to not overstuff. One thing I just got for my next sausage making venture is a cheap plastic lazy susan. Will cover it with saran wrap, and hopefully will make coiling sausage by myself easier.
Buy or make a poker. .small instrument with 6 or 7 needles sticking out the bottom..use it numerous times per each foot of coiled sausage you see any air pockets..it will allow sir to escape..then link the sausage..ie make links then put linked units into freezer for 1 hour..then cut the groups of links into enough for each bag...proportions..then chamber seal each bag..the 1 hour in the freezer will help from having the vacuum sealing process misshapen the sausage.
I had Big bore 14 bring a 1 . 3/4 hp cabelas grinder back from USA..we wanted LOTS OF burger from 2 1500 pound moose last year..had well over 120 pounds of grinding plus pork shoulders to add for fat content..ground 3x..done in minutes..one collecting full trays, me feeding the tube of the grinder , Susan keeping hopper full..took longer to clean up than grind.
Good choice
Steven