Bought my original 5 pound cast aluminium stuffer (vertical hand crank model) from the Sausage Maker. The newer one holds 15 pounds and is all stainless except the piston. It was bought through Weston Supply and was a second choice, due to the original horizontal model not being suitable for stuffing very narrow 1/2 inch casings. They were quite accomodating when it came to the point where I knew what I needed and they were able to give me options until I found the right one. The cost of the 15 pound vertical model I have now. They also supplied me with the parts to make the custom stuffing tube. Kielbasa is basically just coursly ground pork with 30-40% fat, and lots of garlic and marjorum. Also black pepper can be used. I freeze mine and when cooking, place in a covered corning ware casserole dish with glass cover. Its baked with some water added to the corning up to about half the height of the sauages, and after about half an hour the sausage is flipped over to lightly brown the surface of the meat. I use fresh hog casings for this, and they are usually a bit larger than that used for italian. I make about a 12 to 16 inch length, and coil it for freezing. Many suppliers of sausage seasongs are fairly cheap, but thats usually because they are loaded with salt. Salt is really cheap and added to a spice mix can be more than 70% of the sausage seasoining mix. I like to buy mixes that have no added salt, or just use freshly ground spices and herbs, and add the necessary salt to taste. After mixing, spoon out a tablespoon or two and cook in a small frying pan until done, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. On a side note, the Cabelas meat grinder is listed as a 400 watt unit, while the NT model is listed as being 600 watts, or up to 1000 watts peak. With a lower wattage for the Cabela, I am not sure if it could handle tough meats, or the skin of pork. My 600 watt NT model does labor on that skin part of the cut, and will sometimes stop and trip the built in breaker. I just reverse a second and switch back to grinding again, and it will continue without a problem. Earl, Nice sources for spices and casings, and the stainless stuffer. My cast aluminium model stuffer looks similar, but is quite heavy. My stainless steel 15 pound model also looks similar to the one from Grizzly. The 15 pound stuffer I have has two gear ratios, slow, for stuffing and fast for retracting the piston nack up to the top. I plan to sell my old 5 pound stuffer for about $30 or so, provided we get decent weather during the late spring early summer garage sales.

Thank for all the input guys. Well I finally received my grinder and thought I would post a few pictures. I got it from Wally World for $38. It is nice I think. It has 5 settings from Corase to Fine. Has a automatic timer depending on the "corseness" you select. Removalable stainless cup and plastic lid. One single blade that works well. Today, I grounded 4 Scoth Bonnetts and 2 Bhuts. They turned out real "fine" which is what I was after. Attached are a few pics. Again, Thanks for the help and input. Bill

I have one also, and it works great on both raw and cooked meat, although I use the fine grind for raw meat and the coarse for cooked meat. It's great for when I make turkey or ham salad. It will also grind pickled vegetables fairly well for adding to said salad, although I usually prefer to chop those by hand. It does not work well on raw celery, and is absolutely terrible for grinding nuts - don't do it! I have a hand-cranked nut grinder for nuts, and I'm happy with that. The KA grinder is also not good for bread crumbs. But for meats, it is excellent, and it is worth it to get it for that. My favorite KA attachment is the grater, and it stays on the mixer most of the time. Besides cheese, I use it for grating hard vegetables, such as carrots, daikons, and onions, when I am adding them to soup. I do NOT like chunks of carrot in soup, but I add the carrot to give a bit of sweetness, and I want it to practically dissolve into the soup. Lars

Yup, mine is cracked also. It's been that way for years. not real sure how long as I've had it for at least 25 years but I'll guess that it's been cracked for 20 years at least. I just keep on using it. I probably use it about about 6 to 8 times a year.. Nancy