The other day I happened to remember that I have an old crank 'em meat grinder out in the shed so I went out and got it. I haven't looked in that box for years. It's an old Universal #1 with all four grinding plates. Written on the outside of the box in my father's handwriting was the word "Ma's", indicating to me that the grinder belonged to my grandmother.





Doing some research online I found they are made of cast iron. The surface of the grinder feels a little rough like it's covered with little dits, feeling kind of like sand. The online piece I read said to wash it in hot soapy water and then afterwards lightly sand it with a fine grit paper and finish with a light misting of mineral oil. What say any of you?

The grinding disks appear to have some rust on the inside and on some surface areas. How best to deal with that?





The screw looks OK, as does the inside of the hopper but there's some rust on screw threads:





I'd like to get this thing cleaned up before giving a test drive with real food. Any advice you folks have would be greatly appreciated. I have this one memory of it being used. My grandmother liked to grind up some peanuts to add to egg salad for making sandwiches. It sounds strange but it sure was good and I remember her grinding the nuts. Haven't thought about that in years!

I have one just like that under the chops right brand.
Ground some sausage with it.
I think with use and a little mineral oil it will be fine.
Be careful using any sort of rust remover it could eat the tin off.
My opinion is to oil it up and get a better grinder if you are serious about grinding meat.
Nuts and such it would be just fine.

Thanks, Worth. I 'm currently using a meat grinding attachment on my old stand mixer but thought this old Universal might come in handy if the other broke in the middle of grinding up a butt. At least until I could buy a replacement.

It looks fine to me. I would grind some raw russet potatoes as a way of cleaning it. I grind raw russets to make potato dumplings. Yum!

Maybe even some cheap fat.
Rust means flavor.

The fourth cutter with zero teeth is uncommon. I've never seen one. What was it used for? The only thing I can imagine is grinding grains to make flour.

I don't have a clue.
Mine doesn't have that one.
Probably lost after almost 100 years.
Maybe flour from grain as you said.

My mother had one of these, which I now have. She used it to make chicken salad and to grind fresh coconuts for her coconut cakes at Christmas.
If she was grinding the white coconut she would always grind a slice or two of white loaf bread first. It worked great to make sure the coconut came out nice and white.

It's a shame these old relics aren't worth any more than they are.

Worth--- LOL.. I got a neighbor that loves the challenge of finding something. He can't pass a good will store without going inside. I casually mentioned I'd like to have an old hand crank meat grinder. A month later he shows up with one. He said, "I had to pay 3 bucks for this one, I tried to get one cheaper. If its to much, you don't have to pay it." I was expecting 20 dollars.

steve ok wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:34 pm The fourth cutter with zero teeth is uncommon. I've never seen one. What was it used for? The only thing I can imagine is grinding grains to make flour.

What you are seeing is the underside. On the top side it says "Nut Butter Grinder".

I'd just start using it. A little rust won't hurt you. Honestly, it looks to be in near perfect shape.

Wash it in hot water and dry it off then apply a thin coat of cooking spray to stop it from rusting, I also do this when I save my machine and wrap the blades in paper towels to protect them from banging around each other.

Those old Universal grinders used to be in every kitchen. My mother had one almost permanently attached to a corner of the kitchen table. Never had a chance to rust. If it had, a Brillo pad wound have cleaned it off without scratching the casrt

Martin