New Acquisition: Vintage American Slicing Machine

[58limited]

I like to make beef jerky but have a hard time slicing the meat thin enough by hand. I decided to buy a slicer at Academy Sporting Goods - $100.00 plus tax. The one from Academy broke within five minutes. I got mad and basically told myself "I should have known better than to trust new stuff especially when everything else in my kitchen is 60+ years old AND STILL WORKS!"

 

I got on ebay and found an American Slicing Machine for $80.00. I looked at the listing history and it had been listed at least twice before with no takers. So, naturally now that I'd taken an interest so did everyone else but I won it for $175.00 (I looked at the others listed and they were all listed for $300.00 or more). I received it today and one of the girls at work who also makes jerky went and bought a bunch of meat and we tested it out (after cleaning the residues from its last use long ago - eewwe!) and it works well.

 

I can't find a model number but the serial number is A984166. There is a tag on the side listing dozens of patent numbers. I looked up the lowest patent number and it was issued 6/19/1928 and the highest number was issued 10/24/1939 so the slicer was probably a prewar model. The patent tag and the two manufacturer tags are plastic or similar material. It has an Emerson 1/3 HP motor and the slicer is HEAVY! Here are the pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is one (maybe two) parts missing. There is a guard on the back where the sliced meat falls that is missing. It can be seen in the picture below of another slicer of the same model.

 

 

This is the front right of the slicer shown above. On the base towards the back there is a stainless plate that is missing on mine. The two retaining knobs are present but the plate is missing. I'm not sure if this is a separate part or if it is part of the missing guard pictured above.

 

 

 

[rockland1]

Slicing Machine

The way that thing is made it will never wear out.

 

[paulg]

Made in Chicago

Leave it to Chicago for fine manufacturing.
Heavens, this thing has lasted so long... The construction looks magnificent. This looks like money well spent.
Actually this is the sort of appliance one would enjoy sprucing up like your sports car. It's asking for cool detailing.

 

[retropia]

Cool looking machine! It looks like it has another 100,000 miles left in it.

 

[ovrphil]

Ditto - it's a great machine - are you planning to restore it or leave as is, minus the mechanical detailing?

 

[58limited]

I'm going to disassemble it to clean and regrease everything. The grease is pretty thick and it is hard to use the thickness adjuster which is a series of greased rods and slides. I can probably have a local shop make the missing parts out of stainless if I decide it is necessary. The parts mostly help to keep the machine clean by keeping the meat from touching anything, and the parts are easily removed for cleaning. I can just wipe the machine after each use.

 

If I really want it to look new, I can redo the porcelain. As seen in the pictures there are several chipped and worn areas. One thing I didn't mention: the cast iron stud off to the right where one of the meat tray slide rods mounts is broken. It stays in place when the machine is used but I'll have my local machinist weld it together for me.

 

I have to decide where to put this thing - it is darned heavy and I don't want to have to pick it up and move it every time I use it. It is a commercial unit from back when they didn't spare the cast iron.

 

[xpanam]

I love Beef Jerky.

Hi David! So do I. I have a Nesco FD-61 Snackmaster®. I have been using Santa Marias tri tips roast,very good. I know slicing the meat thin enough by hand is difficult. I was freezing it some what to slice, but I thought I would get frost bite in my left hand LOL! I am now on the prowl for something like yours! Looks Hobart built very nice! What do you use for beef and spices? Rob.

 

[58limited]

I have been using lean brisket because I like the grain of the beef, but any roast on sale works well. I'm experimenting with the seasonings, trying to develop a good recipe. Soy sauce, Worcestershire, black pepper and liquid smoke figure into most of my attempts. But, just coating the meat with Stubb's BBQ sauce is good too.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Looks alot like a Hobart Cafe slicer.

Not many horizontal feed slicers show up.  Most are the angle feed machines.  This is the first American slicer I have seen.  In 19 years of foodservice I mostly see Hobart, Berkel and Globe.  What a cool find!

WK78

 

[58limited]

Nick, I don't know the history of the American Slicing Machine Co. but they seem to be pretty common commercial slicers up until the 1950s or 60s.

 

Berkel expanded to the U.S. as the U.S. Slicing Machine Company in 1909 but changed to Berkel, Inc when the factory changed locations in 1914.

 

Last night I sliced some lean brisket to make jerky. The meat was half frozen and the slicer worked quite well. I tried slicing unfrozen raw meat but the performance is not good - the meat is too soft and the spinning blade bunches it and stretches it making for irregular cuts. I'm trying some jerky seasoning that I bought at Academy - Hi-Country brand. I was dismayed when I saw that it has MSG - should have read the box in the store. Hi-Country's website lists MSG-free versions so I ordered some from them.

[this post was last edited: 12/14/2013-09:23]

 

[58limited]

I just closed a deal on the missing parts for this slicing machine - a parts slicer came up on ebay and I bought the three guards that are missing.

 

These did not impair the operation of the slicer by their absence but will make clean up easier and will help keep things more sanitary. I used the slicer to slice 7 lbs of beef for more jerky tonight: Cajun, sweet & hot, and three pepper flavors.

 

 

Rob, here is a jerky recipe a friend gave to me that is really good, ends up tasting like teriyaki:

 

1 - 16oz bottle soy sauce

1 bottle liquid smoke (I used applewood)

2 cups brown sugar

1 TBSP slat

 

Marinate overnight.

 

I also purchased some jerky seasoning from Academy but read the ingredients and it contains MSG. I went to their website and they have MSG-free versions so I ordered several flavors, that is what I'm using tonight. I bought their smoke packs too and added them as well.

 

[58limited]

I received the missing parts and started to clean the slicer. Every time I removed a part I found more filth, so I now have the slicer disassembled into its component parts. This filth was not in areas that come into contact with the meat being sliced but is a result of juices running into cracks to hidden areas, and to a build up of lubricating grease on some of the slide mechanism.

 

First picture shows part of the slice thickness mechanism located under the base. The slide rods have old hard nasty grease on them. I took this apart and cleaned it. I put just a little dab of grease at the contact points and it works much better now.

 

 

 

[58limited]

This picture, while not as good, shows the cleaned slice thickness mechanism. Note the slide rods look silver rather than black.

 

[58limited]

Next,

Various sheet metal covers cleaned and repainted.

 

[58limited]

New belt

The old one was falling apart, lots of old rubber debris in this area. Also cleaned the sharping stones. I'll post more pics as the assembly process continues.

 

[toploader55]

WOW...

Belt Drive ???

Mostly all the machines I've used have been Direct Gear Driven Blades.

 

[tolivac]

The pictures make me think of old slicer machines retired from commercial service ending up at hunting clubs and camps.Common in this area.Same with grinders.Lots of deer meat to cut or grind!

 

[58limited]

I put the machine back together yesterday and it functions much better: the adjustments are smooth and easy now that the old hard grease is gone. I thought that the base and major parts were porcelain enameled but they are actually painted with a thick coat of good quality paint - I know because I chipped a few small areas and other areas were already missing paint - mostly at mounting points and along the bottom edge of the base. I didn't touch it up as most of the base is good. If it gets bad later on, I may actually have it enameled or powder coated.

 

The juice tray that fits on the base by the bottom of the blade doesn't fit correctly - there were some design changes in this model and the tray has a lip on the left that bumps against the thickness adjuster base. I talked with the guy I bought it from and his adjustment base has a notch for the lip so I bought it from him along with a couple of extra spare parts. One problem: he mailed them priority mail on 2/4/14 with delivery expected 2/7/14 and they have not arrived. Last tracking update was "Depart USPS Sort Facility Oshkosk, WI 54901 on 2/5/14." I have sent several inquiries to the post office but haven't had a response - I'm trying to see if the weather has delayed it or if it was misdirected.

 

This is what I hate about USPS: they don't always scan packages every step of the way like UPS and FEDEX. You would think that their computer program would be set up to alert them that a package that was scanned as it was loaded onto the truck did not get scanned at the destination and therefore they need to look for it before the truck leaves. If the parts are lost, I can simply grind the lip off of the juice tray and it will work but the notch and lip set up would catch more drippage and keep things cleaner.

 

I sliced a 3 lb shoulder roast and made more jerky last night - it sure is nice to be able to get a consistent thickness for my jerky now. Plus, if I want to, I can buy my favorite deli meat whole and slice it for myself. There are a few meats that I may mail order since they are not found around here, specifically the brands recommended on NOLAcuisine.com for his version of Central Grocery's Muffuletta. I would eat a Muffuletta for lunch every day if I had the meat, otherwise they are rather pricey at the local deli shops.

 

[58limited]

The rest of the parts arrived today and now everything on the slicer fits as it should. I'm assuming the parts were delayed by the weather but the USPS never responded to my inquiries about this MIA package.

The picture below shows the replacement juice tray in place. The slide bar covers part of it but you can see where the lip starts to form on the left end and fits into a notch on the sliding base that holds the rear guard to the left of the blade - this slides back and forward to adjust the thickness of the meat slices.