Looking for a new grinder. I am not a bait maker but need to grind glands, meat for base material, etc.

I want something that’s works well but doesn’t have to be very large. Speed isn’t all that important but I want it to perform with minimal headaches.

How are the Cabelas commercial grinders and any other suggestions?

I’ve had a cabelas 1 Hp grinder for 8-9 years. It’s heavy but will grind whatever meat I stuff in it. No problems so far with it. Get a foot pedal with what ever you get to keep both hands free. There about 50$ and worth every penny.

Had the #32 grinder for about 15 years. Used to run a deer processing business. It has been a great grinder. Just don’t lend it to a friend.
Foot pad is a necessity if doing much grinding.
Got mine before bass pro bought them out so who knows how they are now.

I have used this one for a couple of years now and love it.
The auger seems to be a better design than my previous grinder.
GRINDER

I have one and has ground for years.

Good grinders in my experience. I have 3 grinders. 2 commercial and a smaller home made one I purchased at a trappers convention years ago. One is a Toledo and the other a Cabelas1 HP.

The smaller one I use for small volume of glands like rat and mink. I wear out the bushings in the cabelas frequently but they are plastic and that I would expect for the volume of use that it gets. They can be ordered by mail so I just keep them on hand.

I have ground tons of meat through the Cabelas grinder. Keep your knife sharp and the plates.

I purchased a stone sharpening kit that mounts onto your grinder and in a few seconds puts an edge on your knife and plates as needed. Got the stone set from some butcher outlet online. They are round and fit onto your auger shaft end. Just mount them , put your end ring back in place and turn on your grinder for a few seconds and you are good.

Most folks won't ever work grinders like I do but the Cabelas has been a work horse for us.

I will only be grinding a few gallons at a time. Will I be better served with the 1/2 hp grinder?

My thoughts are the smaller model will minimize waste lost inside the grinder. I don’t want to sacrifice the ability of grinding “tough” material though.

I would stick with the bigger size. I have had 3 of them for quite a few years and they work great. I bought mine from Northern hydraulics though. Broke the on/off switch on 1 and it's getting repaired right now but other than that no problems. Tried a few of the cheaper ones along the way and they were a total waste of money.

I got 2 of them the biggest one they make and a smaller one.
Both are grinding machines, going on 7 years old biggest one grinds
2 horses a year plus all the glands and stuff.
Smaller one grinds my chopped castor.
I like them both and will buy them again when they quit.

Here is the one we have, but sounds like you might not need this much meat grinder:

I have two of the largest Cabela's Meat Grinders and like em. Chain Saw and Wood Chipper handles my tough jobs

look at lem.