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Question: Are the piston rod and crank gears made of plastic or metal?
Document: The whole thing is made of heavy metals, stainless steel exterior cleans easily and the gears and groves are all metal. I don't mind the hard plastic stuffing tips at all and once I got the hang of getting the casings on it we ended up processing 30 lbs of meat through it like a breeze.The steady/easy crank lets the meat get funneled through the case at an even pace. The plunger is secure and doesn't allow any meat through as long as you leave about an inch of head space at the top for it to get a good grip.
If only everything you buy worked as well as this! After using other methods of stuffing sausage casings, I would never dream of making home-made sausage any other way. Since purchasing in Dec 2010 I've put about 80lbs of sausage through this thing in 5-10lb batches without a hiccup. I typically use this for bratwurst/kielbasa sized stuffing, not breakfast links, so no idea if it works well for that size sausages.Pros:+ stainless steel, easy to clean.+ good weight, seems solidly built.+ mounts easily and securely with included clamps.+ pressure relief valve, less air in the casings.+ can easily be operated solo, unlike some other stuffers that take 2 people.+ sausage mix does not heat up due to friction like screw-feed stuffers.+ sausage mix does not heat up due long stuffing time like other stuffers that have slow feed rate.+ metal gears for long life (other brands use plastic that have a history of breaking)Cons:- you'll need some food grade grease to re-lubricate after cleaning or piston o-ring will bind on cylinder wall.
For the price, I don't think I could've found a better sausage stuffer. I read all the previous reviews and figured I couldn't go wrong. I was right. This one is sturdy, stainless steel and has metal gears, which are much more durable than the plastic ones on some models. And I prefer the hand crank much more than electric ones because you can easily control the rate of stuffing the casings, which saves time in the long run and creates much less of a mess.I am a hunter/sportsman and am sure I will be using this to make sausage for years to come!
Great stuffer for smaller batches of sausage. Metal gears are made to last. Cleans up easy. Only reason for 4 stars is that it comes with plastic tubes instead of stainless tubes.
I bought this product over a couple others that were slightly cheaper because this one had metal gears. The others had plastic gears and some buyers complained of cracking the gear teeth. I have made over 50 pounds of sausage now and feel that I can now express an informed opinion. The product works great and I am happy with my choice! !
"Great product" really says it all. Hands down the best value out there when comparing apples to apples.What I like: A couple of features I would consider to be mandatory for a stuffer in this category: all stainless steel construction and all metal gears (the latter being an absolute must if you're processing lots of meat). Looks and feels like quality - it's built like a tank. The piston and o-ring assembly fit very tight in the cylinder so you don't have meat squishing back up above the piston.
After massively struggling to stuff sausage using the Kitchen Aid attachment, we said 'no way are we doing that again!' This 5 pound stuffer is the ticket! Perfectly full sausages with consistent size. We filled 5 pounds of sausage in about 5 minutes! Get one of these!!!! It is well worth the money and the ONLY way to do it. The steel gears eliminate any worry about stripped plastic gears although it took almost no effort to turn the crank.
After trying different methods of stuffing sausages, from the Kitcheaid detachment to a full meat grinder machine, this machine does take the prize.It is very well built. It feels solid and all the important parts are made of metal. It also has a tight fitting disk that efficiently pushes the meat down and also has a air relief  valve that allows the piston to get to the meat before it applies any pressure to the meat.I was flabbergasted with how easy and fast I did 3 lbs of sausage.It is so easy that I could do sausage all day long with a smile on my face.Cleaning is very easy because the machine comes apart in no time.
The LEM sausage stuffer worked like a charm, one person can easily operate the stuffer and handle the sausage casing. It is much easier to grind the meat, then mix the seasonings, etc. into the mixture then pack the LEM canister, then mount it in the LEM stuffer frame. The LEM stuffer is well made with most parts made from stainless steel and it is easily dissembled for cleaning. Also the critical moving parts such as the threaded stem and piston gearing are made from metal. There may be cheaper sausage stuffers, but this LEM unit should last a lifetime if properly taken care of, not that it is fragile.Another benefit of the LEM sausage stuffer will be to make Boudin.
This is a great stuffer for your money and is easy to clean and load product. And unlike other stuffers that look identicalLem has metal gears not plastic!
Answer: Metal