My question is in regards to the action and motion of the blade and shaft on a mini-flesher.Does the blade just spin circular or is there also some oscillating,back & forth movement? What principle does it operate on?(in removal of the flesh) I have this hairbrain idea I might be able to fabricate one from a straight-shaft air ratchet.Anybody think this would work or am I just pi**ing into the wind?LOL.
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This contraption has to be one of the best sounding and dumbest operations taxidermists are coerced into. It IS a rotary tool, it just spins. You, in turn, pull back on it as it turns and the IDEA is that the flesh just rolls off under the blade guard. What REALLY happens is that meat flies everywhere and sinew wraps around the spindle causing the grinder air motor to bog up and quit. For the money it will cost you to convert a grinder, you'll be ahead if you just go ahead and buy the darned contraption. If you're serious about taxidermy, then keep this site on your "Favorite List" and in about 6 months, you can come back and offer it For Sale to some other unsuspecting neophyte.
i personally have had a problem with this unit.like george says, the sinue wraps up and also collects under the blade guard., but my biggest bee-och is that (especially when you get down into the brisket (armpit) area where the hide is thin) it likes to grab a chunk of sinue and pull it up inside the guard. this causes the blade to bite in even further, creating a beautiful crescent shaped hole. you will want to take it apart to clean and oil it. this takes a half hour or so. hope you have a strong compressor too. i have a miniflesher you can buy!
I had a flesh all Mini-Flesher, it worked fine once you practiced with it. But it does spit flesh out the side, it is loud, and requires a good air compressor. I cut holes with my Quebec Lite the first time I tried to use it too. It is all a matter of learning how to use a machine. If I had only a few deer to do a year, I would have continued to use the mini-flesher or would have sent my hides out. In my opinion, it is not a flesher, but a shaver which is used after the pickle. I never tried to flesh a green hide with it. I could after some time, shave the face of a deer with it, which was much faster than with a knife.(for me) When I had some instruction on using it, we wore ear protection, and a plastic skirt or old shower curtain was hung around the shaving area to hold the flying debris. The hide was spread flat on a beam which was a must to be consistent shaving. Also, the teeth and guard have to be adjusted just right to shave correctly. But, if used correctly, it will shave a hide very thin.