Author Topic: How to disassemble Enterprise Sausage Stuffer (Read 3424 times)

Francis Drouillard · « **on:** August 13, 2018, 10:13:05 AM »

Good Day! ,

New to this forum and new to collecting cast iron. Please forgive me if this topic has been covered in another thread.

Any tips on removing the center jack screw on an 8 QT Enterprise Sausage Stuffer, Lard and Fruit Press? Mine won't come out from either the top or the bottom. I'm worried that I'll strip the key in the handle or its recess in the end of the small cog.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Frank

Jeff Friend · « **Reply #1 on:** August 13, 2018, 10:31:13 AM »

Welcome to our forum, Frank.

I just pulled my Enterprise press apart in about a minute, so it is pretty easy to do if nothing is stuck. Here is what I did.

1. Release the yoke latch and swing the yoke to the side.
2. Crank the screw down all the way until its threads are no longer engaged in the internal threads of the large bevel gear.
3. Pull the screw out of the bottom of the yoke. You may have to twist the screw to get it out.

Hope this is what you need.

Jeff

P. S. Drouillard is not a common name. Do you have any ancestors named George?

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #2 on:** August 13, 2018, 12:24:48 PM »

Jeff -- Thank you for the timely response! When attempting to remove from the screw shaft from the bottom, it gets to the point where turning the handle just spins the shaft. I'll try to muscle it out from there. It might just be some gunk holding it together.

Yes, George Drouillard and I have common ancestors. But as far as I know, he didn't have any known children so there's no direct lineage.

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2018, 01:27:44 PM »

Thanks to Jeff, I was able to wrestle the center screw out and remove the cogs. Turns out that there was a small nick in one of the threads near the end of the screw that was preventing it from being removed easily.

I have a few more questions about restoring this piece. (And yes, I've already searched non-member threads to find an answer.) Should I continue in this post or start new threads?

Q2: everything is broken down to cast iron and steel except for the wooden handle. Is there a way to remove the wood handle without damaging it?

Q3: what was the original finish on these pieces? Paint? Enamel? Japanning?

Q4: this piece is intended for use as a fruit press. After cleaning it up more, what type of finish would be best to use? Seasoning? Paint? Nickel plating? Japanning?

Wild huckleberries are now ripening, and it's easier to squeeze the juice out of them than clean them of stems.

Jeff Friend · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2018, 08:37:30 PM »

Frank,

Let me start by saying that I am not an expert on the Enterprise stuffer/press. I have one and have not done anything with it except sit it by the fireplace with a few old kettles and camp ovens. So, you will have to decide how you are going to proceed.

Q2. Probably not. It looks like the pin for the handle was heated up and peened flat on the inboard side of the crank. You could file that place off and press out the pin if yo are willing to make a new pin to put the handle back on the way the factory did it.

Q3. Probably japanning. That is what the coating on mine looks like. There appears to be some on the yoke, the underside of the tank, even on the food side of the plunger.

Q4. Probably not real japanning. Real japanning is made with asphaltum and other stuff that probably isn't even close to NSF certified. I know that in the day, a lead compound was used as a drier. Since you are going to press acidic fruit juice, a powder coat finish may be worth looking into. Google "food safe powder coating" and see what you come up with. Look for a coating that meets the appropriate NSF or FDA specification. Cast iron cookware-type seasoning may not be suitable for what you are doing.

Jeff

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #5 on:** September 05, 2018, 10:59:17 AM »

Filed down the nick at the end of the center screw. It now moves freely through the gears.

Almost done with my electrolysis setup. Got my washing soda, and I'm using a 20-gallon galvanized metal trash can within a 55 gallon plastic drum with the top cut off. The Enterprise press barrel can easily be fully submerged within the trash can. I'm thinking of dangling another piece of metal connected to the anode inside the suspended barrel to get its innards nice and clean. Looks like I have plenty of room to do so.

Finding a manual battery charger in California was nigh impossible. Finally found a Schumacher DY-1420 2/20/55/140A 12V Manual Wheel Charger, which should arrive next week. Will share photos of setup and the results when its all done.

Cheryl Watson · « **Reply #6 on:** September 06, 2018, 02:16:35 AM »

OH NO!!

Do not use galvanized anything... it will disintegrate immediately!! Will not last long enough to get the job done! (Been there, one that...)

You Do Not want to use ANY "California" rated charger, BTW....

The 1420 is the one I will probably use when one of mine fails.. ;)

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #7 on:** September 10, 2018, 11:12:07 AM »

Thanks for the warning!
I'm replacing the galvanized trash can with a #5 rebar cage.
Haven't yet received my new battery charger. Hope they didn't cancel the order because I'm in CA!

Russell Ware · « **Reply #8 on:** September 10, 2018, 07:28:26 PM »

Quote

#5 rebar cage

Using a cage made from rebar can cause lines to develop on your cast iron. Electrolysis is a straight line operation. You would need a rebar wall. Any gaps in the rebar means no cleaning on the cast iron directly opposite the empty space.

Cheryl Watson · « **Reply #9 on:** September 10, 2018, 08:22:26 PM »

Yup... yup... I started with re-bar, and that lasted less than 30 days... :)

and Francis, I also hope they don't cancel your order, because some Vendors are barred by law to ship non-CA items to California residents....

If you plan on getting into the Hobby of Cast Iron Restoration, I would highly recommend that you invest in stainless steel anodes up front...
(lessons that I have learned on my journey).... I have several systems:

Photo #1... my plate system(s).....
Photo's #2 and #3... my 360° systems....

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #10 on:** September 17, 2018, 03:06:50 PM »

Russell -- The rebar are vertical and spaced at about at about 2-5/8" centers. There's about 2" between adjacent bars. Rebar is relatively inexpensive and it's not that difficult to add bars. The clear opening is about 19" while the barrel of my fruit press is about 11" in diameter.

Cheryl -- When you say that the rebar lasted about 30 days, what do you mean? That they were no longer usable as anodes? Also, regarding your cylindrical setup, what are you using as an anode? Where did you get it?

Thanks to all for the valuable warnings and advice!

Cheryl Watson · « **Reply #11 on:** September 17, 2018, 04:12:23 PM »

Francis, I only used rebar for 30 days because I quickly realized that it was leaving shadows on my iron, and I listened to the collective years of experience here on this Forum, and quickly moved forward to using the two plate systems shown above.

ALL of my anodes are now Stainless Steel. (10 to 12/14 gauge).

The plates came from a local source a couple of counties away... and is SUPER heavy duty non-magnetic stainless.

I had the plates cut to spec by a local machine shop, with a Plasma cutter....

Just last year, I sold my excess plates to another WAGS member at the Convention, as I moved froward to 360° coverage fairly quickly.

The principle of of Electrolysis works as Direct line of Sight.... so the surface area of the anode(s) should be AT LEAST as Wide and High as the piece being cleaned.

My SS Barrel came from Ohio... and was acquired for me by another WAGS member who shipped it to me.

My SS circles came from North Carolina.... once again from a WAGS member who found them in a scrap yard down there, and another WAGS member who picked them up and transported them slightly further north, where I picked them up from there !

(you see the theme here is..... my WAGS buddies have been tremendously helpful, because in my area, finding SS is difficult. ;) ;)

I also have two small SS barrels not yet in use, to clean 'smalls'.... from my WAGS buddy out in Eastern Pa (where there are still a few 'real' scrap yards)

Also, most of my hangers and all of my connecting hardware is Stainless Steel,,, from washers, to wing nuts, to flat slotted, to nuts to bolts, including the threaded rods that you see.

Clean solid connections are critical, and SS hardware allows me to maintain solid, clean connections over time, with minimal maintenance.

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #12 on:** September 19, 2018, 08:03:07 PM »

Cheryl -- Thanks for the explanation and your patience. I found a guy selling SS barrels from a vineyard for $200. I may go for it.

Received my Schumacher 1420 yesterday from autotoolworld.com. Can't believe they shipped it to me here in CA! Good price, low shipping. Customer support was intermittent, and it took longer to ship than anticipated, but I'm happy with it.

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #13 on:** September 29, 2018, 06:28:06 PM »

Despite the best advise previously provided, I stayed with the rebar franken tank. Will go for the SS barrel when wife leaves town for awhile.

I'm amazed with the initial results. See the attached photos for the Enterprise cast iron arch top after 5 hours of electrolysis at 20 amps.

Eventually, I added two auto brake discs to the anode and placed the arch top between them. Rust and paint remain in the nooks and crannies after scrubbing with a brass brush. In lieu of a better anode, what can be done to improve results? More tank time? Higher amperage? A better brass brush?

Working on the fruit press barrel now. It's hanging upside down in the electrolyte bath. I've added a brake disc anode to the bottom of the plastic barrel, which seems to help clean the inside of the fruit press barrel. Cleaning the rust from the insides of the feet and the inside bottom of the barrel looks to be challenging.

Russell Ware · « **Reply #14 on:** September 29, 2018, 07:14:05 PM »

Quote

A better brass brush?

There is no such thing as a better brass brush. Stop using it now. Get a stainless steel brush. Only use a stainless steel brush. Do not use a brass brush on cast iron. Brass is softer than the iron. You can actually end up with a nice gold finish on your cast iron that will be near impossible to remove. If you are going to season the piece, brass residue can make proper seasoning difficult, uneven, or just plain not possible.

Cheryl Watson · « **Reply #15 on:** September 29, 2018, 09:50:56 PM »

Yup! Brass brushes are evil... things... ;)

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #16 on:** September 30, 2018, 04:33:38 PM »

You guys are full of surprises! OK, no more evil brass brushes.

The barrel of the fruit press cleaned up well after a total of about 8 hours, some steel brushing, washing with warm soapy water then towel drying. Attached are after and before photos.

Now i see rusty cast iron wherever I go.

Francis Drouillard · « **Reply #17 on:** October 12, 2018, 04:45:13 PM »

Making pretty good progress. The crank handle is the last thing to tank. Turns out that balloons snugly fit the wooden portion of the handle. Used a bit of electrical tape to seal it. Will have more to share later.

Oh, and I bought another very rusty, but complete, Enterprise press. Now I have a 4 QT. to go with the 8 QT. Wife is furious, but she'll get over it.

Cheryl Watson · « **Reply #18 on:** October 12, 2018, 07:00:25 PM »

You are just a "glutton for punishement" eh?? ;D ;D ;D

I am still staring at my 2 quart Enterprise, still broken down and in a 5 gallon bucket out in the garage/shop.... (someday.... sometime.... ::) ::) )

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Author Topic: How to disassemble Enterprise Sausage Stuffer (Read 3424 times)