How to use a mincer?

[bugbear]

Turn the handle! No, what I mean is:

In a modern kitchen, with the usual thick work surface, and no kitchen table with a 1" top, hand cranked gadgets like Spong mincers (of which I have two) and pasta rolling machines present a difficulty. The clamps don't have enough reach to grip work surfaces, and (quite often) there's no obvious location where you could clamp (with handle clearance) even if the top were thinner.

My personal solution is to use my workmate (!), either in the kitchen or the workshop.

Does anyone else have this problem, and/or some solutions?

BugBear

 

[marcros]

kitchen bench hook. would be useful when cross cutting sausage, shooting cucumber and mitring bread for perfect triangular sandwiches

 

[Jacob]

Cut a little niche in the worktop. Obvious really. The worktop is supposed to make things easier not more difficult so you shouldn't be a slave to it!
And a kitchen without a table is not really a kitchen. Like a church without an altar, or pub without a darts board.

 

[Harbo]

Don't have that problem as we have a kitchen table, but our Spong works with a big suction cap so sticks to the worktops with no problems.

Rod

 

[soulboy]

kitchen bench hook. would be useful when cross cutting sausage, shooting cucumber and mitring bread for perfect triangular sandwiches

:lol:

 

[Shrubby]

Could you clamp it to a substantial beech chopping board, plonk this on the worktop overhanging enough to clear the clamp knuckle
You could be onto something with the kitchen workmate - think of all the shiny attachments you could sell
Matt

 

[dedee]

BB,
how about replacing one of your kitchen drawers with a pull out table?

Andy

 

[Jacob]

BB,
how about replacing one of your kitchen drawers with a pull out table?

Andy

Hmm, could involve woodwork.

 

[bugbear]

Cut a little niche in the worktop. Obvious really. The worktop is supposed to make things easier not more difficult so you shouldn't be a slave to it!
And a kitchen without a table is not really a kitchen. Like a church without an altar, or pub without a darts board.

Galley kitchens are common, very efficient, and don't have a table. Food is still produced.

In a large enough kitchen, for those lucky enough to have them, yes, I agree, a central table is a nice thing to have.

Not sure what you mean by a "niche" - although perhaps you mean to rout out a recess under the worktop to make it thin enough, as is sometimes done to thick workbench to mount a vise?

BugBear

 

[Max Power]

:lol: :lol: :lol: Nice one Jacob :mrgreen:

 

[Jacob]

....
Not sure what you mean by a "niche" - although perhaps you mean to rout out a recess under the worktop to make it thin enough, as is sometimes done to thick workbench to mount a vise?

BugBear

Probably be too weak if it's chipboard or mdf. What about cutting out a panel at the edge, rectangular or semi circular (or anything), rebating the edge and setting in a nice piece of 5/8" thick hardwood?

 

[AndyT]

Would an in-sink chopping board be substantial enough? Maybe for your pasta machine?

This sort of thing:

or this:

 

[bugbear]

This picture may help illustrate the problem (not my kitchen)

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

What's the problem?

 

[mtr1]

Could you not clamp a piece of timber to your worktop, let it over hang a bit, and clamp the mincer to that?

 

[bugbear]

Could you not clamp a piece of timber to your worktop, let it over hang a bit, and clamp the mincer to that?

Well, there's no obvious place to clamp at all, even witrh proper clamps.

But perhaps a board with a stop underneath in conjunction with router mat (or similar) might hold well enough to be usable. But using the gadgets involves both hands (one to feed, one to crank) so the fixing needs to be pretty good.

(if anyone is interested, the throughput of a fixed-plate-and-knife Spong #5 is much greater than a rotary-disc-pair Spong National #25, but the #5 needs a large minimum quantity to activate the drive screw; so I use both)

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

You could use my over the sink suggestion - and if needed, make a wooden cam which would hang underneath the board, wedging it against the sides of the sink. You do have a kitchen sink, don't you? :wink:

 

[mtr1]

Could you open a door/drawer and then use the clamp? I could do this on mine.

 

[whiskywill]

Buy ready made pasta and mince.

 

[bugbear]

Buy ready made pasta and mince.

Yes, that would work.

Although you can't quite be sure what's in shop mince.

You might have a good guess though

BugBear