Hobart 1712 SlicerI lost my Hobart 1612 slicer in our house fire back in April. Main use for it was our small bacon business which I usually cured, sm

[rexster314]

I lost my Hobart 1612 slicer in our house fire back in April. Main use for it was our small bacon business which I usually cured, smoked and sliced around 250 lbs of bellies each month. As we’re starting from scratch acquiring the tools we need to start this back up, I was in need of a new to me slicer. I bought a Berkel 818 slicer really cheap in May, but was never able to free up the gauge plate that allows you to set the thickness of your slices. I found a Hobart 1712 slicer in my area. Seller wanted 900 for it. When I went to look at it, it was in a rough condition. Left outside in a covered area, the aluminum case had very bad oxidation and again the gauge plate was frozen. It still had the original sharpening tool attached and the stainless knife had spots of corrosion which indicated to me it hadn’t been cleaned from it’s last use. I got him down to 600 and felt like I got a deal, as these models are going for around 1500 . What was really nice after getting it home, I found out the automatic slicing mechanism was in excellent shape and was working as it should.
Yesterday, I started the cleaning process, and addressing the frozen gauge plate. I knew how to do it from previously doing the same the the used 1612 I bought in 2015. Serious heat from a propane torch and judicious use of a dead blow hammer for about 10 minutes and the deal was done. There are several Youtube videos about this repair. After a good degreasing of the adjustment mechanism and lubrication of the parts, it was all put back together and working as it should.
My wife then did the cleanup on the exterior using 0000 steel wool and soap and water.
Link to Youtube video

 

[ss4825]

Nice.

 

[Demosthenes9]

Nice. What happened to the Berkel ?

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

I have a 1612 i picked up for $150 It needed a new capacitor and an electronic switch to replace the centrifugal switch. All in all it cost me like $50 to fix it. i also added some synthetic grease to prolong the life.


I bought one of those sharpeners, but it seems the spot where it attaches its slightly bent. I haven't used it, but for my use the blade is still sharp as the day i got it, i will probably just have someone sharpen it one day when it actually gets dull.

 

[rexster314]

Nice. What happened to the Berkel ?

I cleaned it up and have it listed for sale on Facebook and Craigslist. The gauge plate is still stuck after me working on it. I'll have another go at it sometime. The Hobart series I'm very familiar with and took me about an hour total to get it back in running condition. I've been polishing it out with Mother's metal polish and it's looking really good

 

[rexster314]

Here's the 1712 cleaned up and a couple of before pics