Had to choose between a band saw and a hand saw for breaking down primals, I went with the band saw

I started out using a bone saw by hand on whole pork loins and it felt like I was fighting the meat every time. About 4 months ago I finally broke down and got a used Hobart band saw from a guy in Cleveland who was closing his shop. The first time I ran a whole strip loin through it I cut through 12 steaks in under 2 minutes, and the yield was way better because I wasn't wasting meat on uneven cuts. Sure the hand saw gave me more control for weird bones, but for speed and consistency on normal cuts the band saw wins easy. My only gripe is cleaning the thing takes forever, like 30 minutes with a sprayer and sanitizer. Has anyone else made this jump and regretted it or am I just slow at cleanup?

3 comments

3 Comments

samrodriguez6d ago

Cleaning the thing takes forever" is the REAL downside nobody talks about. I set a timer and do the spray down in 15 minutes max by keeping a pressure nozzle on the hose and hitting everything before any dried blood sets in.

emma966d ago

Hit it while it's still wet and it's no big deal. People overthink these things.

emma964d ago

Agree so much with the timer thing. I do the exact same thing but I keep a scrub brush on a stick in my cleaning bucket too. Like you spray down the big stuff with the pressure nozzle, but those little bits stuck in the grinder chamber or around the blade housing need a quick scrub while the hose water is running. If you let it sit even 20 minutes you're basically scraping cement off the parts. I also found that keeping a separate spray bottle with just plain water next to the cleaning station helps for a quick rinse between batches without having to drag the hose out every single time. Saves so much hassle in the long run.