How to Use a Nemco Slicer in 5 Easy Steps
Getting uniformly sliced vegetables to be the crowning jewel inside any sandwich or on top of every salad has become as easy and safe as turning a handle on a Nemco slicer. In this guide, we’ll show you how to use a Nemco slicer safely and efficiently so what was once a tedious task that took hours to do by hand can now be done in only a few minutes.
How to Use a Nemco Slicer?
Using a Nemco slicer requires little training and is very easy to use. Learn how to use a Nemco slicer in the steps below:
Warning: Never slice produce without the guard or cover plate, and never use your hands to push produce through the slicer. Always use caution when operating the unit, as the blades are very sharp.
- Step 1. Insert the Nemco slicer into the mounting base – Slide the Nemco slicer into the mounting base, tightening the locking screw to hold it securely in place.
- Step 2. Adjust the slice thickness – Some Nemco slicer models offer a sizing feature to adjust the slice thickness. You can thin or thicken the slices by holding the handle in place and turning the adjusting screw in 1/16” increments up to a ½”.
- Step 3. Pull out the pusher and open the cover plate – Before you can get to slicing and dicing, you’ll need to remove the pusher and cover plate located on the side and top of the machine.
- Step 4. Position produce into the trough and close the cover plate – Next, place your lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers or other produce into the restaurant vegetable slicer trough next to the blades. Then, close the cover plate.
- Step 5. Slowly press in the pusher while turning the handle clockwise – To finish, slowly press the pusher in, being careful not to apply excess pressure. At the start of slicing each new vegetable, turn the handle ¼ turn counterclockwise before rotating the handle clockwise for the rest of the slicing duration. This will help provide the blade with more traction and elicit better results. Also, don’t forget to put a food container underneath the blade to catch the fruits of your labor!
- Note: You should never have to force vegetables through the blade. If you’re met with resistance, it may be because the produce is too large and should be discarded.
How to Sharpen Nemco Slicer Blades?
One of the best ways to maintain your Nemco unit besides daily cleaning is to regularly sharpen the blades for the best slicing results.
- Step 1. Adjust the slice thickness to ½” – If you have a slicer with adjustable blades, you’ll need to set it to its maximum width of ½.”
- Step 2. Uninstall the rotary slicing unit – Before sharpening the blades, you’ll have to take the rotary slicing unit out of the trough and leg assembly. To do this, turn the shaft lock to the left and remove the rotary slicing unit.
- Step 3. Sharpen the blade with a fine honing stone – Taking a fine honing stone, sharpen the flat slide of the blade, taking care to go in the direction of the blade’s bevel. You can also sharpen the beveled side of the blade as well, but most of the time this is not necessary.
- Step 4. Send blades to Nemco for sharpening – Alternatively, you can always send your slicing blades to Nemco for refurbishing if honing no longer works or if the bevels have been damaged from repeated sharpenings.
How to Remove Nemco Slicer Blades?
If you do decide to send the blades to Nemco for sharpening, you’ll have to know how to safely remove them first. Follow the directions below to dismantle one of two different slicer blades on your Nemco unit:
Removing Slicer Blades
- Step 1. Uninstall the rotary slicing unit – To remove the rotary slicing unit from the trough and leg assembly, you’ll have to turn the shaft lock left to release.
- Step 2. Unfasten the blade screws – Next, use a flathead screwdriver to unfasten the screws and remove the blade.
Removing Shredder Blades
- Step 1. Remove the shaft and unfasten the screws – First, remove the shaft. Next, use a flathead screwdriver to unfasten the screws to remove the blades.
For more resources on everything and all things Nemco, check out some of our articles on how to clean a Nemco slicer and Nemco heat lamp troubleshooting!