The (Almost) Fabulous Thunderbird

Fabmixer

Well, it's here......the new mixer is here. Safety freaking cage and all. But I must admit, that (aside from the safety cage), the mixer is better than I thought. I found out that all our Hobart bowls and attachments WILL fit on it, which is great. Other pluses include:

• that great "new mixer smell" which Jewlz likened to  the smell of her mother's sewing machine. Namely, gear oil. Mmmmm.....nothing like a good ol' whiff of gear oil in the morning to get you going.
• a bowl lift that is actually easy to lift. I can do it one-handed, unlike the old Hobart where I had to use two hands and a "power-lifting grunt". UNNNNNNH!
• a TIMER! No more over-whipped egg whites or homemade butter from cream. Not that I ever walked away from the mixer and completely spaced it off.......no, not me. 
• it's quiet. Not that that really makes any difference, since I have a convection oven that more than makes up for my lack of peace and quiet in my kitchen. And a radio that keeps me awake by blaring classic rock into my head. 
• it has a warranty! But it's only good in Canada on Tuesdays between 1:00 pm and 1:05 pm. It's always good to read the fine print.
• it's shiny. Shiny is good. Shiny is cool. I plan to keep it shiny too........which brings me to my list of cons.........

The not so good things:

• keeping it clean......because of the freaking safety cage, there's so much more to wipe down.....more nooks and crannies for flour, and various other "goop" to accumulate.
• the safety cage. I STILL hate it, although there IS an opening (a small opening....it has to be small....if I could get my hand in there, it would sort of defeat the purpose of the cage.) that comes with a pouring shield so I can add ingredients while the mixer is running and the cage is in place. But realistically the opening is so small that adding things through it is very inefficient because you have to do it so slowly. HOWEVER, I do know how to disable the cage mechanism....heh heh heh. I'll fiddle with that next week.

I sheepishly told Boss that I complained and whined a bit prematurely and this mixer is a very good thing. However he wouldn't install it until I paid penance and banged my head against the wall a few times. Now my head hurts but that's nothing new. Me, and the wall, we have a close relationship.

Jewlzmix

Jewlz loves the new mixer too. Having second speed back is a good thing. Here she is testing it out. Have I mentioned that Jewlz rocks my world and kicks my butt? I think I have. It's awesome to have a co-worker that not only steps up to the plate but hits a home run every time.......and she's not even on steroids. She drinks tea and eats lotsa veggies.....unlike me, the coffee-junkie carnivore. 

In the left hand foreground is the ruling hand of Boss. Do not mess with the ruling hand! But it is OK to mess with the ruling head. HA HA! Just kidding Boss!!!!

He reads my blog you know. So, Boss, howzabout that dishwasher???? You know, that one.....sitting outside?

Or is that the first installment in the Village Baker Sculpture Park?

It's a very good thing he puts up with smart mouthed employees.

Comments

[TableBread]

Hmmmm, shiny, I like shiny...Hey look on the bright side.  All your attachments fit.  How sucky would that have been?!?

Congrats on the arrival of your new baby and to the courtship of getting to know each other :)

[flourgirl]

[this is good]

Congratulations! I was really happy with the 60qt

[rglater]

There was an old cartoon, (Feiffer I think), GOD (pointing at man), "I point the Finger of Condemnation at you!" MAN, "I think the Finger of Condemnation is on the other hand"  GOD (switches hand), "I point the Finger of Condemnation at you!" MAN (turns into pile of smoking ash), GOD, "Hmm. You were right.  Thanks."

I found a Hobart at auction but you no longer need my help so I will sit over here in the corner, alone, with no light, or chair, or heat, or food, or...

[Hip_chickie]

Hey, longtime stalker here! I actually was looking to see if anyone posted how to he disable the thunderbird cage online, and found you
any chance of instructions? My 12 keeps tripping the circut, and I made this mistake of taking off the cage on the Tbird to clean and now it will not go back on correctly for some reason and the mixer wont turn on and I am babbling but given my orders this week I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown!! HELP!

[Val Anne Welch]

Hey, Hip_chickie!

First, I didn't know you could take the damn cage off! Wow. Cleaning would have been so much easier!

Ok, this is what I remember.......it may or may not work for you. Do you see any type of switch or button that the safety cage trips when it's completely turned around so the mixer turns on? If so, you can duct tape it so that it is permanently tripped. Even worse, does the safety cage have something that sticks up to trip something that is somewhat "embedded" toward the back of the mixer? You'll have to find a way to stick something like a broken of skewer in there to trip the switch, then tape it in. I don't know what model you have. I went to the Thunderbird website and I found some phone numbers.......Texas Office: 1-866-7-MIXERS or 1-866-875-6868 or 1-866-451-1668. There's also some phone numbers for the Blaine, WA office too.

Hope I've helped you somewhat! There MUST be some way to put the cage back on! I mean you got it off, so it must go back! Keep messing with it.....damn things anyway!

Keep me posted.....I'd like to hear your outcome!

Annie