HOBART, Baby!

[Fio]

I recently won an auction on Ebay for this N50.  It's the mixer that Kitchen Aid wants to be when it grows up.  Looking at them side by side, you can see that it's much more massive and has a huge, 1/6 HP induction motor.  This is clearly an industrial-grade unit.  If you are familiar with powertools, the Hobart is akin to the Delta Unisaw, whereas the Kitchen Aid is a Sears Craftsman.

There are some great deals to be had on Ebay.  I called Hobart and gave them the serial number for this unit; turns out, it was made in 1977!  Still it's in fantastic shape (I think it was stored away for years).  I paid less than half of what it costs for new.  The current models are virtually identical, but have a circuit breaker to prevent overloads.

As an added bonus, the N50 can be outfitted with all the Kitchen Aid attachments and accessories. 

I would have gotten the DLX 2000, which I'm sure kneads dough better, but I went with the N50 because it's more versatile (can mix, whip, grate, grind, etc.) 

[SouthernPete]

That thing looks great, you would never know by its excellent condition that it is from the 70's.
Congrats on a great purchase, let us know how it works.

[Fio]

That thing looks great, you would never know by its excellent condition that it is from the 70's.
Congrats on a great purchase, let us know how it works.

It works great.  I made dough for four pizzas last night and it did not flinch.  My KA used to thump, bump, and labor, but this mixes the dough with no effort whatsoever.

 Then I put on the KA cheese grater and it performed that task flawlessly.