an automatic carousel - type meat cutting machine in which slabs of meat are placed between pairs of rotating jaws that move around a center vertical axis . one jaw in each pair of jaws is spring - biased for gripping the meat , but the weight of the meat will cause it to move downwardly by gravity and rest on a meat - supporting horizontal and stationary platform . a section of the platform is made vertically adjustable with respect to the stationary part and may be adjusted to determine the thickness of the slices of meat cut from the slabs of meat . the stationary and adjustable sections form a complete circle and they support the slabs of meat which are moved by the pairs of meat guiding pairs of jaws . a horizontal portion of an endless band saw lies flush with the plane of the horizontal fixed platform section and the adjustable platform section is positioned therebelow to determine the thickness of the slice . the rotating carousel moves the pairs of jaws with their meat slabs over the adjustable platform section and past the band saw which severs a slice of meat from each slab just prior to the slab being moved onto the fixed platform section .