A word about Stuffing Tubes - There are two types of stuffing tubes - those that fit on meat grinders and those that fit on stuffers. Both type tubes have a small end opening ( where the meat comes out ) and a big end ( that fastens to a grinder or a stuffer ).
Tubes for Grinders are sized by the grinders they fit - ( 5, 8, 12, 22, 32, 52 ).
Tubes for Stuffers usually will fit only a certain brand of stuffer. Tubes come in shapes which include taper and straight shanks. Straight shank tubes are used with casings that wont stretch - like collagen. The shanks are sized in mm (as are casings)
Stuffing tubes for grinders are made of plastic, stainless steel & aluminum. Their diameter varies so you can fill different size casings & bags.
When filling poly bags or fibrous casing you use a stuffing horn (sometimes called a bag horn).
Stuffing off a grinder can be trying. Some grinders do very well while others do not stuff casings very well. If you have trouble stuffing off your grinder consider grinding your meat thru a 2 or 3 hole plate on the first grind. Then place your final grind plate AND the stuffing tube on your grinder and stuff during your second grind. Remember, the larger the first grind the better the feedscrew can move the meat out thru the smaller opening of the stuffing tube.