Better quality handle for a Rancilio commercial portafilter?

[Teme]

First off, I've posted the Q on CG and asked my local shop that sells the Rancilio Silvia - to no avail. I hope my post is not inappropriate to HB, but here we go...

As regards the background: I have the bottomless PF from Chris. Before moving on, I would like to thank Chris for making it available, being flexible in the delivery process (thanks go also to Eliot Hotel in Boston) and generally for the service I have received to date (both for the PFs and the euro spec Andreja Premium).

To my point then. The quality of the bottomless mod (by Chris/Verna) is good. There were some very minor marks in the handles or the PFs themselves (I ordered 7 in all - 1 for me, 4 for my friends and 2 for other aficionados in Europe).

My issue is that I do not like the actual plastic handle of the Rancilio commercial PF (this is a rant towards Rancilio, not Chris). In my opinion it somehow has a cheap feel with its shiny and hard plastic (the lower one in the pic) compared to the nice quality of my Andreja's stock PF handles (the one at the top of the pic).



I have tried to look if it would be possible to remove the handle part and change it for a better quality one. However, I have not yet figured out how to remove it without causing damage nor do I know where to get a better quality handle to fit a Rancilio commercial PF (to me it seems that the Rancilio handle and the handle on the stock Andreja PF are not interchangeable).

Any help and/or tips would be highly appreciated.

Br,
Teme

[malachi]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the older La Marzocco portafilters work on Rancilios...

[HB]

It just goes to show, baristas are very particular about tampers and portafilters. The Rancilio commercial portafilter is my personal favorite because it's got heft and the handle has a nice solid feel to it. The stock Andreja's feels a bit lighter and the endcap isn't sealed, but like I said, it's personal choice.

Looking at espressoPart.com's catalog, I see the Rancilio body and handle. I don't have the Andreja portafilter in front of me, but I'll guess that it has the Faema body and handle. If this is indeed the same portafilter, then that's bad news: The Rancilio has a male threaded body and the Faema is female. Maybe you can swap out the shaft of one for the other, I've never tried (and I'm not quite curious enough to risk marring mine just to find out).

That's probably why you didn't get a response on CG. You could prevail upon the kind hearts at EPNW to suggest alternatives, if they exist. Terry... ?

[Teme]

Malachi,

Thank you for your response. Perhaps I was unclear in my original post. My machine is an Andreja Premium, the naked PF by Chris is based on a Rancilio PF and I am looking to change the handle part of the PF to a better quality item if possible...

Br,
Teme

[lino]

Hello Teme,

Here's a link to a parts diagram of the PF.

http://store1.yimg.com/I/buyespre...tscom_1848_1742449

To get the handle off, you need to remove the cap on the end of the handle. I believe it just snaps in. That should give you access to the nut which holds the handle on.

The Rancilio handle is different than most other handles out there which have a stud in the handle and a threaded hole in the body. As is clear in the diagram, the Rancilio handle is a hollow tube.

Looking at the parts list, there is part # R-21 (old filterholder handle) which you may be able to find somewhere, perhaps it is made of bakelite like most other PF handles.
I suspect that you have R-94 (modern filterholder handle), since these PFs are new.

Another attractive option IMO would be to find a woodworker to turn a wooden handle for you. A nice rosewood handle would be hard to beat!
---Hmmm note to self....


Anyway, hope that helps


ciao

lino (verna)

[Teme]

Phew. Some very quick responses here. Thank you all.

I ordered some stuff from EPNW while in the US as well and Devon was very pleasant to deal with and extremely quick in his responses. However, I am based in Europe (Copenhagen in Denmark to be specific), my next trip to the US is a couple of months away and I would prefer not paying the shipping, duty, taxes and related taxes on a single item in this price range.

Just to clarify why:

A handle is in the region of US$7 at EPNW. According to the website, shipping is US$62! Add duty at 10% (on both price of item plus shipping) and we are at US76$. The lovely customs people add a handling charge of around US$20, and on top of all this is added tax at 25% bringing the total to US$120!!! A bit much for a PF handle?

A wooden handle might be nice, but since everything alse I have is either black or chrome, I'd prefer keeping things that way (although at some stage I was lusting after the tampers, PF handles, machine knobs and whatnot from http://www.cafe-kultur.com ).

I did chat with my local dealer and they even had a catalogue with several pages worth of PF handles. However, they had no clue as to what would fit the Rancilio commercial PF (despite the fact that they do sell Rancilio machines).

I could check out the old style PF handle at the local dealer (is #21 a Rancilio part number or a EPNW part number?). Alternatively I could look for another handle that has a female handle to match the male body of the PF. Would you happen to know by heart the specs for the attachment? If not, I'll just try and take it apart with minimum caused damage and measure for myself. If the worst comes to worst, I'll just wait until my next US trip and get in touch with EPNW prior to it. By that time I'll probably have thought of a few other items that I "need"...

A lot of fuss for a small thing, huh?

Thanks again for you all.

Br,
Teme

[malachi]

If you're not in the States before the fall, I believe Stumptown will be sending a few folks to Copenhagen and then to the Nordic Barista Cup. I'm sure I could arrange to have one of them bring the part with them to Estate Coffee where you could pick it up. (Or they could just bring you a naked LM portafilter - grin).

[Teme]

If you're not in the States before the fall, I believe Stumptown will be sending a few folks to Copenhagen and then to the Nordic Barista Cup. I'm sure I could arrange to have one of them bring the part with them to Estate Coffee where you could pick it up. (Or they could just bring you a naked LM portafilter - grin).

Malachi, Thank you for your kind offer. I sent you a PM.

Br,
Teme

[IronBarista]

I believe the Thor Tamper guy makes wood handles for this. Check http://www.thortamper.com.