Delivery time for Versalab M3 Grinder - Page 7

[cannonfodder]

I do some side work at home. I never charge my customers for work/services until after the product is completed. I even send them photos for their approval, then I invoice and ship after payment is received.

[mgrayson]

Just received a tracking number for my April build grinder. Just an FYI...

Matt

[skyryders90]

Mine was also in the April build - this is what I got back from Laura:

Because of moving our shop, we had to divide the April build into two. The "2nd half" is just starting.. I'll keep you posted.

It's always something.

[EspressoObsessed]

Wonder of wonders: mine shipped Friday though I did not receive notification until I called today. Looks like it will be under six months from order to receipt.

Mary

[EspressoObsessed]

My grinder arrived yesterday! I haven't found the time to get the grind right yet. The appearance is as promised so far--free of clumps. I'm looking forward to a few days of testing.

Does anyone have a good photo of where the grinder scale decal seats? There used to be one on the Versalab website but I don't see it now.

Mary

[pdx]

Live without the scale for awhile. I've never missed it on mine. Sometimes I'll make reference lines with a hard pencil (3H) on the funnel & base. This serves as enough of a reference for me & is less visually obtrusive than the stickers.

[DavidMLewis]

Does anyone have a good photo of where the grinder scale decal seats? There used to be one on the Versalab website but I don't see it now.

Hi Mary,

Glad you finally got your grinder! The scale decal goes right up to the thread, and is centered so the dot between the four and five face you. According to Laura, you put a little Windex on a Q-tip and wipe it on the aluminum, so it doesn't go into the threads. That will allow you to move the scale after application for a few minutes, and to pull it up and re-apply it if you need to. I did that and then put one of the dots on the funnel as low as I could get it. I put it so that when the funnel was rotated a quarter-turn out from seated (i.e. with the burrs touching), the dot was pointing straight toward me. Since the threads are so fine, and the parallelism of the flat burr set so much better than what I'd been used to, I generally put it lining up with one of the dots on the scale or halfway between. For form's sake, I always approach the setting from the same direction, counter-clockwise, so that if there's any play in the threads I'm always taking it up against the weight of the funnel. I'm not sure whether that makes any difference; it doesn't seem to, but it might as the grinder gets older. I like the scale, since one of the reasons I got the Versalab was to be able to switch coffees throughout the day. Enjoy!

Best,
David

[mgrayson]

Grinder arrived. Yay. Plugged it in after checking proper clearances. Yay. Started it up. Lots of noise accompanied by little silvery flakes of metal coming from right under the big drive belt wheel. That doesn't look right...

After a little bit of this, it locks up and can only be turned with horrible grinding sounds. Removed burr assemblies just to be sure. Still binding up at the top.

What size is that top allen bolt? I have an 8mm - too small, and a 10 mm - too large. Is it 9mm or some inch fraction? Should I even bother or just throw the damn thing out? There was no sign of shipping damage. Double boxed and everything.

I'm depressed beyond the ability of emoticons to express.

[sweaner]

Why does anybody buy these things. The quality control and customer service are truly awful.

[AndyS]

What size is that top allen bolt? I have an 8mm - too small, and a 10 mm - too large. Is it 9mm or some inch fraction?

Versalab doesn't do metric. It's fractional.

[mgrayson]

So 3/8, I guess... I'll go pick one up tomorrow. Thanks,

Matt

[cannonfodder]

Why does anybody buy these things. The quality control and customer service are truly awful.

That pretty much answers that question.

[AndyS]

So 3/8, I guess...

Yes, I checked, it's 3/8".

[mgrayson]

Thanks Andy!

Amazingly, I found a 3/8" hex bit in a tiny pocket drive set. I took the large belt wheel off, drew blood on some sharp edge (always necessary to appease the Gods), put it back together applying upward pressure on the shaft, and it all seems to be working. I ground a dose much too fine just to be sure I could... like pastry flour. Now we'll have to wait till morning when the Andreja is warm.

Crossing fingers,

Matt

[mgrayson]

Nope.. After 3 baskets the binding started up again. Lets see what the Versalab folks have to say.

[mgrayson]

I added a washer between the drive wheel and shaft. Working again, though I get some screeching under load. A few beans at a time makes ordinary underlubricated mechanical noises. Perhaps the moving wiper is scraping the funnel. Does this hobby get fun again?

[cinergi]

Does this hobby get fun again?

no. no, it doesn't.

[pdx]

Lets see what the Versalab folks have to say.

Let us know. I wouldn't mess around trying to "fix" the problem until they tell you what to do, just to keep clear whose responsibility the problem is.

[sweaner]

That pretty much answers that question.

Yes, Dave. When someone can actually get one. And when it actually works right. And when you don't have to send it back.

[Psyd]

Why does anybody buy these things. The quality control and customer service are truly awful.

That pretty much answers that question.

Yeah, but that also answers the question, "What happens when the enthusiasm for a straight-through grinder path is discovered by one of the other grinder manufacturers?"
Spelled out, the answer is that Versalab no longer has the market cornered, and now you can get one of these things in one-tenth the time for half the price, and with fifty times the confidence that it will work correctly and reliably out of the box.
Maybe it's the race-engineering that's influencing. Race engineers have a saying that the perfectly engineered race car will fall apart right after it crosses the finish line as the winner. They got the winner thing right, now they have to work on delivery, endurance, and customer service to compete in the real world.
I want one, but it's threads like these that keep me in my Majors.
I just noticed some energetic and innovative DIY CG'er is thinking what I'm thinking...http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/members/buysell/373476