Hand (grinder) Jive - a photo essay - Page 14

[GB]

Here is a link to some well photographed old coffee grinders:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki...ry:Coffee_grinders

The red Peugots are stunning!

Geoffrey

[oofnik]

Very pretty!

Well, since this thread's still around, I figure I'll go ahead and let everyone know that my frankenstein hand grinder project is still working flawlessly. Couldn't be happier. I wonder if I inspired any more crazy ideas..

[GB]

offnik

I am curious, would you mind explaining your grinder project and maybe some photos?

Thanks
Geoffrey

[oofnik]

Geoffrey,
There are pics and details on pages 7, 9, and 11 of this thread. Basically I cannibalized a La Pavoni Club grinder, which has conical burrs, and rebuilt a Trosser hand grinder with the modern burr set. I also added a worm gear adjustment knob for super duper fine grind adjustments. I can now grind to about flour consistency, even finer than turkish. I'd be more than glad to help if you're interested in doing something similar!

[GB]

oofnik

Thanks for your reply, offer of assistance, and for a somewhat embarrassing wake up call to revisit older threads more often.

Your grinder modifications are very ingenious, especially the worm fine grind adjustment. The fact that they result in flawless functionality is fantastic - kudos. I assume that much of your success is due to the grinder now having the mechanical precision necessary to get a precise and uniform grind that is essential for making good espresso?

I have several design concepts of varying complexity. The simplest is to modify an old Amin Trosser grinder that has an awfully eccentric inner burr and is in rather bad condition - not much to lose if I go wrong. So I will start with it. Curiously, I am also considering using the Ascaso conical burr set, but do not know if the inner burr has a left hand thread or smooth bore? At present I do not have access to machine tools so my grinder modifications will be simple, using much of the original mechanism. Including the original Trosser grind adjustment mechanism. Fortunately it has a fine thread pitch and combined with the effects of the burr cone angle the adjustment is quite fine.

Later, when I get access to machine tools I may try to further increase the grinder's precision by replacing the main wood block with a precision machined plastic or metal one and stiffening the upper bearing/hopper assembly with an additional bracket.

It will be a few weeks before I start, I will keep you posted, and look forward to your comments

Regards
Geoffrey

[farmroast]

Thought I'd add a couple pictures of a counter mount Peter Dienes PEDE coffee grinder.
farm

[farmroast]

The burrs. Long path, seem to be designed to crack more than shave. Interesting concept and the grind looks real nice.
farm

[peacecup]

FR,

I love those cast iron Dienes grinders, but have always refrained from buying because of shipping and storage space. I've seen them referred to as poppy seed grinders, which it looks suitable for. It grinds well for espresso? How do you catch the grinds? Looks like it would make short work of 14g of coffee beans!

pc

[GB]

farmroast

What a beautiful old grinder. I am envious, and also curious, for it does not appear to have the secondary fine grind region on the burrs that are common with the old vertical hand coffee mills? Because of this I am curious as to how fine it will grind?

Thanks
Geoffrey

[farmroast]

The first defect I found with the grinder is the thickness of what it is clamped to must be 1" or less. I did a little test grind last night after cleaning the burrs(it just arrived from Canada yesterday) and it seemed to grind fine enough but will try a shot with it later today and report back. The interesting thing is that it doesn't depend on burr sharpness and the amount of fines seemed minimal.
farm