Wood handles for an Elektra A3

[cannonfodder]

The wife and kids are not home this evening. So, being the red blooded American man that I am, I did the most logical thing I could think of. Go to the garage and chuck up a big hunk of Bacote in the lathe. I turned a handle for my Elektra A3, I wanted something just a little longer so I made the handle about a half inch longer than the stock handle. Fired up the lathe and made sawdust. I turned it to match the stock handle with the palm swell, sanded it down through 2000 grit paper.




I put a quick coat of gel varnish on the handle, it still needs to dry and lay on 3 more coats, steel wool it and put a final coat down. I will centerline bore it in a couple of days and then cut it off and sand/finish the very end.



One thing to remember, put the cover over the motorcycle before you start or it will be covered with sawdust.

[espressme]

Wonderful!!!
Cheers
Richard

[da gino]

Dave,

That is beautiful, I can't wait to see a photo of it when you get it on the machine! By the way, I sanded up to 1500 grit on mine (that was the finest we had) and being fairly new to using a lathe, I was amazed by the difference it made.

Hugh

[cannonfodder]

That was the only hunk of Bacote that I had. I have to swing by the hardwood store and get another couple. I need a 1x1x6 or maybe x12 to turn the steam/water/brew knobs. I will probably cut a new power switch from the stump on this one. It is a humid day so the gel varnish is curing very slow. It is still tacky so I am helping it along in the oven. You put the entire chuck in the oven and let it heat to about 100 and then let it sit. Repeat a dozen times and it should by dry and ready for a micromesh sand tomorrow and recoat. I need to turn some more shaving brushes but I need to get this out of my chuck. I want to get another one but at $150 a pop they are not chump change.

[cannonfodder]

I inline bored the portafilter handle today and threaded in the M12 stud. I used a little urethane glue to reinforce the stud attachment to the portafilter handle. after it cured it trimmed the handle off the block and sanded the end. I still need to give the end a coat of varnish to finish it up but it is looking pretty good.




Now those control knobs look out of place. The factory controls clash with the Bacote handle. I found a hunk of scrap in my scrap box and it was just large enough to turn a set a control handles from. So I turned them this evening and sanded them down through 1500 grit. I will lay some varnish on them tomorrow and then inline drill and tap them. now that I have a matched set of water/steam/brew/portafilter handles, I might as well turn a matching tamper handle as well.

[cannonfodder]

I finished up the control knobs tonight. I had to lay the finish on them then centerline drill and tap them for the levers. To get the old ones off you pretty much have to break them. The steam and water taps have flatspots for an open end 12mm wrench but the knobs are on there with thread lock. I had to use some vice grips to get them to break loose which pretty much mars them up, one cracked.

I had to clean all the thread lock out of the threads before I put them on. I put a couple drops of red thread lock on them to help secure the new controls. Just incase you are wondering, they have a 7.84mm outer diameter with a 6.82mm inner thread diameter. I used a bit that the calipers read 7.1mm assuming some side run out when drilling. I have to pick up another block of Bacote and turn a matching tamper handle.

I think it looks pretty darn good, looks even better because I made it. now it truly is my machine.

[ccfore]

Wow, awesome work Dave (cannonfodder)! Is there anything you can't do? Not only do they look better, I bet they feel better too! I didn't know Bacote was THAT expensive to source. What do you think desert ironwood would cost nowadays? I think true natural wood makes almost anything look better. I bought this cocobolo knife rack awhile ago,

and people that come into the kitchen ask about this second, AFTER they comment on the T1. Anyway, that really completes the look of your machine. They definitely add life to a great machine!

[cannonfodder]

Wow, awesome work Dave (cannonfodder)! Is there anything you can't do?

Ya, Spell.


Bacote is not that expensive, I think I have about $15 in wood there. The expensive part is the lathe and tools. A Sorbey ½ inch bowl gouge alone is almost $100 nowadays.

[shadowfax]

Dave,

Awesome workmanship. Looks really nice. I am wondering now if you did the switch, mostly because I am curious how you make a knob that is symmetric along only one axis, rather than rotationally symmetric. Did you end up making it?

[mhoy]

I finished up the control knobs tonight. I had to lay the finish on them then centerline drill and tap them for the levers. To get the old ones off you pretty much have to break them. The steam and water taps have flatspots for an open end 12mm wrench but the knobs are on there with thread lock. I had to use some vice grips to get them to break loose which pretty much mars them up, one cracked.

The thread lock sure explains why I couldn't get them apart when rebuilding my T1. Your wood handle set is looking fantastic. Luckily I don't have a wood lathe so I'm not so tempted to try the same thing.

Mark

[cannonfodder]

Dave,

Awesome workmanship. Looks really nice. I am wondering now if you did the switch, mostly because I am curious how you make a knob that is symmetric along only one axis, rather than rotationally symmetric. Did you end up making it?

I haven't yet but it is on my list. I used my parting tool to round down the stump from the portafilter. I can cut it loose from the remaining small square base with the band saw or just chisel the bulk off and sand it down on the strip stander. The grip portion of the switch, you should be able to cut the basic diamond shape on a band saw or scroll saw, then hand carve and sand it to final shape. my only concern would be it holding up. It will be relatively thin and may snap in half from the torque. I may put a fiberglass and epoxy backing on it to reinforce it or a brass backer for extra support. I have to catch up on some of my other work then I can get back to it.

I am going to turn a matching tamper handle and my make a doser/hopper and grind adjustment knob for the Cimbali to match, but I have not decided on those yet. The coffee oils may mess them up quick and the wood could impart an aroma/taste to the coffee which would be bad.

[espressme]

Dave, Those handles are really nice! Thanks also for the ideas on how to do them.
Sincerely
Richard

[Honu]

great job

nice to be handy at things for sure

[cannonfodder]

I got around to turning my tamper handle to match the controls on the machine. I drilled and turned the handle base to fit a standard Reg Barber piston. The Reg handles are good but my meaty hand could use a bit more girth and a more rounded tamper top. Guess that is the nice thing about having a lathe, I can turn things to fit my hand. The hard part was turning the base to piston interface to the correct size. I had to use the calipers and keep checking as I turned it down. In the end I got a nice tight fit, you could not get a hair between the piston and handle. I am happy with it.

[mhoy]

Great looking job.

Mark