ZassenDecker, a Motorized Zassenhaus

[Quadrifoglio]

I really like the Zassenhaus manual grinders. Their straight through design allows the grinding of different coffees with little cross contamination and the grind is very adjustable. I wanted to motorize a Zassenhaus without any permanent modifications. Additionally, I didn't want to use any special skills to make one, other than going to the hardware store.

Assembly is simple. Unbolt the cap nut and the handle. Thread on the coupling nut.



Charge the screwdriver and attach the adapter and socket. Slip the driver onto the coupling nut. Set the torque control collar to 16. Grind coffee.




Pros: it grinds like a champ and no achy fingers.
Cons: the screwdriver is a bit noisy and doesn't have a trigger lock.

The parts came to less than $30.00, before tax.

The Black and Decker 9078 power screwdriver was picked because the unit operates at 180 rpm (no load) and has a torque control collar that offers up to 40 in./lbs. of torque, with 24 settings. It is reversible and rechargeable.

The M8 x 1.25 coupling nut was picked because it gave more contact surface between the nut and the socket. The socket won't jump off the nut.

A 13mm, 6-point, ¼" drive, deep socket fits the M8. Again, picked because it gave more contact surface between the nut and the socket.

A ¼" Square Drive Adapter (drive to socket).

[zix]

Nice!
I have done this with a wall-powered powerdrill on a turkish zass. It worked, but this solution should work better, since your electric screwdriver is built to run on a lower RPM. The power drill had a habit of stalling on some beans on low RPMs, and I had to rev it up (by pushing the button in a bit) to make it start grinding again. Puts a bit of torque on the grinder, I was always nervous when that happened.
Beware that the zass burrs aren't really built for heavy use though. There is rather a lot of play built into the burr mechanism. You may need a spare zass nearby if the one you have now wears down faster than you planned for.

[Psyd]

I didn't want to use any special skills to make one, other than going to the hardware store.

Sound technicians the world over are nippering at the very thought that everyone isn't already aware of this trick! I take an espresso machine with me on the road,and either the Zass or the PeDe, get the DeWalt treatment if we're not ion show-mode. During show, it's all hand grind and espressi, between shows it's all DeWalt driven and cappus!
I just have a half inch bit that I chick up in the drill and set it on high torque (low speed) and just keep my writs out of the way of the handle as it spins along for the ride. This makes the transition from moterised to manual far easier.