On a Mazzer I believe the upper burr is attached to a separate carrier that can't turn.

Thanks Ira. I see the difference in the two. Probably best not to pull it then. Much apppreciated.

I see they have some more available.

http://www.espressodealer.com/catalog/macap-espresso-grinder-p-170.html

The Black M7s are back up on the espressodealer website, and the way I look at it, it's an M7 for the price of an M4. But here's my question--is the grind quality better with an M7? Although counter space is probably not that different from my current M4 stepless, it's pretty tall. Is it worth the extra "air rights" on the counter?

Check out my CG review:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/grind...ey_44/5363

It's certainly big. Not an issue for me, but that is a consideration driving some choosers of the Mini, and the Vario.

Hi Gary.

I don't quite understand the way you used a "thick rubber faucet washer" to brake the carrier between steps. I tried that a little, and the carrier always moved to the next stop on me. Any chance you could post a photo of what you did?

Thanks!

earlgrey_44 wrote:Check out my CG review:

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/gri...s/earlgrey_44/5363

It's certainly big. Not an issue for me, but that is a consideration driving some choosers of the Mini, and the Vario.

Hi, Earl-grey, thanks for the pointer--very helpful. Someone just offered me a one year old Cimbali Junior Grinder for even less $$--are you familiar enough with that one to offer a comparison to the M7?

Someone just offered me a one year old Cimbali Junior Grinder for even less $$--are you familiar enough with that one to offer a comparison to the M7?

Hi Mischa
I have not used a Cimbali, so I can't comment from experience. One of the learnings from this board seems to be that once you get past el-cheapo grinders or grinders with good burrs but poorly engineered mounts, length of the grind path is the single biggest variable impacting grind performance, so with the flat burr grinders, size matters, so compare those specs. Besides grind quality, there are issues of noise, size, ergonomics and convenience to consider. You'll have to research a bit to tell how a price difference would weigh against the features for you.

Any chance you could post a photo of what you did?

Hi Bruce
Hope you're enjoying the new grinder. I'll try and make time before the weekend is out to show a pic of the grinder brake.

Bruce,

Congratulations on the great deal! How does it taste compared to your 98 SJ? I remember getting a really nice mellow, creamy, chocolately taste out of an old SJ that I had borrowed from a friend. I don't know if it was his machine or not but it took a strong wrist to move that doser. Still, I've been very happy with my MXK.

I've found that using a digital enlarging timer is a nice work around to messing with the on/off switch. Another tip for cleaning out the exit chute is one of those narrow spatulas found at a cooking store (see photo). I'm curious what you're using for a hopper, I've been using a sports drink bottle for the 69 mm opening but I recently saw a link to a guy on ebay who makes custom tamps and he also works in aluminum so I was toying with the idea of having him make me cylinder and half pound weight.

Do you notice any change in grind if you don't have a sufficient weight of beans in your hopper?

Hi Ed, I just use a clear plastic cup I hacked off - topped with a discarded *$ mug lid. I like to be able to see inside as I'm grinding. I just use little acid brushes for whiffing out the chute. I have a million of them in my shop (used as glue appliers in that world)



I don't see the need to weight the beans. They suck into the burrs great as is. I haven't taken the care to swap beans back and forth between the grinders, so any comparison I make is utterly off the top of my head. Having said that, it certainly seems as good as the SJ if not better. It does seem to fluff a bit more - requiring less weight per volume in the PF - but I haven't done a strict comparison so I may be wrong. The SJ burrs are almost new. Tastewise, they both kill. I don't have the skills to say much more than that.

Hi Bruce

Here's a shot of the "brake shoe". I ended up with a "no-rotate" washer that consists of a rubber disk and thin plastic spacer both inside a little brass pan. The first pic shows the rubber disk and you can see the pan it sits in. The washer also comes with a brass flange that I discarded. Buy it at the hardware store where the faucet washers are.



I drilled a hole in the back of the pan, just wide enough to accept the Macaps pin. The rubber and the brass pan are thick enough to enclose the pin without it protruding, so the pin can't engage, but the pin does hold the washer in place. I still needed to use a little adhesive on the back of the pan so it wouldn't tend to rotate around the pin a little when the motor engaged.

At the extreme fine end of the grinders range, this washer actually was compressed a little too much - too hard to turn the collar - so I removed the little spacer inside and it was just about right. It doesn't drift in use, and is easy enough to turn.

When I eventually opened up the grind setting, and tried to grind beans for drip, I did see some drifting, so I replaced the original spring (left) with a stronger one (right) also a common hardware store item. That lets the brake work for cowboy coffee or coarse French press if desired.



It should probably be mentioned that some might be uncomfortable with a simple spring loaded friction brake like this, preferring a more positive stop on the upper burr to provide reassurance that it couldn't rotate off if the motor caught on it somehow. For commercial use, I don't think I'd trust it, but for home use, grinding a few spoons at a time, I don't see a problem.

BTW, the guy at Espresso Restorations has a simple but more robust brake mod design. His is a little more tool intensive, involving drilling and tapping the collar wheel. See it here:

http://www.espresso-restorations.com/Macap.html