linked from Which is the most beautiful grinder?

as i'm chasing down a grinder to go with my microcimbali and seeing some sweet vintage grinders, I'm wondering do they work?
Since the micro is 40 odd years old does it somehow work better with a grinder of the same age?
I guess the problem is the burrs and the possibility of finding replacements as i guess a grinder can't work without fresh burrs.
who's good on this, orphanespresso as usual?

thanks all again...

While a vintage grinder may work well for you if you find a good one, a grinder is a precision instrument (or at least should be for espresso). Worn bearings can make a huge difference, allowing end play as well as wobble. It would only take a thousandth or two of an inch to make a noticeable difference. Shop carefully.

Carrotious wrote:Since the micro is 40 odd years old does it somehow work better with a grinder of the same age?

Giles, I would say "no." If, and it's a big "IF," you were trying to -- let's say -- furnish a café with everything appropriate to the 1950s, then I can certainly understand the desire to find a grinder of that era. Similarly, if your kitchen is designed straight out of a certain time period, you would want everything to match the "look" of that era.

But I know of no inherent reason -- at least that I can see -- why a 40+ year old espresso machine would work any better, and many reasons why it would be much worse, when paired with a 40+ year old grinder.

Replacement burrs are one issue, and certainly new burrs would be essential were you to acquire a 40+ year old grinder. (Hopefully they would still be available; otherwise you might have to replace the burr carrier with a new one of similar size so that new burrs could be installed.) In addition there could be an issue with the motor and its inherent RPMs (a newer grinder may operated at a slower RPM, for example), let alone frayed wiring, capacitors near their limits, etc., etc.

Style may be one consideration, but there are also new grinders that would "match" from a stylistic vantage point. For example, the previously mentioned Olympia Express "Moca" grinder.

Cheers,
Jason

indeed that was what i imagined, which makes internet auction bidding complicated...

For instance there is a red cimbali grinder which would sit beautifully next to the micro but there you go...

1962 Faema President 2-group and Faema grinder restoration

Besides digital timers, nothing has changed.
Bearings can be replaced, motors can be rewound, burrs haven't changed much.

Carrotious wrote:indeed that was what i imagined, which makes internet auction bidding complicated...

For instance there is a red cimbali grinder which would sit beautifully next to the micro but there you go...

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for reference, an esteemed friend tells me: this machine was manufactured by electrical contracting firm ercole marelli.