I have noticed many posts about techniques to make it easier to adjust fineness of grind with the Pharos. Many of them involve attaching a graduated degree scale to the top of the Pharos. The problem with this approach is that the adjusting screws are on the shaft, not the Pharos body. One has to tighten the burrs together, and then open them a certain number of degrees. However, when one tightens the burrs together, there is NOT a precise point where they come together, making each adjustment a bit inaccurate.

I saw some discussions about the use of threaded collars, and obtained one. They come in three varieties, one piece, hinged, and two piece. I decided to try a one piece one first. I removed the handle, lock screw, and original two adjusting nuts. I machined a brass collar 25mm in diameter 12mm thick. I used a boring tool to bore it out to 12.7 millimetres, I believe it was, so that the collar would slide over the threads. I put this collar onto the shaft, and then my new threaded collar. I turned the threaded collar until the burrs were snug. Then I turned the lock screw on the threaded collar to lock it in place closed.

Now I put on the handle retaining nut, I turned it until it was about 5 mm above the threaded collar. I put on the handle and turned it until it was just above the retaining nut, and so that the slit in the collar was centred UNDER the handle. I held the handle in this position and turned the 22 mm lock nut against the handle to keep it solidly in this position. Now I released the Allen screw on the threaded collar and turned the collar as close as I could to 220 degrees, I turned the lock screw. I ground espresso! It works perfectly.



What I want to do now is find a way to graduate THE ROUNDED END of the Pharos handle. With this system it is the HANDLE that needs the graduation. If I would put the handle under its lock nut, I could get a very precision grind setting if I can figure out a good way to graduate the rounded end. I could put a mark on the side of the threaded collar exactly opposite the slit for precision turning all the way around. However for espresso I find the setting is a bit over 180 degrees from closed.

By the way the thread on the Pharos handle is an inch size. 0.5 inches and 13 threads per inch.

To me this is a dramatic improvement.

I forgot to mention the part number for the single piece threaded collar. It is Ruland TCL-8-13-SS

Although I machined a brass collar to raise the point where the threaded collar would be to make it easier to adjust, you would not have to do that. You could also use standard washers or spacers from hardware stores. It is so much easier just to loosen the collar lock a bit and turn the collar a few degrees for a slight adjustment!

I will probably do something like this. It is difficult to adjust the grind without accidentally turning the lower lock nut while loosening or tightening the upper.

At the moment I'm using the single Voodoodaddy knob, the one with a pointer and set screws, mostly just because I purchased to whole package and I figured I'd at least give it a try. It seems to hold any one particular setting just fine and is easily adjusted.

Having said that, beforehand, I used the stock double knob system from OE. Again, it worked as advertised and I had no problem changing the grind, whatsoever. The key to making fine, precise adjustments, was using the "tommy" bar to turn both knobs together while still locked against one another. To open the grind, I would simply turn the bottom knob counter-clockwise, without holding the top knob stationary, allowing both knobs to rotate the same amount, maintiaing the preset tension between the two.To tighten the grind, just the opposite, turn the top knob clockwise, without holding the bottom knob. Worked for me.

Hats off to Robert for working towards a better "mouse trap" and maybe we're getting a glimpse of the future with his system. Just wanted to pass along my simple technique to anyone still struggling with making small precise adjustments.

MMC offers the same threaded locking collars in SS. I'm going to order the same hinged model I already have for the burr adjuster/pointer only in SS. I'll add another pointer to it, ream the threads out of the Pharos handle and TIG the collar to the handle thereby creating a fixable zero pointer for reference.

Still another approach might be to take a piece of bar stock and drill and tap one end to match the Pharos shaft threads, and then mill, saw, and drill the end to make an integral "threaded collar" on the end. Bar stock this size is not expensive. Stainless is harder, but brass is dramatically easier to machine.

It seems to me that that might be the very simplest and probably the very best solution to the problem. Either the welding or the machining in the collar makes the the handle itself be the standard reference!

I just printed a tiny protractor on laser label paper and put it on top of the Pharos handle. I had some difficulty cutting it out, but the attached image gives the idea.



One can look down at the tiny protractor and measure with great precision changes in the position of the threaded collar, and thus make tiny and precise changes in grind that are absolutely reproducible.

I think that it might look better with printable plastic labels. There must be a good way to cut out the label, as I said, I had some difficulty. However, it works. I find the threaded collar with a printed protractor ideal.

I cut out another protractor on a gummed label, using a nail clipper to make it more even, and I took great care to get it so the centre of the protractor was as close as possible to the centre of the shaft axis.



Notice how one can read the angle made by the Pharos handle with the slit in the locking threaded collar.

What one adjusts is the ANGLE OF THE BURRS VERSUS THE COLLAR. By reading the angle versus the handle one does not have to reproduce the same degree of tension against the burrs during an adjustment. I adjusted it so that the angle between the protractor and slit in the collar is 0 in my "zeroed in" median type coffee. Now if I temporarily require another grind I can loosen the collar lock and turn it anti clockwise to make it coarser, or clockwise to make it finer. I can read exactly how much I turn the collar, so I can simply unlock it again and get EXACTLY the same setting as I had orignally. There is too much give in the point of contact of burrs to adjust the system accurately by closing them and then turning through a measured angle. Here one is measuring the angle DIRECTLY. Direct measurement is ALWAYS best! Also if I need to remove the handle I can be sure NOT to release the collar lock with it off, and I can get the handle to the same point when I put it back on, and then lock it with the handle lock nut.

On thinking about the system, I suspect it best not to have the locking mechanism welded or machined into the handle, so one can adjust relative to "the perfect grind for average coffee".

WSH wrote:The key to making fine, precise adjustments, was using the "tommy" bar to turn both knobs together while still locked against one another. To open the grind, I would simply turn the bottom knob counter-clockwise, without holding the top knob stationary, allowing both knobs to rotate the same amount, maintiaing the preset tension between the two.To tighten the grind, just the opposite, turn the top knob clockwise, without holding the bottom knob. Worked for me.

I tried this the past two days but my lock nuts seem to be much better at locking. My handle started turning down against its own lock nut before the grind nuts would budge.