Hi
I picked up a used Cimbali on Friday. It is marked Alinox on the bottom, but is the flat burr/direct drive version, so I think it is really a Cadet.

I have taken it apart, and cleaned it up, and ordered new burrs which should arrive today.

But, after cleaning, I put in the upper burr carrier, which is threaded to adjust the grind, and it is hard to move, after it is in a few turns. It was also hard to take out, but at the time I didn't realize I would have to move it to adjust the grind. I also noticed it was kind of hard to adjust the grind when I picked it up, but I thought it was just dirty, and after cleaning, I expected it to get easier.

Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to make it easier? I was thinking about lubing the threads with vegetable oil when I put it back together with new burrs.

Any help would be appreciated.

Randy

I suggest lubing the threads. I am not sure that vegetable oil would be good. I have heard of olive oil being used. Once I used a small bit of silicone spray. This worked, but I doubt it would be considered food safe.

Now I use Dow 111. The tube linked below will last forever, as only tiny amounts are needed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0343663907

Thanks for the tip

I checked the stuff out on ebay, and then remembered I probably already have it.

For swimming pools, they sell silicone lubricant for greasing o-rings. I am pretty sure it is food grade.
I bought a tube from Leslie's pool supply a while ago. I will check tonight, and make sure that it is really food grade, and hope that it solves my problem

Randy

randytsuch wrote:... it is hard to move, after it is in a few turns. It was also hard to take out...

My Cimbali Max Hybrid exhibited the same. It also had an easy and a hard section each revolution that got harder as the burrs got closer to zero. Lubrifilm didn't help very much.

Much more difficult than any Macap or Mazzer I've taken apart.

Hi Ian
Hey, we're neighbors, kind of. I live in Brentwood.

Nice to know that someone else with a Cimbali has the same issue.

I put some of my pool lub on last night, and it did make it somewhat easier (I think), but it still seemed hard. I have my new burrs, hopefully I will have time tonight to put it together.

Randy

The threads are very fine, even a little coffee in the threads will bind them up. When I take my grinder burrs out I will brush the threads clean with an old toothbrush to get any residual coffee powder/grinds out. They are also easy to cross thread. Hopefully the previous owner or you did not do that.

Knowing that coffee in the threads could cause an issue, I scrupulously cleaned them. No change.

Coffee in the threads would probably not manifest itself an oscillation in the difficulty, but as an ever increasing stiffness.

Put the new burrs in last night, and put it together enough to try adjusting it, but it is NOT working, the threads are too tight, and I can't adjust the grinder right now.

I was pretty dissappointed/upset about it last night, but todays another day.

Did some research, and found out they make something called a thread file

They hav some here
http://www.victornet.com/subdepartments/Other-Thread-Repair/1420.html

Going to order one for the internal (nut) and one for the external (bolt) threads, and see if I can fix this guy.

Randy

Not sure that is a good idea. Espresso adjustments are in the 2/10,000th of an inch range. Any work with a file is likely to severely compromise that accuracy.