The missing gaskets showed up today; I faxed and emailed last Thursday, and the envelope was postmarked Saturday. So it seems they work on Saturdays and perhaps that's evidence of an effort to catch up on things. I feel a bit guilty getting these so fast, especially since they're for a second machine- gotta have proper coffee at work!

I e-mailed the Olympia factory a couple months back with a question about their full restoration gasket/clip pkg and they got back to me in a couple days with an answer. It led me to believe they're back in business supplying to North America.

About a month ago I noticed 1st-line had Cremina piston seal kits for sale. I ordered two: one which I'm still waiting for from USPS and later one shipped FedEx which I got and installed. I'm assuming 1st-line got them recently because they've been out of stock for a while. They're out of stock again but it appears parts are finding they're way back to North American stock, which is good news. My lever now stands at attention, which it didn't with old dried out seals.

so i wonder if they have portafilters ?
but more importantly and assuming they do, is there anyone here who can cut it to make it bottomless ?

and do you think it needs plating after cutting ?

As a guess, they should have them if they are still supporting the earlier models. Yet there is also the strong probability that a group buy of new design bottomless portafilters will be coming on line soon.
Here on HB
Since no fluid touches the pf in a bottomless, there is no problem. This has been discussed on many other threads.
Perhaps the seller may have a source to get the PF de-bottomed for you. I would be interested in learning the total cost with shipping and handling.

Cheers
richard

DennisS wrote:so i wonder if they have portafilters ?
but more importantly and assuming they do, is there anyone here who can cut it to make it bottomless ?
and do you think it needs plating after cutting ?

DennisS wrote:so i wonder if they have portafilters ?
but more importantly and assuming they do, is there anyone here who can cut it to make it bottomless ?

and do you think it needs plating after cutting ?

The Olympia portafilter looks to me as though its rigidity could be compromised by having the bottom cut out. The wall in Richard's design is much thicker than the original's.

Regards
Timo

timo888 wrote:The Olympia portafilter looks to me as though its rigidity could be compromised by having the bottom cut out. The wall in Richard's design is much thicker than the original's.

Agreed.

One of my Creminas came with a bottomless that has become ever so slightly distorted over time. It still locks in just fine and because it's not perfectly round the basket stays in place when I dump the puck.

Jon

DennisS wrote:so i wonder if they have portafilters ?

It just so happens that a portafilter is what I ordered... I got a response via email asking for payment, I sent my information and have heard nothing back yet.

There was a thread recently that discussed how "looks" (i.e. those from a bottomless PF) can be deceiving. Is it really worth cutting the bottom off of Cremina PF?

PC

Well its been over a month since the last report of anyone receiving parts from Olympia Express. I was wondering if anyone else had succeeded in receiving parts.