Doug: yes they are fat are'nt they, baby Swallows weigh 10% more than their parents when they leave the nest, the ones in the picture had just left the nest and flown their first meters in my garage/workshop.

I need to get back on topic, Today I dissembled the corroded lever, what a mess, both bearings corroded and shot, so is the shaft.
Regarding the shaft, I have a Question, how is the Piston fixed to the shaft and can it be removed easily.
In the Piston are 4 small holes, spaced at 90 degrees, is the shaft fixed via these holes.

Some of the teeth on the shaft rack have been badly damaged, I may have to buy/renew the complete shaft. the material seems standard Carbon steel, if so perhaps I can have the teeth repaired by way of welding and get the shaft re machined.
Biggest challenge is to keep the shaft straight during the welding process.
I have added some pictures to better understand the problems I am facing with this shaft, all suggestions are welcome.

I would check with a couple of machine shops before making your decision. The cutting of gear teeth is seldom done anymore and each tooth style/size requires a different cutter which may run over fifty dollars US. If you add welding, cutter cost, plus set up and machine time, it may get really pricey. Since you are on the continent, you will have a better chance of finding a shop with the proper cutter. Either way, may your luck be great! Enjoy your summer!!!
-Richard
PS. I like the Swallows, we have quite a few at the little airport I hang out at and we made separate housing for them. They really keep the mosquitoes down. Now, If we could only get the sparrows out of the hangers!

Ton,

So, are those African or European swallows then, and do you think they could carry a coconut?

Sorry, couldn't resist. When the spring comes here we often see a flycatcher hanging out in our yard eating up the bugs. So far, it's not gotten any of my pond fish and I enjoy seeing this bird come back even though I don't know where it's nesting.

Keep us posted on the progress, I enjoye the pictures (both of the machine and your avine friends).

You can still buy the lever piston shaft for the Italian Gaggia group with the seals on the liner instead of the piston as in your other machine.
I don't know if the shafts are the same, but fortunately, you can compare pretty easily.
http://www.espressoparts.com/G_72 $150 Ouch.
On the Italian group, the shaft looks to screw on the piston, maybe you can try to heat the shaft to get some dissimilar metal expansion going on.

Good luck with your restoration. After a good cleaning and polishing (at the end of a lot of work), she will clearly be a beauty.

Thank you guys for your positive replies, I will keep you updated on how things are going.
The complete machine has been stripped and all parts inspected for defects, I have ordered a kilogram of Citric-acid powder, should be enough to do the descaling.

I also put in the order for spare parts, have decided to renew both the damaged shaft and Piston, these two are the big money items.
The other items are mainly seals and portafilter gaskets, seals for water inletvalves, steamvalves and level glass gaskets, a pressure reliefvalve and a vacuumbreaker on the boiler.

All the new boiler and other flange gaskets I will be able to do myself.

Over the weekend I picked up a potent companion for this Spanish beauty, A gaggia grinder, found this one on a flea market site, no renovation project this time, works super..
Tell me what you think of that one.

Ton,
I'm not sure why your swallows would be slowing down the restoration? Don't you have a living room?
Nice project. Michael

Bluecold: you where right, the shaft is screwed into the piston, I dit not use any heat, just used a 14 inch "Ridgid" wrench, it came loose easy.

This levergroup is the "modern" 1975 Spanish design, the grouphead and piston are bolted to the cylinder with two M-8 bolts.
This is unlike the Italian group, which is screwed into the cylinder with a large 72 mm bolted sleeve .

That grinder is stunning, a perfect match for my sunshine yellow La Peppina if you ever fancy shifting it

Nice find.

Brave man. I thought mine was in a rough state!
Be great when it's finished!
I recently started restoring my Visacrem,
Visacrem lever rebuild

which is basically the same (probably made in the same factory??), but haven't had much time lately due to a new addition to our family!

Just to clarify, are your 2 groups different to each other? One 'Italian' and one 'spanish' design? There seem to be pictures of both.

I gave up trying to unscrew my shaft from the piston, too corroded and I thought I would snap it. Where did you manage to get new shafts/pistons?