I am amazed at all the help and support here! I have an older cremina, and the gasket set; however, I am feeling much trepidation as to my mechanical abilities! I actually have an allen wrench hanging about the group head, trying to get up the nerve to tackle this project. Is there anybody out there (to quote Pink Floyd) to encourage me through this project? I live in Sw colorado - a relatively isolated spot - and I worry that if I need more help than words, where would I turn?

Hello Bev,
Glad to see your post!
You can do it if you try!
Cheers
Richard

Richard,
Glad to see YOUR post,....ya think I can? I am definitely going to give it a shot! (is that a barista pun?) I finally found a Trosser on Ebay, btw, and I am just digging myself deeper and deeper into the Espresso Lever addiction! Now, If I can get my confidence level up to tackle the rebuild of my Cremina,....

Good to meet you Bev. Any friend of Richard's is a friend of ours. We have rebuilt two Creminas in the last week and I walked Barb through her first rebuild and she came through it just fine. She had some hand strength issures here and there but with some care and maybe even a little extra leverage on that allen wrench with an extension of some kind it was no problem. Some of the rebuild issues depend on how far you are planning to go. The group only is a fair breeze, the steam wand easy except for that possibly stuck brass screw on the end of the valve washer, the boiler gasket is actually a non invasive process made simple with a good wiring diagram drawing. The stinker is the sight glass seals job, which basically requires that you take the machine completely apart, much like a Swiss watch.
As far as the group only goes, liklely the biggest problem will be those clips on the piston pins. They are hard to take off without either stretching them too far or breaking them. Or dealing with the previous owner who stretched them too far. Good to have an extra set on hand just in case. Also the re-installation of the piston....make sure you really lube the end of the insertion tool to pop the shaft through the seal.
There are lots of folks with both good advice and moral support, such as, you can do it!
Doug

msmacchiato wrote:I am amazed at all the help and support here! I have an older cremina, and the gasket set; however, I am feeling much trepidation as to my mechanical abilities! I actually have an allen wrench hanging about the group head, trying to get up the nerve to tackle this project. Is there anybody out there (to quote Pink Floyd) to encourage me through this project? I live in Sw colorado - a relatively isolated spot - and I worry that if I need more help than words, where would I turn?

Bev,
Any need you have can be answered here. These machines really aren't that complicated. Some wiring, some seals, some bolts...etc...
You have probably already perused the rebuild projects of
SRobinson: restoration-of-olympia-cremina-t464.html and
Mogogear: rebuilding-oly-twins-saga-t2504.html?hilit=oly%20twins
Lots of good information there. I know before I tear into an area that I feel uncomfortable with... Like wiring... I will take detailed digital pictures of the setup. As far as taking the grouphead off and replacing the piston and shaft seals... just take your time with it. The stem gasket and ring for the steam tap are pretty easy also. Heck if you get into a bind, have the parts and are willing to trust an old fart from Vermont you can send it up... Perhaps with that reassurance you will tackle it and find that you are capable and with the advise of those here you will do just fine.
You may consider starting your own thread though just so we can easily track your progress. Best of luck... we are only a keystroke away...