If the prices for plating that I received recently are typical, the additional process and transport costs for chrome or nickel plating might add about $10-$15 dollars to the unit price, assuming 10-15 pieces in the plating batch. Since with a naked portafilter espresso does not come into contact with the plating, it would not have to be meticulously food-safe.

Regards
Timo

I will be sending Lino my portafilter before the weekend. It fits both my '67 and '86 Creminas and is in fine shape.
If enough interest is shared, the material can be agreed upon, and a price for plating secured for a batch of portafilters... Say 10 or 15 we could move ahead as a group to secure a price range for the project in brass.
If not I will go ahead with my original plan with Lino for a naked stainless portafilter which he can highly polish and will have no need to plate. If there is interest in that we could also go ahead with it as a group to make it more cost efficient. I personally would like 2 but if I am going solo I may have to stick with one.

timo888 wrote:On the choice of material...
The Oly Club manual recommends running the PF under cold water between shots to keep the Club's group from overheating. To that end, could the naked PF be made from brass instead of stainless? Less wear and tear on the group slots too.
Regards
Timo

Hi Tim,
As I mentioned above, I prefer brass and the original PFs are die cast brass. The reason for mentioning "lino" is that he is very skilled and I believed he had a CNC setup which would have been more cost effective than my doing them. Bill then contacted him about a stainless pf which is, in my humble opinion, overkill.
I will do polished PFs of brass / bronze. The reason is that a naked PF won't contact the flow in any way. All the group is protected by the screen gasket. remember, I pay the same , roughly, for brass / bronze as stainless steel.
I just don't care for the Stainless in big amounts as I don't have a decent ventilation or the room to use a good coolant. I do the stainless cores for the tampers and handles with a gel type coolant which is easier on the eyes and lungs but doesn't do a great amount of getting rid of the heat from heavy cuts.
Does this answer your questions?
sincerely
richard / espressme
PS, somehow I begin to wish I hadn't been helpful..

Hmmm.... The little wheels are turning.

Hey Richard, thanks for the DXF offer. I think I'll take you up on it, even though I'm getting a PF to hold in my hand and measure too.
For what it's worth, here's the business side of My Shop

Email me by the address in my profile for the DXF. I optimized it for manual and it would use 2.50" hollowbar. Rotary table used only for the ear definition. The grip shank to be brazed into the ring. thicker ring for heat sink and long term strength and stability.
It's good that you have a pf to check the drawing with!
You are very fortunate to have such a large clean space. I work in 144 sq. feet with all my rural water conditioning and the heating plant in there too.

The "Santec" pictured at the bottom, outside, early during disassembly, was, isn't now, but will besoon, a CNC machine. My Bridgeport looked much worse than that when I first got it home...

The "Santec" type of machine is a real solid performer. very sturdy and stable. Way, IMHO, stronger and more rigid than the Bridgeport types. I've CNC programmed and machined with all the various type and that is a winner at the price point. The last reasonable priced machine. We had a CNC"Lagun" and some CNC "Miltronics?" from Minneapolis of that style and they never let us down from chatter.
Did some machine tool rebuilding meself and can see that you did a great job. That Clausing sure beats my Craftstsman 12" and my Chicago mini mill.
What CNC controller are you planning to use?

Also, all the bottomless PFs I cut are done inside the Tupperware (that everyone asks about) that's sitting on the rotary table. It contains the chips.

Done that trick myself! especilly with coolant on a Bridgeport!

ciao
lino

Sincerely
richard

Following this thread closely, looks like a great project. I'm interested, no pref btwn brass and ss.

Lino,
I really like your setup. Much better than mine was and the Clausing is in great shape! What is it 24" between centers and 10" swing? I had an old Logan Model 200 built in 1943 but was in mint condition... Belt drive and had to change out gears in order to vary turning/feed and threads... Just sold it last winter to a guy from Mass. He loves it... I am looking to replace it after I move to NH this summer/fall.
Portafilter sent...

You can count me in for at least one.

espressme wrote:The "Santec" type of machine is a real solid performer. very sturdy and stable. Way, IMHO, stronger and more rigid than the Bridgeport types. I've CNC programmed and machined with all the various type and that is a winner at the price point. The last reasonable priced machine. We had a CNC"Lagun" and some CNC "Miltronics?" from Minneapolis of that style and they never let us down from chatter.

Did some machine tool rebuilding meself and can see that you did a great job. That Clausing sure beats my Craftstsman 12" and my Chicago mini mill.
What CNC controller are you planning to use?

Sorry about the semi off-topic but it looks like some are interested...

I'm glad to hear the you like that type of mill. I had a Chinese benchtop that I'd been considering converting, but I ended up selling it as I couldn't stand the poor quality. I found the Santec, non-running, for only $100 more than I got for my benchtop. I have a friend who is the best machinist I've ever had the pleasure of working with and he just bought a second mill of that style (He has Sounthwest Industries, TRAK brand).
I'll be running it with a PC using Mach3 software as the CNC controller. Power supply, I'm building. Drives are a new brand out of Finland - I believe I'm their second customer. And the servos are state-of-the-art Fanucs!
The machine originally had a Centroid PC based system with steppers, circa 1992.
I'm only reusing the ballscrews (and may replace them before long, as they are not high precision).

The lathe is actually a Brit made Colchester (rebranded in the US by Clausing). It is in nice shape, however I'm considering replacing it with a Monarch 10EE at some point. The Colchester is a little lightweight for my needs (or wants, actually). It weighs about 1500# where the 10EE, with slightly smaller capacity, weighs in at about 3500#...

Regarding the mounting of the handle, since the wall of the PF is thicker than stock, what about drilling thru the wall and tapping.
Then two options are available:
1) use a custom handle that screws directly into the wall of the PF.
2) use an "adapter shaft" that threads into the PF on one side and has length and threads to mimic the original PF so that original handles can be used.


Ciao

lino

TUS172 wrote:Lino,
I really like your setup. Much better than mine was and the Clausing is in great shape! What is it 24" between centers and 10" swing? I had an old Logan Model 200 built in 1943 but was in mint condition... Belt drive and had to change out gears in order to vary turning/feed and threads... Just sold it last winter to a guy from Mass. He loves it... I am looking to replace it after I move to NH this summer/fall.
Portafilter sent...

Actually it's a Colchester but since Clausing was the importer they put their name over the top of the original branding. It was made in England in 1967.
It's a little bigger than that too, actually 13" swing by 36" between centers. It's hard to see in the pictures, but I got it with a taper attachment as well.
It's a nice machine. I'm toying with the idea of "upgrading", but the last thing I need is another project...


ciao

lino

My perception was off but still... a nice setup and machines.

The portafilter is on its way to you and should be in your neck of the woods on Monday or Tuesday of next week at the very latest. Regards...