Hey- I have two of these machines that need restoring- I would kill for that tool- it is the nicest looking thing- I could just imagine the satisfaction as you unscrew the sleeve- awesome! feel like posting it to Australia? I promise I will get it straight back to you- with some kind of gift

If your onkel (uncle) would like to make another one I would buy it.

Hello again johey:

johey wrote:... not leaking at the moment. Was just thinking about cleaning it.
However, I don't really get how you mean. The top house is solid with no opening at the top. Seems like it is welded ...

Exactly, it was probably brazed to the side of the boiler before the chrome and polish job, but certainly not with the glass tube in place. =^)

My 'Shirley' is from the mid 60's also and here's what the top boss looks like:



I find this to be a much better system: one nut less to tighten, one less gasket, another possible leakage avoided.

If you look closely, my 'Shirley' does not have (unfortunately) a stainless sight-glass guard. Her original one was plastic and I removed it because I thought it was not up to the job. So I replaced the original sight-glass with another one the same OD but smalle ID. ie: thicker walls.

It's really not essential to have an opening at the top boss to remove the sight-glass in these models.
As you can surely imagine, if it went in it can come out.
What I do know for sure is that it means a bit more more work.

The top boss in these early models has more room to slide up/in than the bottom boss. This makes it possible to slide the glass tube upwards till it can go no further and when you get there, slowly and carefully move it sideways to pull it down and that's about it.

The reverse operation is what you need to do to put it back in. Of course, new, pliable gaskets are a plus as the originals ones may not leak but that's probably because they are welded to the glass and it's essential that the sigh-glass replacement be the exact length. Too long it may not go in. Too short and it may not seal properly.

Like one of our more knowledgeable correspondents has pointed out ...

orphanespresso wrote:That one is a standard La Pavoni difficult job.

If I may add to that: it's also the most annoying of all. =^/

In any case, all you have to do it follow his very well written instructions carefully and you'll get there.
Of course, Prudence and Patience will be your best girlfriends while at it.
Just leave out the part about "The glass comes out the top to the housing ... ".

Cheers,

CIV

Hi Johey,
Just to jump in on sorrentinacoffee's statement - Would you uncle be interested in making a few more tools to unscrew the cylinder and how much would he like for his time and materials and skill to do so? As much as I like the "nailset/vise" method, a tool sure would be nice to have
Thanks
Anthony

I posted this picture on another thread, but here's a tool I built to remove my La Cara piston:



50mm spacing between two penny nails. Worked like a charm. No grinding, welding or money required.

hmm- is that a tool or a weapon?

I believe that is called a 'zoot stick' used by the LA police to break up gangs of Mexican 'zooters' in the mid 1940's.... The nails would tear their expensive zoot suits...


I tried a similar thing with my machine- using a vice to hold two steel pins. Wouldn't work on mine as it must be stuck very tight- the pins bent- too much leverage.

No I still like the 'onkel' tool- a thing of great beauty it is... precious....

Franco Ceccarelli had a picture if a very nice tool he made- simpler design and easier to fabricate than the 'onkel'. I looked on his site but I cannot find it...

Thank you for the tips on how to replace the glass! It feels great to know that it is possible to remove it without drilling. However, I will keep it in place until I really have to replace it. Hope it doesn't leak.

About the tool... I'm sorry I didn't reply at once. I just don't really know what to say. Of course I could send it around the world, but there are risks involved. It might get lost somewhere on the way and it would probably be expensive as it is quite heavy. On the other hand, I know it would be useful for them who want to bring the oldies back to life...

I'm not really sure about asking my uncle to make more of them. I need to think of a nice way to put the question first.

So, I haven't really decided how to do... But anyone of you who want to replace your gaskets, and who wouldn't mind spending a few days in Stockholm/Sweden, are welcome to visit me any my girlfriend. We can even offer a bed for a couple of nights if you want to see the town. You will also have the chance to taste coffee from the best Swedish roastery Johan & Nyström.

That's all I can do for now. Heh.

What a great thread, it's inspiring me to drag my 60's pavoni out from storage to try the nail set and vice trick.
That being said, Johey, if your uncle is interested in making more of those tools, I'd certainly be interested in buying one.
If I make any progress I'll post an update.
Cheers,
-GB.

Hi everybody!

Today my group gasket arrived. Thanks alot, Mr Orphan! I installed it without any problems, and powered on the machine. After some minutes steam was released from the over pressure valve (or what it is called) and I think that is normal for the Europiccola. I turned the switch to the lower setting and the steam was less intense. I loaded the porta with coffee just like I do with the Professional and made me a shot. It was a quite different feeling than in the arm of the Pro, but I can't say if it's better or worse. Out came a near-perfect shot and I couldn't notice any kind of leakage from anywhere.

So thank you everyone for helping me with this! Now my two machines are shining beside each others and I love them both, but I think my heart beats a little stronger for the Europiccola '63 than the Professional '99.

Thats Great News Johey - It's always good to hear that somebody has gotten another vintage lever machine working again !!!! Well Done !!!
Cheers
Anthony

well done,

I have both models- and find that the action- and the shots- are better on the 1963 machine. An it certianly looks a lot better. Like most things I am sure the build quality of the vintage machine is better.

and now you have that lovely tool- you are set for life.

Your Unkle, he's pretty good with his tool making, but we just got our straight from the factory La Pavoni boiler element removal tool. It wasn't cheap by any means (and don't ask to borrow it ) but whew, what a fine tool. The inner collar grabs the boiler element by friction and the notches are for the boiler spanner nut. Wow....what a tool!

there is a cheaper way to get those tool
is to go to the factory in Italy for a training class
then they will be given to you......................
ok I'm joking
but is it true at least 6 years ago
PS there is also the other one for the diffrent style gear ( plastic one)

I have now used the early 60'th Europiccola (according to some research it must be 1964) daily for three weeks. Meanwhile, the 1999 Professional has been standing cold, since I thought of learning the Europiccola. However, I have never been 100% pleased with the feeling of the Europiccola. The Professional feels more responding when pulling a shot. So, today I googled about it, and found that there are another sealing that might need to be replaced. The one tightening between the piston and the top of the group. I missed that one when I replaced the other sealings. As I have a set of different gaskets for the Europiccola, I decided to open the machine again...

... Here comes the hard part. Removing the new group gasket... I don't know if there are any good techniques for doing that, but I didn't come up with any. It took me half an hour to remove it, and unfortunately, I made it some damage. Why didn't I order two? Anyway... When the gasket was finally removed, I used the "onkel" tool again, removing the screen and then the cylinder. There it was... The sealing I missed the first time. It looked pretty stuck, but it was not as hard to remove as it seemed to be. I found a replacement seal with almost (!) the same dimensions. I gave it a try, and it seemed to fit.

Reassemble... Yeah, well, not very much struggling. I found that the damage of the group gasket was not as bad on the upper side, so I turned it up and down, hoping that it would not leak. Power on... Grind and tamp... Try pulling a shot... Voila! No leaks anywhere and the feeling was exactly like the 1999 Professional! The shot was almost a killer, but maybe a few seconds to quick. Seems like I must adjust the grinder after the seal replacement.

While spending some time on the machine, I also cleaned the steam pipe, which was totally stuck. I wondered why there was no steam at all, but that was just the head that was totally dirty. Now, yet another feature is working on this oldie.

I have never owned a better and more beautiful coffee machine, and will probably never do.

Hej Johey! Its great to hear that the '63 is living up to (or beyond) expectations. I think that particular vintage La Pavoni is up there with the best home levers. When we get together sometime we'll need to be sure to test a matching hand grinder of the same vintage. A have a few....

Hand (grinder) Jive - a photo essay

I've been grinding so oldish La Bomba beans I get here in Värmland. I'm planing to ask the retailer when they get freshly-roasted batches.

Ciao,
PC

Actually, I'm looking for a hand grinder. I would be happy to try different models and compare the end result to my Compak K3 Touch. Using a modern big ugly automatic grinder with a vintage small beautiful manual espresso machine has some contrast.

I have been sneaking at Orphans youtubes demonstrating the Japanese hand grinder. By no means vintage, but still simple and efficient. But of course, there would be some value in having a grinder from the same age as the coffee machine.

One thing I don't like vintage though, is the beans. Too bad you have them so, PC.

By the way... Would you mind selling one of your vintage grinders? It doesn't have to be your favourite, but still good enough producing a fine espresso grind, with consistent result. The goods are hard to find here on the Swedish buy and sell sites.