Shims for your La Pavoni, Olympia Cremina, etc lever fork


This has been covered before

The lateral play in my cremina is very slight. We're talking .01" the thickness of a subway card

So would shimming with a metrocard work? It's made out of polyester and supposedly heat resistant to 350 Fahrenheit or so but I'm thinking it is not such a good idea

Nylon washers are too thick

Maybe teflon sheet?

Ideas welcome

Thanks in advance

One can find very thin brass washers in many hardware stores. I suspect that they would be the best idea.

(Remember the many posts in HB about friction damage to the lever mechanisms. Be sure to keep the pins well lubricated, and remember the "silicone" lubricants are not really suitable for high pressure applications. The manufacturer does not, in fact, recommend it for metal-metal lubrication.)

Also if you've got very little play, pulling slightly to the side can rest one side of the fork's flat surface against the flat of the group and give you a smooth pull.

Thanks for the responses guys

I'm using food safe lubricant for the roller pins the same one that I use on the piston gaskets and inside the piston itself but am going to switch to doug's OE roller pin oil.

I've scoured my local hardware store for nylon washers but will look for brass washers.

Good ideas on resting the fork to one side during the pull and using brass washers.

Even though the lateral play is slight it is still annoying.

Rpavlis: So I checked the food safe lubricant that I use for the piston gaskets and it is silicone based. I'm using Dow 111 as indicated above for the roller pins.

I'll have to check the thread on what is being used (for roller pins )but what is the general consensus of what to use?

So far no wear at all on my machine and the prior owner also used the silicone based (Dow 111) food safe lubricant for the roller pins.

ED,

I think you're misunderstanding Robert's suggestion. Dow 111 and food-safe silicone lubricants in general are appropriate for most piston gaskets, including for a Cremina and on the piston shaft, where you have metal sliding inside a rubber gasket.. He wrote that the "lever mechanism" does better with a different lubricant, where you have metal on metal with pins turning and a metal roller inside the brass lever yoke. Robert has posted previously about changing steel lever pins to brass to avoid wearing lever pin holes.

Thanks DrGary:

I wasn't clear in my prior post. Tough to type and read on a small phone screen. I've added the words that should have been there in bold.

I'll be switching to Doug's OE roller pin lubricant but could probably get away with vegetable oil in a pinch. I won't be using anything other than Dow 111 for the gasket (rubber,silicone) to metal contact of the cylinder wall. (Doug's video on YouTube shows him using Dow111 for the roller pins but he also mentions using any food safe lubricant including vegetable/olive oil )

If you are ever in NYC again look me up. I've been to the Kaffe1668 in lower manhattan a few times. They have their own blend and it's quite tasty.

HBfencing wrote:If you are ever in NYC again look me up. I've been to the Kaffe1668 in lower manhattan a few times. They have their own blend and it's quite tasty.

Thank you for that invitation. I visit family there from time to time and will look you up if in NYC.