Yo,

I got this week off before I start teaching again. And time off means time to play. Summer modding!

As I have noted, my Pharos is aggressive! This week, I have been using my recently acquired Sama Export with a tight grind and a light tamp. 14g of beans is usually 15 turns. This speed means the holding hand has to work extremely hard--I have used the word herculean in the past.

I love my Pharos and it is here to stay, but my gf can't turn the handle (because she can't hold it still). My arm has gotten much stronger so I can use it without extras, but I want my gf to be able to use the Pharos as I sold my previous electric grinders. She doesn't want to use the Hario Mini since she can taste the difference between the Pharos, it takes like 3 minutes to grind a shot, and Hario and loves the shots from the Pharos (me too, of course).

Here's my Pharos holding dock 1.0:






Materials used:
-free piece of wood found on street (I will probably buy a saw one day and cut it down some).
-1 pharos bench dog, $11
-6 #8 wood screws, bought a box of 50 or 100 don't remember for under $2.
-4 suction cups from the base of my Cappuccino Amore (the CA is in pieces in a bin--to be restored one day lol)

I am still experimenting.
But this definitely adds a helping hand in holding the grinder. I still need to use a very firm grip on the Pharos, but not my entire body like before. It really makes grinding much more pleasant and enjoyable. Here is my grip:

I should mention that the suction cups are absolutely necessary. The holding dock with just the Pharos dog installed is totally unstable and slips and slides around and it actually harder to use than simply holding the Pharos. One of those anti-slip kitchen mats might work too, but I find the suction cups to be aesthetically pleasing.

Does anyone know where I could get some super strong suction cups?

...

I also bought some clamps and rigged the holding dock, but I consider this rig incomplete:



As you can see, I use a different grip when I use the clamps. I consider this incomplete because the clamps add too much force in the front and the suction cups in the back come undone (notice in the picture I am using my finger to push the back down). I plan remedy this by installing some sort of handle onto the plank of wood to push down and hold the rig. This together with the clamps would mean that I would not need to hold the Pharos at all and only touch it with one hand to turn the handle.

I don't like the ugly big clamps that I am using and am hoping to either find something else or build a more elegant and smaller clamp in the future.

That's it for now! Comments and suggestions are more than welcome!

Suction cups will stick better if you try a little dab of hair gel on them - the trick is to make an air tight seal between the suction cup & the surface you're sticking it to.
Barb

Thanks Barb, will give it a try!
Ps I put the dosing funnel in the mail today so it's on its way back

Edit: hair gel worked really good! Thanks!

Update: holding dock 1.0 is a complete failure! Back to the drawing board...

Since I have changed my roasting to be much lighter, the Pharos is giving me more of a workout. I have used one of those furniture clamps as well.

My naked Pharos has three holes on the bottom (2 for the black plastic ring screws, one big one for the cone).

I have been thinking of setting up a base with bolts that stick up. I'd put the Pharos down on that base with the two bolts going up through the screw holes, grind, then lift it off and tap off the grinds onto my flexible cutting board.

I'm not sure how good suction cups would be. I have been thinking of incorporating elements of the counter - its edge and backsplash - to deal with the turning forces.

I have some extra bits around the condo so I guess I should try it out.