Thanks for all of the helpful responses. Sorry to leave you hanging and not be responsive for a bit. We lost power but now I'm back. I stupidly didn't even consider the position of he plastic hopper, which makes too much sense. I took a closer look/listen and there is an audible burr rub sound that is retained until at least 1 1/4th rotation where I stopped. At most points it is very faint, but it is there. At lower settings, like 1/8th, it begins getting way more severe with audible crackling from the rub and severe resistance which I understand as normal. When I hold it from the handle and rotate there doesn't seem to be any significant vertical shifts. I AM looking for it to be silent when 'ghost' grinding, right? With the locked inner burrs, what would be the best way for me to tackle this if it is a problem? I'm just trying to make the most of this wonderful grinder!

From your description, I wouldn't mess with it as it seems fine. How does the espresso taste? Is there burr run at your espresso setting?

On the current build you can take off the lower plate, remove the black ABS lower cylinder, put the plate back on without the ABS and check the whole thing out visually. Without the ABS you can look down at the burr from above and see the gap as light showing all around the burr...you can verify alignment from below with feeler gauges is you like...all kinds of trips down the rabbit hole . Burr alignment will not change after removing the lower plate...just make sure the bearing alignment is good....indicated by smooth and free axle turning.

I think what you may be hearing/feeling? is actually bearing noise or the sound of the adjuster nut rubbing on the flange of the top bearing to be specific. It is physically impossible to have a rub at 1 1/4 and not have it locked up at 1/2 or so. Also you may be misinterpreting your zero point, which is not uncommon. Lay it on the side and spin the nut until it stops...literally pull the burr up until it stops and spin the nut until it stops with no additional help after the spin stop...this is zero but you can force it below zero if you like, but this can cause confusion on the setting idea.

orphanespresso wrote:
I think what you may be hearing/feeling? is actually bearing noise or the sound of the adjuster nut rubbing on the flange of the top bearing to be specific. It is physically impossible to have a rub at 1 1/4 and not have it locked up at 1/2 or so.

That was my thought also. Before taking it apart in any way, make sure that what you hear is really the burrs rubbing. If you have used the grinder already, it could be a small part of a coffee bean stuck between the burrs. I often get that after grinding a shot and have to clack the burrs and spin the handle a couple of times before there's no more fragment in there. You could also try to set the grinder on a very coarse setting and bring it back to your espresso setting to see if that helps.

orphanespresso wrote: It is physically impossible to have a rub at 1 1/4 and not have it locked up at 1/2 or so.

I totally missed the 1 1/4....that is nuts and is probably a clear sign that a coffee bean shard is stuck on the bearings somewhere. This happened to my Pharos somehow when I first got it and didn't understand what was going on.

I reset my zero and it sounds pretty similar to before. In fact, the sound doesn't really change much as I adjust the rotation. If anything, it may be getting louder as I go towards 1 1/4th from 1/4th rotation. I think it may be the adjuster nut that's causing the rubbing, but it consistently gets louder at one area of rotation. Is that still possible? I guess I could test this by adjusting the nut and seeing if the location changes? But it could always be something on the bearing like Doug mentioned. Next plan will be to clean around the bearing (Maybe next time I'll use the popper stopper so I won't obsess over things like this). Thanks again, everyone. I guess it comes down to taste. As long as the espresso tastes good, the grinder is working.

The bearings themselves make some noise, as does the friction of the adjuster nut against the top bearing. It should spin freely with minimal resistance though. If you still have drag when you know the burrs are plenty loose, then maybe the axle is binding up on you. You might be able to improve this by loosening the 3 main bolts, giving the handle a good spin to make sure its turning freely, and then carefully tighten them up again, a little at a time. Don't mess with it until you're sure you really have a problem though.

FWIW and FYI: Will, aka voodoodaddy, includes a thin thrust bearing to smooth the interface between the collar and the bronze oil-lite bushing while grinding.

Finally got around to installing the aluminum bolt covers and the roller bearing - these two mods are key in my opinion. Alignment on my Pharos has held perfectly - with the inner bolts still loose - through several days of grinding light roasts. Installation and alignment took less than 10 minutes total. And with the roller bearing dialed in with the adjusting collar, grind adjustment is absurdly easy.