To anyone who owns an Elektra Microcasa A Leva with wooden handles,

I am turning a handle for my uncle, and to avoid him having to send me his portafilter and be without coffee for a week, could someone take out their calipers (he doesn't have any) and provide me with a couple dimensions? I am looking for the diameter and length of the section of the handle that fits into the brass ring between the handle and portafilter. This ring is part 30 on drawing B: http://www.espressocare.com/products/microcasa-leva. The help would be much appreciated!

Stefano's Espresso Care sells the wooden handle: http://www.espressocare.com/products/it ... ood-handle If you ask nicely, I bet Stefano would measure one for you.

Here's what I have from an '84 MCAL:

Diameter of wooden section: 19.5mm
Length of wooden section: 9mm (there's a small gap of 0.5 to 1mm between this end and the inside of the ring)
Length of ridge ring sits on: 3mm
Length of bolt sticking out: 20mm

The ring is 9mm deep, and its diameter seems to be cut to precision, 20.0mm

The original wooden ones are attached to the portafilter by threads cut in the wood. (M10x1.5) That requires very hard wood, and also wood that does not "tear". An alternative for soft wood might be to drill a hole in the wood to hold an M8x1.25 cut off bolt of the correct length, and secure this to the wood with epoxy resin. The bolt should be brass to avoid problems with dissimilar metal corrosion. (You should replace the original stud with brass if you retain the original system. Brass and steel are a bad combination on portafilters!

I'm surprised at the quick response! Thanks for the help guys!

Robert, thanks for the added advice. These handles will be domestic cherry. I have successfully cut threads in cocobolo before, which is just a bit harder than cherry. Would you still recommend a threaded insert? I can check out Ace to see if they have something, but metric specialty hardware is always tough to come by.

Actually what you can do is try to cut threads in it, and if you fail you can bore out your new handle and put an insert into it. MCAL portafilter stud threads are M10x1.5 on one end and M8x1.25 on the other, at least on recent models. I changed out the original steel one for a brass one I made from brass stock. You can also decapitate M8x1.25 bolts and bore out your new handle to fit and secure it with epoxy resin with the bolt permanently attached. It would be a bad idea to do this with a steel bolt. It may be hard to find a brass one that size at your local hardware.

Stainless would be much less bad than ordinary steel bolts.

Custom Wood for your Espresso Machine

You have the dimensions. On the threads, a M10 1.5 pitch thread, pick up a M10 threaded rod from your local hardware store. Center drill your wood, use a 23/64th brad point bit in your drill press. Run a M10 tap into the hole to cut your threads. If you are using a fibrous or softer wood, once you cut the threads put 1 or 2 drops of thin compound CA glue in the hole on the threads. That will soak into the wood and harden the threads.

Once the CA is dry, screw your threaded rod into the wood. Put a Jacobs chuck in the drive side of your lathe and chuck the stud in, mount your live center and turn away. Just watch the trunnion for the brass cap. If you are using waxed exotic wood it will be green and shrink as it drys so get the trunnion as close as you can to a tight friction fit anticipating it will loosen up with time. If you get it too small, a drop of silicone will hold it. After you finish finishing the handle, unscrew the stud and screw on your portafilter. A drop of locking compound helps to hold it all snug so you do not over tighten and strip the wood threads.

The threaded rod on my MCAL is M8x1.25 on the end that screws into the portafilter and M10x1.5 on the end that screws into wood. It is a very recent model, I do not know if earlier ones be like that. I took a piece of brass stock, cut it off to the correct length and turned one down to 8mm and left the other 10mm and cut appropriate threads on both ends.

Check the threads on the brass part of the portafilter to determine this.