Microcimbali - Shaving down a precision basket

[cidadao]

Hi all,

I am trying to fit a IMS DeLonghi basket into the stock portafilter of 1974 Microcimbali. Basket height and depth are adequate but there's about a 1mm excess width on the basket lip that prevents the portafilter from locking in. Is this something a bit of sanding could take care of, or do I need to use an angle grinder? Willing to put in a little bit of elbow grease but if it requires many hours of work for a subpar result I'll have to find someone in the Boston area with expertise and power tools. Excuse this novice question. Thought it could be of interest to Microcimbali owners more generally.

Thanks!

[Nunas]

Definitely not an angle grinder! You should be able to do this with a bench-mounted power belt or disk sander, using a fine grit. Clearly paint the area to be removed with a felt marker. Wear leather work gloves, as the sanded edge will become very sharp (blood makes a lousy lubricant ). Place the basket on the sander's table. Constantly turn the basket, using a very light pressure, making sure to hold it flat against the table. Do not press hard against the disk/belt. Once you're done, you'll want to dress the new rim with some fine emery cloth to round any sharp edges. I sharpen my lathe planer and other tools using a 1" belt sander. I usually start with 200 grit and finish with 400. But, since you are not trying to create any scary-sharp edges, you probably can get away with nearly any medium to fine grit.

[cidadao (original poster)]

Perfect. Might document the journey.

[cidadao (original poster)]

Success - thanks for this walkthrough. Not a super even edge, and I might have to trim a bit more as the Portafilter doesn't reach 6 o'clock - but the (positive) results in the cup were notable. Had previously experienced problems with flow despite good puck prep and think I'll now be able to grind significantly finer. Have another, smaller basket that I'll try to clean up with a bit more precision. Nice no longer to be captive to low quality after market Liberty components on eBay.

Definitely not an angle grinder! You should be able to do this with a bench-mounted power belt or disk sander, using a fine grit. Clearly paint the area to be removed with a felt marker. Wear leather work gloves, as the sanded edge will become very sharp (blood makes a lousy lubricant ). Place the basket on the sander's table. Constantly turn the basket, using a very light pressure, making sure to hold it flat against the table. Do not press hard against the disk/belt. Once you're done, you'll want to dress the new rim with some fine emery cloth to round any sharp edges. I sharpen my lathe planer and other tools using a 1" belt sander. I usually start with 200 grit and finish with 400. But, since you are not trying to create any scary-sharp edges, you probably can get away with nearly any medium to fine grit.

[cidadao (original poster)]

[Nunas]

Way to go, no scorch marks from pressing too hard in one spot, quite round, really. Looks good!