1Zpresso Q2 grip mod

[Miltonedgebert]

In a thread about travel grinders someone mentioned wanting to replace the grip inlay. I had some leather handy and decided to try it. Here's what I did.

Step one:
Remove grip inlay.
I first scored the grip, then peeled it off. If you care about scratches on a non visible part of your grinder score gently.



Step two:
Remove glue residue. I thought this would be a pain, but it came off nicely by rubbing with my thumb.

[Miltonedgebert (original poster)]

Step three:
Cut the material to size.
I just used the old material to mark width, then wrapped the leather around to mark length.
Measurements were:
Width: 1-9/16"
Length: 5-13/16"

Step four:
apply new material

I punched holes and laced the leather on in addition to glueing with e6000. Before glueing I scored the surface with the edge of a file.

[Miltonedgebert (original poster)]

It still fits in the areopress plunger. The leather I used was twice the thickness of the original material (.05" vs .025")
It looks like it will be safe to use material up to .08" (2mm) thick and still fit in the areopress.

[Pressino]

Nice job! I'm not sure it's really necessary, but "edge finishing" is often done in leather work to seal the edges. This could have been done to the upper and lower edges of the grip and involves three steps: edge beveling, edge burnishing (or "slicking"), and using a commercially available (usually colored) liquid sealer.

Your work looks fine, however, and I'll bet the grip feels better than the original.

[Miltonedgebert (original poster)]

Yeah, I couldn't find my edge finishing stuff, so I just decided to let my skin oils take care of it over time instead of digging through more boxes. I'm more irritated by my lack of attention to the stitching.

I'm honestly impressed by the stock material. I tried tearing it and couldn't, even using fingernails. I tried abrading it on stone and concrete, and all it did was take the color off. The surface didn't tear or fray and it still felt nice.

[jpender]

A very well put together series of posts. Thank you for demonstrating with so much detail how easy it is to remove the material.

One thing: Scoring it (as I did) isn't necessary as there is already a seam that could be used to begin peeling it off.

I'm honestly impressed by the stock material. I tried tearing it and couldn't, even using fingernails. I tried abrading it on stone and concrete, and all it did was take the color off. The surface didn't tear or fray and it still felt nice.

But it's not very grippy. Isn't that it's primary function? If it were my design I'd have used something very sticky. And I'd have made it as wide as possible.

[jpender]

I used 2mm silicone. None of the adhesives I tested worked so I used the sewing machine and then a little silicone sealant to cover the threads. It's tight enough and sticky enough that it doesn't need to be glued to the grinder. The threads stick up just enough to make it a snug fit in the Aeropress.




Not as pretty as the original but a much better grip.

[Miltonedgebert (original poster)]

Nice! I'm glad I was able to help.