That's a good advise. The HB Niche Zero review was quite eulogistic. The blind tasting was performed vs a Kony and a EK43 and the NZ shined. Samuellaw178 also thought it did pretty good vs his MonoCon on his Brugnetti Aurora.
So again, yes, it is a good advise to compare before ditching one or the other since taste is subjective ( )

I don't own a Vario nor a Forte but this subject caught my attention. Alignment is huge thing now in the espresso world, even more so for flat burrs grinders.

I was under the impression that it was much more important with larger burrs since a slight missalignement becomes a larger gap at the opposite side of the burrs (OD)... thoughts? Maybe a distribution graph eventually?

What about burrs geometry and grind retention? How do they compare to a Monolith flat?

Regarding spacers:

In industry, the approach that is taken for mounting equipment solidly is through the use of hard shims and grout. A base is poured and cured, studs cast into the concrete. The base is intentionally chipped up lower than the mounted surface of the equipment. Hard shims are simply thick chunks of steel that are set into the surface of the chipped concrete with grout. The top surfaces of the hard shims are precisely set to establish the mounting plane of the equipment before the grout dries. The equipment is then set upon the hard shims and loosely clamped in position.

Here's the part that really correlates to spacers and why they are necessary, but suck. The space around the hard shims, under the equipment and above the broken up concrete surface is filled with grout. The grout is vibrated, air bubbles evacuated, and it is evenly spread under the equipment, completely filling the void. When the grout hardens, it perfectly conforms to the underside of the equipment and is bonded to the gnarled and chipped up base. The studs that were cast into the base can then be torqued down and the equipment stays perfectly leveled and aligned to its accompanying equipment sets.

In a perfect world, I would treat the outer lip of the Ditting brew burrs as a hard shim, loosely secure the burrs with the mounting screws, and fill the void beneath the burrs with a quick setting epoxy and be done with it. But then the burrs could never be removed, and that would be less than ideal. So. I must deal with fabricated spacers instead. They work wonderfully. They suck.

Here's why they suck and how they work wonderfully:

1. Make some spacers:
   
2. Set one in a burr:
   
3. Note how it sits above the rim of the burr:
   
4. Sand it some:
   
5. Note how it is smoother:
   
6. Note how it sits closer to the rim of the burr:
   
7. Flip the spacer over so you can sand the other side:
   
8. Note how it's almost level with the rim of the burr:
   
9. Apply some ink to the rim of the burr:
   
10. Sand it a little more and take a blurry picture showing the high spots:
    
11. Sand some more until the marker is all gone:
    
12. Mount in the LBC and check for an air gap:
    
13. Sand just a tiny bit more to eliminate the air gap:
    
14. Repeat the entire procedure a second time for the other burr and wonder why you couldn't have chosen a normal hobby, like taking naps.
    
    All in all, not a bad job, but you have to take your time and be meticulous if you want this to work. A rushed spacer job is likely no better than just dealing with Taco Burr Syndrome. Is it all worth it? I don't know, but I lack the self awareness to know any better! If there is a problem that has a solution, I am inclined to try that solution. It makes things measurably more precise, so there's that.
    
    Cheers!
    
    - Jake

Forte.

Though there are no visible differences within the frame of those photos.

Just for consideration of another alternative spacer material. I used vegetable tanned tooling leather. It comes in various thicknesses and can be sanded or skived when dry. It also compresses easily when wet and holds compressed shape when dried. So, I cut a piece to fit the inside space that was 1-2mm proud when dry, wet it, then tightened the burr screws as desired. Water was pressed out as the burrs were tightened then the leather dried and it has stayed solid since.

Interesting...

I wonder how elastic the leather is when dried. A quick formed solution that could actually keep the burrs from deforming would be epic. These tiny screws generate significant proof loads when properly tightened. With the fine thread pitch, each screw can easily generate 800 lbs of clamping force when tightened by hand with a screwdriver. Multiply by 3 and you've got nearly 2,500 pounds pulling the burrs against whatever surface is behind them. Anything is better than air, as long as it allows the burr to sit flush.

Cheers!

- Jake

Jake_G wrote:Interesting...

I wonder how elastic the leather is when dried. A quick formed solution that could actually keep the burrs from deforming would be epic. These tiny screws generate significant proof loads when properly tightened. With the fine thread pitch, each screw can easily generate 800 lbs of clamping force when tightened by hand with a screwdriver. Multiply by 3 and you've got nearly 2,500 pounds pulling the burrs against whatever surface is behind them. Anything is better than air, as long as it allows the burr to sit flush.

Cheers!

- Jake

I did this on 83mm Mazzer burrs where deflection of the burrs wasn't my primary concern.

Does anyone have experience with a Bunnzilla w/SSP burrs and can provide a comparison to a Forte/Vario? Especially interested if you've also done this alignment method.