guest_user wrote:Hello ;

thanks Jake for posting the info and everyone for posting questions. I am in the process of attempting to align my vario with
the plastic burr carrier ( i think i will probably order the metal soon) and i am having a bit of confusion about the brass adjustment spline, the screw that holds it in place, and the headless set screw which i have circled in blue usings lelands picture. I dont really understand at which point these should be tightened down; if i dont tighten down the headless set screw the housing for the brass shim moves freely in the casing, if i do tighten it down, it seems to push the burrs into eachother? should i loosen each and then just snug them up once i have aligned the carriers? any help would greatly be appreciated.

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Set the headless set screw flush with the plastic motor plate. It is the fulcrum that the adjustment plate pivots on when the levers are moved. The screw that goes into the brass block should not be adjusted unless the calibration screw (headless) is unable to set the calibration once the grinder is reassembled.

With the headless screw set flush, verify that the levers will bring the burrs into contact. If the levers move freely all the way up without burr contact, turn the headless screw clockwise until the burrs touch before the levers can be raised all the way up.

Does this make sense?

Cheers!

- Jake

Hi Jake,

Thanks so much for the answer:

should the metal bracket be free moving in the plastic housing?

With the headless screw set flush, verify that the levers will bring the burrs into contact

the burrs come into contact when the levers are all the way up (down as i am working upside down) but if i shake the housing the bracket will move and the levers will no longer come in contact.

does that make sense?

thanks!

The bracket is just sort of sitting in there, so yeah.

Also note that when the grind chamber screws are loose, the levers will first lift the lower burr into the upper burr, and then keep moving as the lower burr pushes against the upper burr and in turn pushes the entire grind chamber away from the motor plate. This is normal and to be expected. This is also why I have a tendency to "bounce" the levers gently as I tighten the grind chamber back up. With everything tight, the metal adjustment bracket should not move, but once you lower the levers back down, there is nothing holding it tight. This doesn't affect the alignment nor the grind setting.

Cheers!

- Jake

I've ordered the forte parts to convert my Vario. Exciting!
Question though: we know this alignment technique helps the burrs planar alignment, but given the play in the grind chamber, how do we know if they're also aligned axially? (Or radially? whichever the one that aligns the center of the burr's circles) or is that not as important?

Cheers!
-D

Jake can correct me if I'm wrong here, but if you confirm your planar alignment by using the marker test, that will do at least some reveal of concentricity, since the actual part of the burrs where they touch is pretty narrow.

-Peter

You are correct.

I have not seen any indication that there is an issue with concentricity between the bottom and top burrs. The top burr is located by the large diameter threads in the grind chamber and the lower burr by the bore that the plain bearing rests in. So far, Baratza seems to have excellent machining tolerances. Assembly is less precise, and it makes sense that it would be.

Remember that when Rolls Royce first offered an automatic transmission, they started with a GM Hydramatic, purchased "off the shelf". What made these transmissions a Rolls and not an Oldsmobile or a Cadillac was that they would disassemble each transmission, line bore all the journals, balance all the rotating assemblies and then install everything in near perfect alignment with equal clearances throughout. The result was a transmission that ran smoother, and shifted better with an overall feeling of quality craftsmanship because of how it was assembled, not so much because of where the parts came from, nor even how they were made. Being more of a mass-produced brand, it is hard to imagine that Baratza would take the time to develop precision assembly practices that one might expect from a boutique brand.

I think that ends up working out well for technically-minded consumer.

Cheers!

- Jake

Thanks all! On thinking about it again (and to reinforce what you've said), any shift laterally in the grind chamber will introduce tilt in the lower burr carrier (in the direction of the tilt) and by forcing the burrs together, this lower burr carrier tilt will be removed (by definition) and pull the grind chamber into alignment with it... (to within the machining tolerances of the bushings etc)... I think...

That's the general idea, yes!

Hi everyone.

I am in Canada so Baratza won't change my grind chamber to a metal one in their shop (due to customs fees etc), but they do sell the parts for it if I want to try doing it at home.

I am planning to put in metal burrs and do the alignment on my new Vario..

How involved is it to switch the grind chamber while I am at it? I am debating whether it is worth the additonal cost and effort, if I will get fairly good alignment with the stock plastic grinding chamber anyways.

Thoughts?

I just ordered a new Vario W 986, that I am going to put the steel burrs in and would like to perform this alignment as well. I see mention of also adding the forte metal grind chamber, I don't see the parts to order for that on Baratza's website, or do the new Vario's come with metal grind chambers already?