I haven't been active here on the forums for several years but thought I'd post some pictures of the way I've been enjoying my very old Mazzer Major for the past several years. This must be one of the first Mazzer grinders ever imported to America - it was imported by Thomas E Cara in San Francisco and bears a "La Cara" label.

I didn't like how much coffee was trapped underneath the burrs and whole beans could get stuck in the center without ever going thru the burrs so I sealed off those spaces under the burrs and reshaped the center area so beans feed smoothly into the burrs. I also added flexible extensions to the wipers so it wipes the chamber and upper burr carrier much, much better than without those wipers.

Then I made a paper mache spout after experiments shows that paper generated almost zero static compared to the Mazzer stainless spout which was created a lot of static. And while I was at it I made a paper mache feed funnel that allows me to feed beans in while the grinder is running, and it slows the feed of beans for more consistency to the grind. I know paper mache makes me quite a dinosaur and I might have to get into 3D printing someday - but I love the ease of making complex shapes from paper and it's fun. The brown color is not from coffee oils - it is from using those heavy, brown paper bags that Amazon Fresh uses to deliver groceries. I'll have to try making a YouTube video showing how well this simple feed tube works! I love being able to pour the beans in while the grinder is running and not needing to have a tamper in the throat to keep beans from jumping out.

And I made a wooden stand to hold the grinder at an angle of about 35 degrees away from vertical - this allows the grinds to fall nearly straight down and gives me very little grind retention.

I had put new Mazzer burrs on it about 20 years ago when I first bought it. Now I'm hearing about SSP burrs and wondering if they would give enough difference in grind to be worth the high price. Has anyone here done an A-B comparison between sharp Mazzer burrs and SSP burrs on a Major? I also would love to learn how to wire the motor up for a speed control. But I have been enjoying this grinder like this for years now and it really feels pretty close to perfect for my needs as is.

Thanks for reading this post - I just wanted to share my ancient Mazzer and the very simple mods.

I have a more recent Major...circa 2011ish. I "upgraded" the OEM burrs to the ones sold by Torr Toys, but didn't see any real difference in my shots and, tbh, I feel like it was a waste of money. However, in 2019, I installed a set of SSP Red Speed burrs and was pretty darn impressed with the improvement, mostly clarity/flavor separation. While the grind speed also improved, the noise level increased. If I had to do it all over again though, I would skip the Torr Toys step and go straight to the SSPs...unless the possibility of a replacement grinder is on the table.