One of my joys in this hobby has been the excitement of finding vintage treasures and restoring them. In doing so, I started to develop a collection and became somewhat knowledgeable in vintage home levers. Do others here like this aspect of the hobby? If so, please show us some of what you've done. This topic is split off from this great thread to avoid taking it off course.

Stuff about espresso that I wished I knew when I started out

It started when I found my first lever machine find for $50 for the machine and all the extras. About another $100 got me the needed parts. Selling the grinder helped pay for those. As I restored gear, I sold some off to trade up.



An entry-level grinder can be inexpensive too if you go the used route. This was my first Mazzer Super Jolly restoration. The machine cost me $200 and new burrs were about $125.







If you keep your eyes open for used gear, you just might find something really special, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Thomas E. Cara started to import espresso machines from Italy not long after World War II.

I read all of the glowing reviews of the Olympia Express Cremina and started looking. Before I found one, here was my first rare find, a Lady Duchessa, where the seller knew what it was worth but wanted to let me have it for her original purchase price, $250.



Then I found a Conti Prestina in rough shape for $200. I had never heard of these but Doug and Barb at Orphan Espresso told me that if I wasn't up to restoring it, I should get it for them.



Almost two years later ... and it ended my upgrade itch for an espresso machine.



Then I found my Olympia Express Cremina as a parts machine for $440.





With parts, polishing and powdercoating, it ended up being about $800 all in. Here it is, next to my Olympia Express Coffex, which I also restored.



Then there was my best find. As I was being invited to join Team HB, I found this one-of-a-kind historic machine on eBay for less than $500. When I first looked at it, the color seemed wrong. I looked closer and saw that it was the original paint. It's the first La Pavoni Europiccola made for the U.S.A. market, and the first Europiccola known with the La Pavoni badge. It was made in 1961.

Methinks "find" downplays the skill and strategy behind those awesome items. Perhaps the master can share a few more tips and tricks of the trade?

Do you start with a machine in mind, then go looking for it?

I saw Ebay named as a channel, anywhere else?

If you're not looking for something specific, what sort of search words do you use to find "finds"?

Any tips on the danger signs of an unrecoverable machine?

That's a detailed ask. Part of the knack of these unusual finds is enjoying the hunt, searching for what you want but then seeing what appears. A shortcut is to be in touch with a well-known restorer or collector and asking them to keep an eye out for you. There's also no substitute for living in Europe or having contacts there, or at least living in the San Francisco Bay Area where Thomas Cara brought in so many great machines. If you look closely, you'll see that the Conti Prestina had a La Cara sticker on it. Also, there are sources like Kijiji, Subito, FaceBook and Craigslist, but findings are a bit sparse up here, and please buy with caution and with recourse. Once you start finding and restoring used treasures, you'll have to control the addiction.

Here are some that show the restoration aspect of the hobby. My interest eventually shifted to roasting, because it was a deep rabbit hole that wouldn't take up too much of our living space.

Conti Prestina Espresso Machine Restoration 101 (Completed and Indexed)

Rare Lever Espresso Machines by Duchessa / Ducale

My eBay Elektra Microcasa a Leva - Vintage MCAL Mods and Cleaning

Building the Ultimate La Pavoni Europiccola

Newly acquired Microcimbali Liberty: had a few restore questions

Pasquini Livietta (Olympia Maximatic) restoration

Thermostat versus PID on a Caravel

Oh yeah, this is a rabbit hole.

<using a quiet voice so it doesn't hear this> I'm patiently waiting for my GCP to explode so I can switch to lever machine, but in a more-time-than-money scenario. I may not be worthy of the spirit of this post due to my predilection (addiction?) for hacking, but I'm hoping to learn the searching tips and strategies to find these gems. An expired warranty is a liberating gift of possibilities.

A couple of years ago someone advertised a Cremina in Portland for $75 on Craigslist. You never know. As I've just added above, as you restore gear you can sell it to trade up.

drgary wrote: As I've just added above, as you restore gear you can sell it to trade up.

That can be difficult for some

For anyone who doesn't know about Ryan's restorations and collections, here's some context.

Oiman's Virtual Collection Archive

I remember a delightful afternoon at your house, Gary, back when you lived in Redwood City. You were kind enough to host my brother and me for an afternoon of sampling espresso from most of the machines pictured above. It set me on a journey of restoring a couple of machines that became a gratifying hobby. Thanks for posting about this. It is a nice trip down memory lane.

Pete

Around the time when I was first looking for a machine, I used to drink an espresso at lunch at a bicycle shop near my work. One of the owners was also looking for his first home machine. I was looking for an old Europiccola to fix up, and he was looking for a used Silvia.

One day I went to the shop - I had just missed out on a Europiccola that looked like it needed just a little TLC, but I had found a v1 Silvia and called on it within minutes of the Silvia being listed. Yes, you guessed it - he had picked up the Europiccola, and I had beaten him to the Silvia. Both machines sold for the same price. We had a good laugh, but agreed to keep our respective machines. (Despite its age, the Silvia had never been used for steam and was in perfect condition. His Europiccola ended up needing plenty of TLC.)

Having a Silvia put me down the path of modifying machines - I have found that I get more enjoyment from modifications than restoration.

I still searched for a used lever machine and ended up with an Elektra Micro Casa a Leva that was functional but needed a lot of work - and still needs work, as the sight glass started leaking a couple weeks ago ... but that part is no longer available and the whole sight glass assembly needs to be replaced with current production parts - which leads me to some tips:

- depending on where you live, watch for freezing water damage. People can put their machine in an unheated garage, and over the winter, the water in the machine freezes and can cause leaks that may make the machine uneconomical to get going. HX's are particularly vulnerable, as are SBDU pump machines. I've bought one machine that had freezer damage, but I only paid $20 for it.

- decide on what you want, watch the markets constantly, and be prepared to move fast. By the time you see an interesting-looking machine at an interesting price and then do some research, someone else will have sniped the machine.

- look at the many restoration threads here as part of deciding what you want. For example, the Microcimbali is an interesting home lever, but if there is corrosion present, then I'd say run away unless you want to commit to essentially re-making the machine. Similarly, the Gaggia Achille looks like an amazing home lever, but I would only get one for display.

- local sales where you can pick up the machine yourself are usually the best. You can assess condition and maybe even turn the machine on. Sellers can over-state the condition of their machine, or feign ignorance of obvious faults. You also don't have to concern yourself with shipping damage.

- in my experience, shipping espresso machines through the post office, UPS, etc., may cause damage. I've had four machines shipped to me - all of them seemingly well-packaged by experienced sellers - and three of the four had some degree of shipping damage; one I had to return because I didn't have the tools to fix the issue myself. (The seller fixed the machine and sent it back to me.) If you get a bigger machine like a machine with a commercial lever group or even a "Club" machine, then I would suggest having it shipped on a mini-pallet.

- buying a restored machine can be a half-way point between a "fixer-upper" and a new machine. However, if you follow this route, then I would research the seller.

Finally, you may need space:

drgary wrote:As I've just added above, as you restore gear you can sell it to trade up.

IamOiman wrote:That can be difficult for some

Craig,

Sightglass gaskets are very easy to make. All that's needed is a sheet of thick high heat rubber or silicone sheet and some cheap leather punches. That'll allow you to keep the old sightglass and save lots of cost.