Hi,

I purchased the V4 normcore tamper and received it today. Does anyone have any experience with these tampers. The one i have makes a terrible scraping/grinding noise every time i push down to tamp which is not a great experience. My other spring-loaded tampers have never sounded or felt like this? Is this what is expected from normcore or do i have a dud?

I have emailed normcore but no replies...?

I use a normcore, not really sure which version, bought it maybe 7 months ago. I like it. I don't feel the spring is that useful, but it was a cheap leveling tamper, and the leveling part is what feels like a major upgrade over my other tampers. Regarding the noise, you could try applying some food safe lubricant to the interior assembly and spring and see if that fixes it.

As for not receiving a reply...sounds like you must have just sent it since you received the tamper today? If so, I'd recommend some patience.

If you don't mind, I'm considering buying this one and would be interested in your overall impressions other than the scraping/grinding.

Hi. This is a quick review I just shared with a co-worker (before seeing this post). It touches on both of the earlier questions.

I like the Normcore Leveling Tamper v4. It is easy to use and seems consistently effective. My wife was even able to prep and pull her very first shot using it last night.

My only criticisms so far are:

• when I press all the way down, there is a little metal-on-metal scraping that is a bit unpleasant. I wonder if I can use a a non-toxic grease or food-safe mineral oil to lubricate the shaft

• a few grounds get trapped between the tamping base and baffle; if I use some sort of lubricant to address #1, I suspect the grinds will mix and be harder to get out

In spite of Normcore having to go through 4 versions to figure out how to make a constant-pressure tamper, I went ahead and ordered a V4. I received it two days ago, and I love it!

Mine came with the 15 lb. spring installed, in spite of the product description saying that the 25 lb. spring would be installed. I thought it felt very easy to compress the spring and I tested it on my bathroom scale. I swapped that spring for the 30 lb. spring. Changing springs was very easy using the supplied instructions, and there is also a very clear video on Amazon on how to do it.

Once I put in the 30 lb. spring, I started to get the grinding noise as soon as the lower spring started to compress. I never heard the noise with the 15 lb. spring. I'm guessing the noise is coming from the outside of the 30 lb. spring rubbing against the inside of the core sleeve.

I emailed Normcore, and they replied and offered to mail me a replacement core sleeve. I'm not sure how that will fix the problem unless they recently changed the design of the sleeve. It's being mailed from China, so it will take me awhile to receive it. I'll report back here once it arrives.

In spite of the noise, I think the Normcore V4 is a great value for the money, considering how much more other self-leveling calibrated tampers sell for. I highly recommend it.

Hey, bernie. I believe we've exchanged messages on Reddit before. Good to see you here.

As I mentioned above, I am also a fan of the Normcore V4 tamper. I think I will email Normcore for the new sleeve as well. I've gotten used to the grinding sound, but why not see if the company has figured out a fix (especially if it's free). Thanks for sharing your experience.

So glad to find someone else with this problem too. I received my tamper last week and quickly noticed the grinding sound and feel. It's not a very pleasurable experience. I also noticed that there is some not insignificant wiggle between the tamper and the leveling plate. At this point I'm tempted to just return it altogether.

I should also add that it seems like the grinding is an issue with the surface finish on multiple parts. I'm not convinced that a new inner sleeve is going to fix the problem.

FYI... I received this reply to my email asking for the updated sleeve.

Thank you for you order and writing to us.
We have did some minor adjustment to the core sleeve, so it might help but we can not 100% guarantee.
Anyway we will send you the core sleeve for your self replacement accordingly. Hope it helps.
We will keep you posted with the tracking link once we send you the parcel.

Best regards,
NORMCORE TEAM

Despite the concerns with the rough feeling, i just order one from Amazon as well. Well add on to the feedback.

mycatsnameisbernie wrote:I emailed Normcore, and they replied and offered to mail me a replacement core sleeve. I'm not sure how that will fix the problem unless they recently changed the design of the sleeve.

My replacement sleeve arrived today from Normcore. It shipped with a new top spring and 25 lb. inner spring as well. Visually I couldn't see any difference, but it does appear to slightly reduce the grinding noise, and the noise that remains sounds less destructive.

I continue to be very happy with the V4, in spite of the grinding noise. Whatever wear is occurring that results in the noise, I think it will take 1000's of tamps before any excessive wear occurs.