Bronze bushings for worn La Pavoni lever - DIY - Page 3
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KurtAugust
- Posts: 281
- Joined: 13 years ago
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rpavlis
- Posts: 1799
- Joined: 12 years ago
The steam knob with the disgusting roll pins can be fixed very easily with a 4mm tap. Simply tap the brass insert with this tap and get a 4mm set screw-- the ones with an Allen tip with no head. If you get the right length, it will be completely invisible.
I got up this morning with the intension of replacing the pins on another La Pavoni before I read this post. I already have the 6mm acorn (some call them dome) nuts and washers. I will have to turn down some quarter inch C360 brass to 6mm, and thread the ends with a 6mm die, as I described, I believe above. It is very critical that the threads be run for just the right distance and that the resulting brass bar be to just the right length, because if you get it right the thread will lock on the nut so it will not come unscrewed. Also the length of the bar is critical. C360 brass is rather slippery, so it is somewhat self lubricating, almost like bearing bronze. You can also buy a short piece of 6mm brass so you do not need to turn it down. I like to turn a slightly larger size down though to get a closer tolerance, because a bit over 6.0 mm is ideal, but you need a small lathe to do that. If you can get 6mm brass, all you need is a saw and a 6mm tap to do it! (Plus the acorn nuts and washers.)
I got up this morning with the intension of replacing the pins on another La Pavoni before I read this post. I already have the 6mm acorn (some call them dome) nuts and washers. I will have to turn down some quarter inch C360 brass to 6mm, and thread the ends with a 6mm die, as I described, I believe above. It is very critical that the threads be run for just the right distance and that the resulting brass bar be to just the right length, because if you get it right the thread will lock on the nut so it will not come unscrewed. Also the length of the bar is critical. C360 brass is rather slippery, so it is somewhat self lubricating, almost like bearing bronze. You can also buy a short piece of 6mm brass so you do not need to turn it down. I like to turn a slightly larger size down though to get a closer tolerance, because a bit over 6.0 mm is ideal, but you need a small lathe to do that. If you can get 6mm brass, all you need is a saw and a 6mm tap to do it! (Plus the acorn nuts and washers.)
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KurtAugust
- Posts: 281
- Joined: 13 years ago
Sounds really good, but lathes are a bit beyond me right now. I have barely time/skill to set up a work bench. (Is it pronounced 'lattes'?, you know...)
LMWDP #325
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rpavlis
- Posts: 1799
- Joined: 12 years ago
I have replaced the pins on the la Pavoni with brass rods that I threaded on the ends, and put then attached with acorn nuts. Oddly this older La Pavoni had slightly different dimensions than the other.
The image was taken just a few minutes ago. If you live outside the US, you can probably get brass stock that is not in idiotic inches. If you can find a piece of 6mm, you can simply thread it with a 6mm die and cut it off to the correct length. I had to use a lathe to turn larger stock down to 6mm. These are stainless nuts. It might look better with brass, but they tend to be a bit soft and might be damaged. You can remove this in seconds with two 10 millimetre tools.
The image was taken just a few minutes ago. If you live outside the US, you can probably get brass stock that is not in idiotic inches. If you can find a piece of 6mm, you can simply thread it with a 6mm die and cut it off to the correct length. I had to use a lathe to turn larger stock down to 6mm. These are stainless nuts. It might look better with brass, but they tend to be a bit soft and might be damaged. You can remove this in seconds with two 10 millimetre tools.
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KurtAugust
- Posts: 281
- Joined: 13 years ago
That seems within range... Thanks for the explanation!
LMWDP #325
