TrevorJB wrote:Would there be an issue with having these machined from steel instead of brass? I could pretty easily get a steel one made if it was ever needed, but I'm sure there must be a good reason for the brass that I'm not seeing.

The original (now unavailable) Pavoni flange was brass, and both of the custom replacements I've seen are in in brass, but I *think* steel would probably work. There was a period where Pavoni was making them in plastic - I think that was when they switched to coarse thread on the boiler. They quit doing that and went back to a brass flange and a stainless steel element. (http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pa ... io_eng.htm )

P.S.
That Francesco page doesn't show the thread pitch. The plastic and later I believe are 1.5 mm, the earlier unavailables and the custom rings are 1.25 mm.

Also if the boiler is brass and you attach a steel flange, you'll be mating dissimilar metals, and they'll be more likely to gall. I always use food-safe ant-seize compound to avoid that, even with similar metals.

Good points guys, thanks again for the info.

I will probably try to get my hands on a plastic drip tray, or have one 3D printed, once I've got it all back together.

I overcame my most difficult challenge today and successfully removed the glass sight tube. I soaked the seals for a couple days, and used a sharpened steel rod as a small punch to spin the brass washers, which were completely stuck to the tube seals underneath. Everything came free and I was able to use a piece of scotch tape to grip the tube and lift it out. I saw the tape trick somewhere on the forum and it worked great.

I suppose my last task for the moment is to remove the brass piston sleeve and the old piston seals.

looks very very nice

It's looking gorgeous! Well done. Eagerly awaiting more progress photos.

Wow, looks great! I really like your custom grate - very well done.

TrevorJB wrote:I suppose my last task for the moment is to remove the brass piston sleeve and the old piston seals.

If you don't have a tool to remove the brass sleeve, You can make one pretty easily (and inexpensively): La Graziella gaskets, ss snap rings, and other parts..Help.

Parts, finally!

I got a complete gasket set and some teflon tubing that will be cut down for insulators on the element posts. The element had a bunch of plastic washers stacked up to isolate the wiring but this will work much better.

The gaskets all seem correct, but I'll still need to buy some rubber sheet and make an element to boiler gasket. This kit was only offered with the o-ring style.

I can start on my final clean and reassembly of some of the parts now.

And after that the process of learning to know the machine and get very nice espresso out of it.

This is an incredible rebuild, how satisfying to turn refuse into a shiny machine! I picked up a bigger-than-expected project Europiccola a couple of weeks ago and have been happy with it's progress, but it's nowhere near as dramatic as this. I really dig that custom drip tray, too.

I went a bit of a different route with my sleeve removal tool. We cut so much plate at the shop where I work it's usually easier and much cheaper to make a plate part rather than a machined part, when possible. Currently it slots together without weld but I'll see if it holds together with some force on it.

I still need to grind down the 'pegs' on the bottom to fit the holes in the sleeve, but I also had some small holes put in the outer rings in case I need to put a dowel in place instead.