gyro wrote:I see you are in Austria... as it would happen, the machine spent over 40 years of its life in a bar in Graz, Austria.

funny...i guess there are still some beautiful machines hiding in austria and always interesting to know something about the history of your own machine! did u import it for yourself?

13thfloorelevators wrote:did u import it for yourself?

Yes and no. I imported it from Sante Fe, New Mexico. I think the previous owner must have imported it from Austria and done the renovation. When I have time I'll pull the group and have a look inside, in particular the brew group boiler.

New O.E. Crow Cup Waiting for Me


Mine came yesterday afternoon and I used it this morning.

By the way, the red and white indicators in my water level tube are electricial tape on the backside of the tube. It works out quite nicely.

The wooden handles are varnished walnut. I haven't figured out how to get the square hole for the steam valve yet. The bakelite knob for the filler cap came broken and I also haven't figured out the square hole problem for a wooden replacement.

The filler cap has the vacuum breaker that sputters out steam at first. I just place my cup upsidedown over it and it makes a great cup warmer at 5:30 a.m. I just have to remember to wipe out the condensation before pulling the shot.

The brush is a cheap brush from Hardwick's (the best hardware store in Seattle). It has stiff plastic bristles on one end an softer natural bristles on the other. Under $4.00.

I really get fantastic espresso from my Cremina everyday. It doesn't care what beans I use. The results are always tasty.

gyro wrote:Yes and no. I imported it from Sante Fe, New Mexico. I think the previous owner must have imported it from Austria and done the renovation. When I have time I'll pull the group and have a look inside, in particular the brew group boiler.

Funny how this machine is wanderig around the globe....maybe it will be back in austria again someday!

I like to contribute a couple of pictures of my favorite lever Machine the faema faemina. I am a big fan of these superb machines. They are absolutely prime examples of mid century italian industrial design.
I own three of the four versions that where made between 1953 and the early seventies. I restored all three with the help of some custom made tools.

Furthermore I added a picture of the 1960 Mazzer grinder that I have in use. I recently replaced the blades. I discovered that the blades for the super jolly are identical.

They're gorgeous! How did you develop an interest in the Faemina particularly? Can you share pictures of your custom-made restoration tools? And where did you find that old Mazzer grinder?

Those are very, very nice. Congratulations and well done. Do they all get regular use?

drgary wrote:They're gorgeous! How did you develop an interest in the Faemina particularly? Can you share pictures of your custom-made restoration tools? And where did you find that old Mazzer grinder?

I owned and used several lever machines like the la pavoni europicolo, microcimbali, comocafe and caravel. Some of these machines have aluminium boilers which tend to rust really easy (especially the microcimbali). The other ones have an open boiler system that makes it too complicated for me to make cappuccinos. So I use those only for display purposes now. The faemina is build like a professional machine made only with high quality materials like bronze. It is constructed to last for a really a long time. These days all major components are available.

Have a look at the picture of the tool that I made to remove and replace the spring. It really can save your teeth or jaw. And I am even more fond on those then on my Faemas. The tool is really easy to make with only a couple of euros on material. I have to make a picture of the other tool that a blacksmith made for me. It is a circular tool with four tooth to remove the bronze ring that keeps the spring in place. Most people remove this ring with a hammer and a screwdriver. But that will damage the bronze in the long run because it is of course a rather soft material.
I have to mention orphan espresso for the perfect spare parts that he offers. The Faemina is a machine that you can use on a daily bases, they are relatively easy to maintain and clean.

The Faemina feels like a professional machine and they produce the coffee of such machines. It are the only household machines that I know of that use a two stage piston system.

The Mazzer grinder I found a couple of years ago on a flee market in Brussels. It cost me only € 50. It was complete and without any damage!! On the official Mazzer site they have a page called history. You will find pictures of all their vintage machines. My model is called the Star.

There are a lot of pictures available on sites like this about lever machines. But pictures and information about vintage grinders are really scares. And the Italians build such a big variety of beautiful grinders.

SlowRain wrote:Those are very, very nice. Congratulations and well done. Do they all get regular use?

The second and the third generation are in use on a daily basis. The first version with the brown bakelite handles I used briefly but now I have it in my living room for display. This machine is in an almost new condition. The aluminium base is also chromed unlike the later versions. Chrome and aluminium are not a good combination. So most of these machines that you find on ebay are in a bad shape. The chrome tends to get flake. To avoid that I decided to use only his younger brothers.

I will ad some pictures of details of the first version that is heavier than the later generations and has a lot of extra details that the others lack. All parts are chromed even the cap under the boiler, the switches are bakelite and have enamel buttons. The bakelite knobs have the faema logo on them.

Thank you for your picture of the spring removal tool. Doug Garrott is starting to coach me on restoring a Conti Prestina and warns me of the difficulty of replacing its spring, probably to save my own jaw! I look forward to your picture of the other tool. Those look like exquisite machines. After restoring the Prestina, I may want to restore one of those, but it may be awhile.