KnowGood wrote:Here are some pics of my drip tray:


If you need some measurements let me know.

Sorry Lyndon I was referring to the little cup that the water eventually drains into and you connect a hose to.

I had no time today to get any major jobs done, so for now I just did a few small jobs to keep me ticking along. The job I really want to finish, is removing the lever group seals and spacers but they won't budge, so for now it sits in a bucket of water in the hope that the gaskets will soften up.

I had a look at the Gaggia badge and the 3 steel stripes that all go on the back red panel of the machine. Here they are.



So the deal with the badge, as you would expect, is that it has some threaded studs on the back, which poke through holes in the red panel and then it is held in place with some small nuts. So here is my tip for cleaning this safely without damaging it Basically if I was to clean this on a table I would risk bending or even breaking the studs on the back. If I was to hold it in the air with one hand and clean with the other I may bend some of the letters if they caught on the cloth. So the best way to hold this is to remove the nuts from the back and then put it onto some thick corrugated cardboard. Carefully push the badge down so the studs sink into the card.



Then you can buff away with your autosol or brasso without breaking the studs and it makes it easier to clean since it is nice and secure.

I put the boiler back into the frame to see how it looked.





And that was all for today. Oh if you look closely at the last photo, top left hand corner you will see the weld spatter I referred to yesterday.

OK my daughter has gone to bed so I can add a few more details of the small jobs I did today.

So the boiler is done. I put it into the frame so that I could check that it all lines up ok and it does. If you go back to page 1 you will see that the boiler was a right mess. It was really hard to clean, the citric acid really did nothing to the outside. So I had to go back to basics and use a wire cup brush mounted in my drill. It got the top layer of soot and dirt off and exposed a rather dull nickel plate underneath. It was really dirty so I decided to do this on a wet boiler in a tank and my cordless drill so that it would minimise the dust.

Then I changed to a brass wire brush in my drill and did the final clean and polish. I like the wire brushes in the drill because they are great at cleaning the threads on fittings as well. They also bring out the shine on soldered and brazed joints too.



Here's the group neck on the boiler. The boiler will come out again so I will clean up that brass nut and add some washers as well.



I also refinished the gasket surfaces on the boiler for the endplate and the group. If anyone is interested I will add more details on how I did this. I will be using teflon gaskets for these so I want to make sure I get the mating surfaces as clean and true as possible so I can get a good seal.

Here is the newly refinished group neck surface of the boiler, ready for the group to be bolted on with a teflon gasket in the middle.



Then in the afternoon I had to go out and buy some new finishing oil for my cafelat tampers. I made use of the time and was able to get a few more items. Hong Kong is amazing sometimes, just an hour and back from my office and I came back with Danish Oil, Viton O-rings, a Teflon sheet and some bearings. Pretty cool.

Here are the viton o-rings for the steam and water valves. These are not available on any catalog I have seen.



A teflon sheet so that I can cut a few gaskets - in particular for the sight glass.



And some new bearings for the group lever. Actually these came from the bearing shop next to my office, and they are the exact same bearings used in some Mazzer grinders. I bought some a few years back and I reckoned they were the same. So as I had the part number already on hand it was an easy find, and they fit perfectly. I think it is a common bearing size.



That's all for now.

Paul_Pratt wrote:I also refinished the gasket surfaces on the boiler for the endplate and the group. If anyone is interested I will add more details on how I did this. I will be using teflon gaskets for these so I want to make sure I get the mating surfaces as clean and true as possible so I can get a good seal.

Yes, please. That step is coming up in my Conti Prestina restoration, so I would love to see how you did this. Also, Paul, how do you trace the boiler endplate surface and transfer to the gasket sheet for cutting, including punching the holes in the gasket sheet? And how do you cut a Teflon gasket? Barb Garrott told me it's very difficult to cut so she recommended high temperature rubber gasket material for my machine. Finally, you mention viton o-rings. What is the advantage of these over rubber, and if they're not in a catalog, can you make any suggestions for sourcing? So many questions because your presentation is so clear it's easy to know what to ask.

Paul_Pratt wrote:Sorry Lyndon I was referring to the little cup that the water eventually drains into and you connect a hose to.

Ohhh - mine is missing as well.

Would you mind cutting me a gasket for the sight glass as well? I have money!

*edit

and the plexi - if you are getting one made, I'd be interested.

drgary wrote:Yes, please. That step is coming up in my Conti Prestina restoration, so I would love to see how you did this. Also, Paul, how do you trace the boiler endplate surface and transfer to the gasket sheet for cutting, including punching the holes in the gasket sheet? And how do you cut a Teflon gasket? Barb Garrott told me it's very difficult to cut so she recommended high temperature rubber gasket material for my machine. Finally, you mention viton o-rings. What is the advantage of these over rubber, and if they're not in a catalog, can you make any suggestions for sourcing? So many questions because your presentation is so clear it's easy to know what to ask.

Hi Gary I'll snap a few pics for you tomorrow on how to clean up the gasket surfaces. Barb is correct, teflon is not easy to work with since you cannot draw on it or hold it very still. I'll have a go tomorrow at making some. I use circle cutters from a stationary shop to cut them out. I buy more material than I need because it takes a few tries to get it right.

I see John has kindly given you a good link for o-rings. To order them you will need a good way to measure them, a digital caliper would be a good choice. Viton is more expensive and will last longer, it is also rated for higher temps. If you can get them those are good.

KnowGood wrote:Ohhh - mine is missing as well.

Would you mind cutting me a gasket for the sight glass as well? I have money!

*edit

and the plexi - if you are getting one made, I'd be interested.

I'll have a go with the gaskets. You have the same one with the big chunk of glass?

I dropped the plexi off today to be made. I'll get some done and see if they fit yours as well.

I'll also let you know how I get on with the drain as well.

Paul

Thanks Paul - yes, the sight glass I have is the same - with the big thick piece of glass.

I'm so glad someone else has the same machine. The one thing I meant to ask you was are you keeping it gas?

I'll be using the heating elements. I have some mercury pressure switches in stock I would like to use.

Paul