Author Topic: DIY manual coffee grinder  (Read 3461 times)

Offline Batman

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DIY manual coffee grinder
« on: January 01, 2017, 11:27:31 AM »
Has anyone attempted or kicked the tires on a home built coffee grinder?  As my Porlex has seen daily use for 2 years+ now and requires a crank down on the burrs every few months, I was going to buy myself a Christmas gift this year (the best gift is the one you give yourself?).  Nothing fits the bill quite right.  Due to the time of day I rise(4.45am) and have a houseful of light sleepers, a manual grinder is a must.  I think the get the right combination of function, aesthetics, and price I might just have to build one myself.  I like the idea of the OE pharos with the commercial burrs, but that thing does seem like a tank.  Is something of that size necessary to turn those burrs?  I have an old German grinder (Lienbrocks), and I inspected the workings when I disassembled it for cleaning.  Seems simple enough I tell myself.  Keep the burrs stable and rotate.  Easier said than done I tell myself.  Not rocket science.  Figure out how to adjust up and down with some of threaded shaft or stepless adjustment mechanism.

I did a search and did not see a GCBC topic on this (that my search skills could produce anyways).  A general Google search does yield some hits on the topic, but it seems to have been an idea that I'm not sure ended up with a final product.

Is this a waste of otherwise valuable time?  I enjoy a good long term project, and I have the patience of a spider.



Offline Ascholten

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Re: DIY manual coffee grinder
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2017, 02:33:40 PM »
My unqualified input.  Burr alignment and adjust-ability to essentially a mil tolerance is critical if you are looking for a truly state of the art, espresso capable grinder.  Slower speed is better, it holds down heat and I believe static electricity too.  torque is a must and a solid gear system.  You want a strong gear assembly so that when you eat a stone (and it will happen) you don't tear the crap out of the gearbox.  Worse case, you stall it, back it out and pick the stone out.   Also, accessibility and ease of burr change out is nice too, you don't want to spend two hours disassembling the thing to change out burrs.

Just a few suggestions if I had the ability to do one of my own what I'd look into.

Aaron
As I have grown older, I have learned that pleasing everybody is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake!

billsey

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Re: DIY manual coffee grinder
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2017, 03:34:35 PM »
I picked up a Handground off Kickstarter and I believe they're now shipping to 'normal' people. Very nice design though the espresso range is a bit limited for real espresso machines (with the finest grind without adding the shims I pull 2:1 in 12 seconds, a *bit* fast). Great for drip and french press and if I didn't have the Super Jolly I'd be tempted to install the shims.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2017, 11:44:40 AM by Joe »

Offline 9Sbeans

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Re: DIY manual coffee grinder
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2017, 10:46:34 AM »
It’s no rocket science, but you should have better use of your time.  :)

I own a Porlex. After a few years of usage the penta-screw at the top wears off and it gets slippage when grinding. IMO, it has seen its days and it’s not worthy to fix.

Have you modified the burr to improve its stability? Do you drink espresso or drip coffee in the morning? I don’t think a Porlex is up to the task of espresso. If you drink drip coffee with paper filter, a small fix might get your Porlex couple more years of service. Alternatively, you can consider the OE Lido series. Triple the price, but more than 3x of the expected product lifespan. And you get noticeable improvement in the cup.

« Last Edit: February 27, 2017, 11:45:49 AM by Joe »