Green Coffee Buying Club
Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: Warrior372 on December 15, 2009, 08:25:37 PM
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I am on fire right now when it comes to finding awesome older lever machines! I just scored a 1981 San Marco Leva. It should be a run one to restore, it has a much smaller footprint than my San Marco 70 Series Leva.
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Warrior ... just how many machines are you restoring at once?
???
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I look for old levers everyday. Between how difficult they are to come by and the fact that only about 25% of the people I contact are actually willing to send the machines, I tend to buy them when I see them. This particular one looked pretty clean. I will disassemble it, soak all of the parts in citric acid, replace the o-rings / gaskets, get the exterior re-powder coated in the original orange and probably be done with it. The part that takes the longest is waiting well every piece soaks in the citric bath. They are not all that difficult to actually restore when they are in decent all around condition. It is the ones with rusted damaged parts that take forever.
I will restore this San Marco before I play with the Carimali. I heavily favor San Marcos. I should probably start selling some too. . . the hobby has to pay for itself :) ! Plus, when you do get into the more worn machines that need replacement parts it gets pretty expensive.
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Could the "RE" in "restoring" be just a wee bit of a fib? ;)
Maybe you know my brother?
"Hi, my name is Larry. I've been doing craigslist for about 3 years now. I've been clean for about 12 hours, now."
"Hi, Larry!"
"I just got hired part time down at the self storage place... seeing how I'm down there all the time anyway."
Seriously, that's pretty sweet.
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Haha. I thought all of you were here to support my habit. My girlfriend gets on me enough ;D . I justify it by saying I am purchasing / restoring rare espresso machines that are worth a lot of money. . . She always proceeds ask me, "why are none of them on sale then?". Ooops
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I have another very large toy that I am in the process of getting crated for shipping too! I can not let that one out of the hat yet though. . . The good news for all of you is I am about out of money / space, so I might actually start posting the old levers I find on craigslist for all of you to jump on. . .
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Where do you source your o-rings and other parts? Do you get generic o-rings based on caliper measurements, or are they semi-standardized?
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Actually, Grainger Supply has been my best friend when it comes to o-rings. I just walk in, and they size them with their caliper. They typically have most sizes I need. I love the variety of items some of the online espresso vendors have, but I have a hard time justifying buying a $.60 cent o-ring for $6.00 dollars.
As far as 'other parts' are concerned it really depends on the project. I restore the machines with all original parts, so it really just depends on how rare one is versus another. For my Conti Prestina I had to source a lot of parts from Allann Bros. in Eugene, OR. That was an extremely expensive endeavor. I had to replace the pressure gauge, all 7 lever bearings, the site glass / site glass gaskets, piston o-rings, the odd sized c-clamps. . . those 'small' things added up to about $350 alone. The crazy thing is Allan Bros. is one of the original Conti distributors in the U.S. When Conti stopped making the Prestina the owner of Allan Bros. had enough insight to save 10 Prestina's to sell for parts in the future. I got 2 of the pieces off of their last machine. . . and Allan Bros. was the last distributor with original parts.
Anyway, sorry for the tangent. I find that most industrial plumbing companies have the PEET Virgin Teflon to make gaskets, and they are usually willing to make custom ones for you. . . again very expensive. I replace all of the screw, nuts, and bolts withe the highest grade available in each size. For that you have to go to a screw specialist. Powder coating has to be the most fun part of the whole restoration for me. I have kept my machines true to their original color thus far, but they can powder coat in every color imaginable. There is nothing like bringing in an old rusted internal frame, and when you pick it up it literally looks brand new. The orange on that San Marco will look amazing!
Hopefully I answered most of your questions somewhere in all of that :D . Sorry again for the tangents. Restoring old levers brings me a lot of joy!
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Gosh, that is one hot lever. I'm digging' on levers these days too.
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No need to apologize, W, that's pretty much what I was interested in knowing.
I take it you buy a lot of these off craigslist? I haven't had much luck approaching people about long distance sales... I've pretty much gotten the brushoff the few times I've contacted sellers about shipping items.
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Yea, I would say it is about 25%. I always find if they post a number, call it. It is easier to convince a person while talking to them than typing to them. I always email or call with interest to make contact / get larger pics. After initial contact I will mention shipping. People always think it is going to be outrageous to ship an 80lb machine. So, I will look up their zip code, get a FedEx Ground rate from their zip to mine, and include it in the next email stating that obviously I will pay for the shipping / throw them $20-$50 for their time and effort. It is typically around $80-$100 for shipping a machine that size.
Most people that are as into espresso as we are have very little interest in commercial machine, and really no interest in old machines, let alone levers. Some days I feel like Doug from Orphan is my only competition :) . I just think older levers not only look cooler than standard machines, but make much better shots once you are acquainted with them.
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I just think older levers not only look cooler than standard machines, but make much better shots once you are acquainted with them.
That is interesting ... I never had a shot from a lever.
:)
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You would be hard pressed to ever have a bitter shot from a spring loaded lever with anyone who remotely knows what they are doing at the helm. They look much more cool as the shot is being literally 'pulled' too!
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You would be hard pressed to ever have a bitter shot from a spring loaded lever with anyone who remotely knows what they are doing at the helm. They look much more cool as the shot is being literally 'pulled' too!
Yeah, 'til they choke the filter and blow a seal! >:D
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Yea, you can make quite a mess when learning how to use a lever. . . that is for sure. I have definitely shot espresso / grinds all over my house a few times. I can not say that I have ever blown a seal though.