Wooden and SS Group Handles.

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

A fresh / natural group handle is on the way ;D I realised why yours is 3/8" It would appear that the smaller / non prosumer machines run a 3/8" AND the commercial use a 1/2" due the the load and use that the handle might be expected to manage. The shape I have done should suit you well and I would be interested in feedback / comments as to why you think of the feel and the shape. I have my own bias and thoughts as to why I recon it feels good, but will wait for you comments 😉 I also put a slight recess in the handle end... I was thinking that one day an inlay of different timber could be put in OR a deeper recess could be made and a bung of sorts (rubber) could be pushed in... But that is just me off with the fairies again, as I am not that good and nor do i have the right materials. Wait until I am fully retired and have lots of time to muck about. Am looking forward to seeing the finished product as the rose wood will oil up well. PS: My cousin has a Wood Turning business but does big stuff and martial arts training dummies. You can find him via my FB links etc. He has a massive Italian lathe that is set up for mass production. Thus you can lock in the main one and it will copy and with the right blanks, you could make 20 or 50 or even 100 in the same time it takes me to do one 😃 😃 The trick is to have the right blanks and timber such that the grain etc still means that they are not identical. Then to hand finish / polish and drill and put in the lag/hanger bolt would be the final touch. However, that requires a market and not sure if there is one out there at the moment... Then again, if a supplier of accessories was interested.... It could be done and may be worth the effort. Once again, it comes back to the Need / Want / Cost and that would be all biased on the availability and quality of the raw timber blanks. Any way, I am once again rambling on and must follow up more personal and pressing matters. Anger on Wood ;D

Thanks AM. Glad to have given you wood.....You still need to PM me your bank details! Looking forward to receiving it and putting up lots of pics. I'm actually surprised Pullman don't make something like this, and I don't believe any suppliers in Australia do it in a commercial scale that I know of. Seeing as there are probably <5 styles that would suit all machines, it wouldn't be too hard to do it regularly. I'm hoping that blank I got sent to you was easy to work with - that company seemed to have a lot of larger blanks. I think the price was probably a bit exxy, but seeing as I had to get it sent anyway, it wasn't worth me obtaining it locally and sending it. Probably buying bulk would make it a LOT cheaper. Also, I guess, redgum isn't the cheapest timber out there anyway.

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

PS. That rose / red wood is dammed hard and I had to sharpen my tools more than once. Also had to re tension the belt drive. Little baby mini wood lathe was being pushed OR I just do not know enough tricks.

Damn, I knew that timber would be hard, but didn't realise it was that bad. In one respect, that makes it a fantastic material for a handle, as it should be impossible to split, and the thread should never give way. On the flip side, if it's that hard to work with, it's probably not the best thing to be making them out of. Slightly off topic, I've been working with pine building fences lately, and then had to suddenly drive a nail into hardwood that has been sitting for around 5 years. It felt like I was driving the nail into solid steel. Ended up drilling (which causes massive amounts of smoke) and putting in a screw. Hardwood is hard 😡

Dry_bean

Slightly off topic, I've been working with pine building fences lately, and then had to suddenly drive a nail into hardwood that has been sitting for around 5 years. It felt like I was driving the nail into solid steel. Ended up drilling (which causes massive amounts of smoke) and putting in a screw. Hardwood is hard 😡

Try a nice sharp drill bit Richard, you may be surprised at the difference it makes. I agree, hardwood certainly is hard, drill then nail is pretty well standard procedure with Jarrah, avoids splitting the timber. 🙂

RichardM

Thanks AM again - I got the handle today, and first impressions are that it's VERY comfortable in the hand, and the missus likes it too. I pulled my first shot using it...and GOD SHOT! Machine must have known she was prettier now 😛 I won't have time to oil and take photos until tonight (or, depending on how late I am out shopping 🙁 maybe tomorrow). I can imagine it will oil up beautifully. I wasn't sure about the indent in the end that you had mentioned, but agree now I've seen that it looks good. Will update with pics tonight or tomorrow night.

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

Snail Mail and the next day ... Looking forward to the pic. The bulge should be about the area between the the last 3 fingers and Mr pointer... I found that this felt comfortable for some reason. Just had to trust that others felt the same, as hand size does change a bit and many ladies do also tend to have smaller hands.. Looking forward to the pics.

Sometimes Aus Post can be awesome. I commented to the missus about the groove being in that exact spot. I actually have skinny hands for a man, and the missus has similar sized hands, so it seems to be perfectly comfortable for us both.

RichardM

Due to file size to get the best view (and due to crema's 128k limit per file) I've linked the pictures below. Might edit with smaller files soon. http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle1.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle2.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle3.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle4.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle5.jpg AM has done a fantastic job of making this handle, and the pics above are with just one coat of Natural Decking oil. I'm aware that this will raise some eyebrows as to why I've used such an oil, but I have done so (despite the smell for a few days) because it dries very quickly, and penetrates the timber VERY well. I figure it will likely never need to be reoiled due to the oil off hands, and it gives a nice, very natural colour. Using something like Danish Oil I felt would have created a harder coating but I wanted it to feel more natural in the hand (I find the tamper a bit too shiny for my liking, which does have danish oil on it). In case anyone is wanting more information, it's a piece of redgum, the blank I bought on ebay from this store: http://stores.ebay.com.au/burls-and-blanks?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Dry_bean

RichardM wrote:

Due to file size to get the best view (and due to crema's 128k limit per file) I've linked the pictures below. Might edit with smaller files soon. http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle1.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle2.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle3.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle4.jpg http://users.on.net/richard.moulynox/coffee/woodhandle5.jpg

Very nice Richard, matches the tamper handle pretty well. Great work AM. 😉

Lacehim

Nice job AM. It really looks sweet fitted to richardm's lelit. One lucky fella.

Koffee_Kosmo

I am thinking that I may want some timber handles now Should I tamper with my industrial theme KK

Koffee_Kosmo

You will be glad to hear that I will be collecting my project tomorrow 11/5/2011 I will offer as a gift some fresh roasted beans to the proprietor and ask him for some suitable wood blanks for you Lets hope it softens him up and cross your fingers that I come away with the wood KK

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

So how has it come up with some more polish and use ? I am off to the Brisbane woodworking and wood-turning show later this month and looking for blanks that might suit as a group handle... Just need a 1/2" BSW button die and handle.... May also need a 12mm Button die but not sure if 1.5 or 1.75 pitch. This is to assist me in making the threaded insert that fits teh more commercial PF heads. Anger on wood.

I haven't actually added any more oil yet (doing so would require me to put on pants). I will do so this weekend. Life has been absolutely manic. Since I've received it, I've added timber around the underside of my house, built two gates (including concreting and digging the post holes) and tiled behind my coffee station (still need to do the grout) - FYI I can add tiling to the list of things I hate doing. All this while working full time and aiding planning my wedding! With use, there are absolutely no signs of water stains etc (I was a bit worried the splashes when I rinse the basket out would cause issues, but hasn't so far). I think honestly the decking oil is a great oil to use for it, as it's going to cop a lot of abuse no matter how careful I am with it - even more so than a tamper. The stench of the oil disappeared within the first 24 hours.

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

All this while working full time and aiding planning my wedding!

Crema's first WEDDING ;D :o 😉 :-* :-* Send pictures of the Honeymoon, we expect to see coffee stuff 😉

Actually....we went to check out the retreat that we will stay at on the wedding night, and my partner goes "oooh, it's got a plunger, you'll only need to bring the grinder". See why I'm marrying this woman?

Lacehim

AM I haven't forgotten you. I would like both group handles done, but also the levers. Problem is I can't see how to get em off without stuffing the existing handles. Would look lovely in a nice red dark wood, jarrah or something similar. When I'm next down I'll pop in and bring them in with me. Might give you an idea of the task at hand. Here is a drawing of the group. Can't remember when I found these, but they come in useful. The handle of the lever just seems to slot in... no visable nuts. Maybe it's glued in... bugger. 🙁

Koffee_Kosmo

I have obtained about 5 pieces of various but beautiful timber with the grain following the length & right way for wood turning After cutting to size, each piece will probably make 3 or 4 group handles One piece is with the grain going the other way and will suit steam/water knobs KK

Lacehim

AngerManagement wrote:

Needs a better pic... The supplier should know OR other owners... Will do some searching.... http://www.orphanespresso.com/Ponte-Vecchio-Handle-Grip-for-Lever-Portafilter_p_2333.html# So that must pull off or Screw off. You may want to send an e-mail or two.

Supplier pointed me to HB, and I found a few posts about handles. Seems the group handle & the lever handle are the same. Sure enough I just checked and the handle just twists off on the lever but it was much tighter than the group handle one. Thread, size, shape looks the same. I would prefer a more rounded end so that it doesn't cut into the palm of my hand, otherwise they are the perfect size. Will bring one down next visit.

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

Part 2: Please see if you can confirm the thread Size and Pitch - Bunnings in the bolt section usually have a selection of Nuts and Bolts that you can try to confirm.

On this note, check both the male AND female threads. I have found when doing my initial measurements that my local Mitre 10 had 3/8" bolts with 10mm nuts. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. Basically the 10mm nut went on the male thread of the handle, but the 10mm bolt didn't screw into the portafilter, so definitely check both.

RichardM

AngerManagement wrote:

OH so we dodged a bullet on that one ??? Thanks for the heads up / and good suggestion 🙂 I know the Metric threads also have a pitch of 1.5 or 1.75 for larger threads and think there are two pitches for most sizes.. Little bit like UNC and UNF.

Well I'd specified 3/8" only after I'd checked all this, as I had a hunch the 10mm nut was just a *tiny* bit loose, hence the Mitre 10 trip as I had nothing Imperial handy. Just a good heads up to others that some metric/imperial sizings are so close that you do really need to check both.

Lacehim

Been there before... I never understand how bunnings zinc coated coach bolts are in imperial, but the galvanised ones are in metric. Does my head in! 🙂

Koffee_Kosmo

I am asking about a wood oil question Its for that special project that I mentioned above Is there an oil that is also a clear hard coating Something in semi gloss finish I have heard of hard shellac The item will need be wiped with ease and possibly get dusty often in between KK

RichardM

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

I am asking about a wood oil question Its for that special project that I mentioned above Is there an oil that is also a clear hard coating Something in semi gloss finish I have heard of hard shellac The item will need be wiped with ease and possibly get dusty often in between KK

Linseed oil springs to mind (think cricket bats), but I really don't like it. Danish oil gives a semi gloss, but is still porous. Decking oil (what I used) is a completely matt finish. Shellac can be a bit temperamental, but to be honest I haven't used it since I used to help my Dad with woodwork as a child, so it might work. Are there any timber/woodwork places near you that you could go have a look at finishes? You don't want to choose wrong for what you're after, as a lot of finishes you are stuck with once you go with them. There's a fantastic one up here in Toowoomba...but I guess that doesn't help 😛

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