Learning the art of building/maintaining machines.
My great friend has his hands in the machining business. He also has a passion for coffee. The two of us want to learn how to build/rebuild espresso machines. Where does one learn this without working for one of the companies.
The idea is for us to get a machine, whether it works or not, and learn by taking it apart and putting it back together.
Any ideas where to get a hold of one without dropping thousands of dollars?
The idea is for us to get a machine, whether it works or not, and learn by taking it apart and putting it back together.
Any ideas where to get a hold of one without dropping thousands of dollars?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on
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e-bay. Buy one in really rough shape, and rebuild it. You'll learn lots along the way, and you'll end up with a machine that you can either use, or sell. Don't expect to make money on the deal.
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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Agree with Jason.
Most manufacturers now have detailed schematics for all of their machines online, and will happily sell you parts directly as well. If you run into any problems or need hints, you can always ask here.
If you get really into it, many manufacturers also provide factory training to third-party techs for very reasonable rates. It is better to know your way around a machine first... but going to something like this will really help your understanding of how the machine functions and how to fix it.
The trickiest part to getting started may be setting up a space for this teardown that will allow you to plug it in and run it once it is fixed. The first time you fire it up, you'll see how much more you have to do... steam joints can be a PAIN to get seated just perfectly so that they do not leak.
Good luck and have fun.
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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on
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Or Craigslist. Scored a LM Linea AV 4 group not long ago for an even $1k... Turned out steam boiler had a hairline crack, only major component that needed replacing ~$600. Plus of course adding dual PID's for the two brew boilers during complete field strip and rebuild. Ah oh, gotta go, just got the 10sec to dinner warning!
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