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Over a period of many, many months I repaired and refurbishing seven, yes seven, Mazzer grinders. When I started the project, I figured that I would learn a lot about repairing Mazzer grinders, but I had no idea I would learn so much about machine screws. In particular I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the many different screws that Mazzer uses in its grinders, as well as where to source them.
The first thing I learned is about screw sizes and nomenclature. As many of you probably already know, screws (and bolts) come in metric and Imperial (British or American) sizes. The Mazzers, being Italian-made, use metric screws. Although some of the identifying attributes of these screws include thread diameter, shank diameter, root diameter, thread pitch, etc., it turns out that all you really need to be aware of is the screw head type, the diameter, and the length of the screw. You rarely need to know about the thread pitch. So where applicable, I refer to those three attributes to describe the screws that were used in the repairs.
If you really want to learn all the gory details, go to http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Default.aspx Also, a very useful tool was the printable PDF screw gauges that Bolt Depot provides: http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Printable-Fastener-Tools.aspx
The screw that was toughest to find/replace was the ‘set screw’ that locks the grinder’s collar so it won’t move once the desired coarseness setting is determined. I still don’t know what the original one looks like, but the one I found looks really good. It’s a stainless steel “knurled head adjusting screw” – it’s a type of thumb screw. I’m sure there are other names as well. Looking at the Mazzer with the screw on reminds me a bit of Robbie the Robot. You can see here how it looks on the Mazzer collar: http://homepage.mac.com/etorres/junior_espresso/PhotoAlbum43.html
I bought the thumb screws at Innovative Design Solutions: http://www.idsmachine.com/khascrew.html The part number is KHS-51SS, size is M4x32 (diameter is 4 mm and length is 32 mm or 1.25 inches). I bought the same one for the Mazzer Majors as well as the Super Jollys. They run $4 each. The only problem with IDS is that they have a $30 minimum order since they really don’t do retail. They ship and then they invoice – with payment to be made by check. IDS has other choices as well. You can view their complete thumb screw catalog at http://www.idsmachine.com/thumbindex.html where you can also download their PDF catalog. Or you can just search online for other metric thumb screws.
The most common screw on the Mazzer is a “slotted cheese head” (not to be confused with a “pan head” screw) which is used in several places, in particular on the outside of the doser (see thumb screw picture link above), to fasten the grinder blades, and to fasten the rubber feet to the base of the grinder. I’m very glad I found stainless steel versions of these screws, because on the Mazzers I was refurbishing I noticed that many of the non-SS screws were rusty. I especially didn’t like the rust in screws fastening the grinder blades. And the SS screws on the doser look very cool.
I had to order many sizes and I found a place that not only carries them all, but also sells them in packs of ten (other sellers I found required minimums of a hundred or so). The place is Small Parts http://www.smallparts.com/ and it turns out that they are right here in Miami. Small world. Their SS slotted cheese head screws can be found here http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/mmx%2dc.cfm For the grinder blades, I bought the MX-M04/10C (M4 x 10mm) for the Mazzer Majors and the MX-M05/12C (M5 x 12mm) for the Super Jollys. You could also use a M5 x 10mm for the Super Jollys. I used the same M5x12 for the dosers and to fasten the front rubber feet. To fasten the rear rubber feet I used the MX-M05/20C (M5x20mm). Oh yeah, and the screw used to ‘cover’ the screw hole on the top of the central shaft in the doser is a short M5, like the MX-M05/10C.
There are two screws on the upper inside walls of the doser, one on each side of the chute, that help fasten the doser to the Mazzer’s body. These are hex socket head screws. http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/mshcx.cfm You’ll need the SHCX-M04-12 (M4x12).
Finally there are flat head hex screws that are used on the underside of the dosers. Curiously, Small Parts didn’t seem to have those, so I ordered the stainless steel versions of those at Material Search Company http://www.msc-stainless-fasteners.com/materialsearch/mscproducts/specificproducts/flat-head-cap-screws.html#mflat-head-title I got M5x12. I also got a number of random washers there.
Hope this is helpful if anyone in the future needs to order these things.
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