West German Coffee Grinder

Part 1: The decision making process

I love coffee. No, it’s true.
I also found a “not working” coffee grinder on kijiji for $20, and there is no way I could pass it up.

Part 2: Some actual work

Here is the grinder, its pretty cool, and it even has a “made in West Germany” stamp on the bottom. It didn’t turn at all, which was not that great, but it didn’t seem impossible to fix.

The brass was covered in a layer of dust, the wood was greasy, and the grinder didn’t turn. So, to start I had to take the top off and get a better look at the mechanics inside. Below is what that looked like. (At this point I figured it would either be completely unusable or fixed in the next hour)

Next I had to take apart the actual grinder mechanics, this was a bit of a process. I had to loosen the bottom screws until the top was able to slide up an inch, and then I had to use a jewellers screwdriver to undo five set screws under the holder. (This took me a while to figure out, and I found one screw well after putting it back together, which meant I had to go back in and put it back)
Underneath is a photo of all the moving parts in the coffee grinder. I found some rocks lodged in the two grinder pieces which is what was keeping the crank from turning.

Before taking the grinder apart I planned on sanding down the wood and refinishing it, but after wiping off the dust and grease, I changed my mind. I lightly sanded the finish and rubbed it down with mineral oil to make it look nice and shiny. Then I cleaned the internal mechanism, oiled it with vegetable oil, and put it all back together.

Part 3: The overview

This project cost me $20 for the coffee grinder, and I only spent two hours fixing it. (That includes making my first coffee with it)

Fixing up little things like this gives you a look into how things are made, and you realize just how much goes into something so small.

Also any coffee grinder is better than a magic bullet or blender. It will also give you more control over grind size, which is nice when you use different brewing methods. I hope you enjoyed.