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Remove the drawer and assess the grind characteristics. At it's price it does what I ask of it. The burr and handle are connected by a steel shaft. Conclusion: Make no mistake - this is close to the bottom end of the manual coffee grinder scale and certainly won't win you any bonus points with those who want a coffee grinder as a status symbol. Summary: A good low-end manual coffee grinderAssembly: The grinder came in a nearly assembled state; assembly consisted of removing the top thumbscrew, placing the handle on the grinder shaft, and replacing the top thumbscrew.
The drawer is a bit disappointing in terms of it's size (small) and material(bare hardboard) but for one or two cups worth of grounds it is sufficent, and I would not want to use this for grinding coffee for more than one or two cups at a time. The drawer is made of unpainted hardboard. On the other hand, you put coffee beans in, turn the crank, and they come out ground the way you want them. If it is too fine or too coarse for your purpose, adjust as required and repeat until it is as desired. Normal usage: Add coffee beans to the bowl and turn the handle to grind, then remove the drawer and remove the ground coffee.
Total time: about 10 secondsConstruction: The actual grinder assembly appears to be of cast iron with a tapered burr rotating inside a stationary sleeve. Grind Adjustment: The coarse to fine adjustment of the grind is accomplished by loosening the handle, then holding the shaft while turning an adjustment washer. At the fairly fine setting I prefer, it takes around 40 turns of the handle to grind enough coffee beans for a strong cup. The handle, bowl, and support / adjustment mechanism are of stamped steel. The grinder is now ready to use. Initial setup: Add some coffee beans to the bowl and turn the handle 10 - 20 revolutions.
The housing is made of painted hardboard. This moves the burr up or down within the sleeve and closes or opens the passage area (a larger passage = coarser grind).
Do not waste your time and effort with this headache. When the grinding burr fell off the shaft (stripped threads), that sealed its fate. Zero stars, if possible. I used this for less than a month when it broke. Even when it did work, it ground my beans so slowly I was thinking about returning it anyway.
Until then.I would definitely NOT recommend this product. I will report back if we ever get it into shape to actually use. I will have to wait for my husband to visit to see if he can get the grinder to work properly.
I tried to put it together for them and grind beans. Fortunately, I had tried it out on some "cheaper" beans rather than the 100% Kona beans I had brought from Hawaii. I bought this for my parents who love freshly ground coffee.
I am not the best at interpreting mechanical instructions and, at 85 years of age, my parents could not help me. If it can't be put together successfully by a non-mechanical person, then it is not much of a product. I was surprised (and not happy) that it required some assembly.
After I got it assembled, and attempted one or two adjustments, the ground beans were unusable.
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