# Macap MXD Strip Down and Rebuild



## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

So I've got me another grinder to (maybe) replace the current Mazzer Mini.










It's in plenty good condition despite a few scratches and things that are broken - like one lateral air vent as well as the PF holder forks. The latter appears to be a weak spot and not very thoughtful engineering, but you could only tell after dismantling. Which itself is a PITA, definitely not made to be disassembled









Broken ledge corners:










Th idea here is to make a little 3D printed support to restore fixing means for the PF holder.

Other than that it shall receive a new paint job, colour still undecided. Something rather matte, like black or maybe going raw with just a matte clear coat...

Let it begin!


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## ohms (Jan 22, 2018)

Curious to see what you find, internally - I have one of these too, albeit rather newer!

Planning to change the burrs too?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

ohms said:


> Curious to see what you find, internally - I have one of these too, albeit rather newer!
> 
> Planning to change the burrs too?


so far, I only found quite a few grounds







they got everywhere, even in between sight glass and LCD screen. Going for a good clean on the weekend.

Apart from that it's in perfect working condition, I'm merely after the cosmetics, making it as good as new!

Current burrs are fine, do you mean switching to titans? ...might be interesting once the current ones let go, though.


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## ohms (Jan 22, 2018)

Hasi said:


> so far, I only found quite a few grounds
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, I had also considered doing so - but I'm not sure changing to those burrs would offer much over what I have currently. Tbf, when I bought the grinder it had only passed ~20kg of beans through the grinder anyway!

I need to find a better solution for my hopper though, I use mine in my house - a mini (1kg) hopper would be perfect. If you come across something, feel free to share!


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

ohms said:


> I need to find a better solution for my hopper though, I use mine in my house - a mini (1kg) hopper would be perfect. If you come across something, feel free to share!


Mine is in above image - it's a straight conical shape that has been chopped before I got it. Dunno which grinder it stems from, though. Grinder luminary @coffeechap might fill me in


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## ohms (Jan 22, 2018)

Hasi said:


> Mine is in above image - it's a straight conical shape that has been chopped before I got it. Dunno which grinder it stems from, though. Grinder luminary @coffeechap might fill me in


Kinda looks like the original one, albeit chopped. Kinda wanted one with a lid, though. If you're single dosing you'll have to weigh the beans down with something, too!


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

I'll be cutting a wooden lid to fit. Hopper's going to receive paint as well (no light inside







)

For single dosing, I simply placed a tamper on top of my current Mazzer Mini. Turns out this won't be possible any more with the bigger burrs and inlet... however, I'm not too much into that tbh


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## Jacko112 (Oct 29, 2015)

@Hasi when I was doing up my Rossi rr45 Adrian at Give it the beans managed to get me a macap hopper that fitted it. Might be worth having a look in his site for anything you need. Helpful guy too.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Jacko112 said:


> @Hasi when I was doing up my Rossi rr45 Adrian at Give it the beans managed to get me a macap hopper that fitted it. Might be worth having a look in his site for anything you need. Helpful guy too.


thx @Jacko112 !

Twas a busy weekend - no real progress, except for a little paint stripping test. Oh boy, what have I started?! Body is cast aluminium, almost softer than the primer layer on top


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

...finally I found some time to move on! Sanding time:










Seeing the cast aluminium body being really soft, I didn't take heavier tools like an angle grinder and steel brush attachment.

After an hour of going nuts with a 180 grit rotary paper-and-scotch-brite-flaps attchment it looks like this:










Wasn't sure whether to leave it raw for an indistrial look... until I saw these marks:










They must stem from casting and they're all over the place. Dislike. So it's gonna receive some nice paint instead of a final brush.

Stay tuned for the colour scheme


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Time for an update!

All masked and paint applied, here's the first layer - white base coat



























While it's still wet, I get to mask... the upper part:










Yea, I believe them beans should see less light. But I'd still like to get a glimpse of the fill level...


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

And while the paint's a-dryin'... put some shine on the different metal pieces such as bolts or buttons:










Without fancy tools, in need of solutions









But it worked quite well!










Just for the record, it had a brushed appearance before - only scratched. Unfortunately forgot to take a picture before.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

In the meantime, I've applied a matte clear coat onto the MXD body.

One more thing to do before having a look around whether there's more things to do... straightening the axis of the micrometric adjuster:










Then just some final cleaning... and re-assemble!




























A brief check revealed I've connected all wires correctly







now onto some beauty shots...


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)




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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Here you can see the transparent gap to peek inside - kinda like it...!


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Quality refurb, love the detail, that hopper looks like one I chopped recently, think it was for a K30, you might be best posting up the diameter most are the same sizes although when I fitted a lens hood to a macap it was bigger than a mazzer


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

just had aquick look on here -https://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?37048-Pimp-my-Macap-la-scala/page4 think the opening takes a 67mm at the top,so a 65 mm hopper neck will fit it, the Macap hoppers are quite rare but do come up on ebay

What I love most about the Macaps is that the lower burr carrier is a tapered fit on the spindle, quality engineering.


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## nige2000 (Aug 5, 2017)

nice job..


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Thanks Jim, really appreciate your feedback!

Bold guess: that IS the one hopper you chopped lately... 

Its base is definitely wider on the MXD (I just took 69mm) than on my Mazzer Mini (60mm).

Yes the tapered fit totally makes sense! If I'm not mistaken, my Mini also features one. Both machines manufactured in 2014...


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

ha -just noticed the Werra laser etched tip screwdrivers in a picture- I have a set myself, the best by far


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> ha -just noticed the Werra laser etched top screwdrivers in a picture- I have a set myself, the best by far


Absolutely!

But only until they slip and frggn nick your finger


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Actually I chopped that hopper down!


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## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

Dibs on your rocket when your minima arrives 

Great job, and if you fancy a fancy bit of toolage for polishing and such, I'm selling a lathe.

I'll get a postage quote if you like


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

joey24dirt said:


> Dibs on your rocket when your minima arrives


Oooh I hear you!

Haven't made my mind up on that distant future, tbh











joey24dirt said:


> I'm selling a lathe.
> 
> I'll get a postage quote if you like


You think you can get it out of your neighbourhood?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

coffeechap said:


> Actually I chopped that hopper down!


And now you're thinking, 'oh my what's this lad doin to my work?!'









Anyhow, thanks again @coffeechap









Looking very much forward to firing it up tomorrow morning!


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Not at all, looks like you have gone a fab job at making it immaculate


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Hasi said:


> In the meantime, I've applied a matte clear coat onto the MXD body.
> 
> One more thing to do before having a look around whether there's more things to do... straightening the axis of the micrometric adjuster:
> 
> ...


Fantastic paintjob & resto. How's the aim now you've turned it into a stormtrooper?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

ashcroc said:


> Fantastic paintjob & resto. How's the aim now you've turned it into a stormtrooper?


 Haha, that crossed my mind when I put it back together 

I'll get to to wear a Darth Vader outfit to make coffee... even though I'm only Mr. Stevens...

[video=youtube;SqBPk-KHU98]


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

IT IS SO FAST!

And precise.

And surprisingly silent.

What an upgrade...


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## ohms (Jan 22, 2018)

Hasi said:


> I'll be cutting a wooden lid to fit. Hopper's going to receive paint as well (no light inside
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Guess I'll need to chop my hopper down soon. I'll probably have to make some sort of lid for it too!

You can fit a standard 58mm tamper on top, but it's a tight fit if it gets into the throat. I don't usually single dose, as there's not enough beans for a tamper to actually push down. I fill enough beans for 2-3 shots (which is why I want a slightly more sealed hopper!

Nice restoration man - it's a sweet looking dalek, as my wife calls it....


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Interestingly, I seem to be dosing less coffee for my shots now: down to 18.5g compared to 20.5g that exited the Mazzer Mini for the same result.

How come?


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## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

Hasi said:


> Interestingly, I seem to be dosing less coffee for my shots now: down to 18.5g compared to 20.5g that exited the Mazzer Mini for the same result.
> 
> How come?


Black magic.... has to be


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

joey24dirt said:


> Black magic.... has to be


Dunno if I can let that count for an explanation... at least it pays off eventually


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Hasi said:


> Interestingly, I seem to be dosing less coffee for my shots now: down to 18.5g compared to 20.5g that exited the Mazzer Mini for the same result.
> 
> How come?


LOL That's why I am sticking with 60 odd mm burrs as I suspected something like that might happen with some bigger models - you have no idea how much trouble a change of dose of my favourite bean would cause me.







The DB sucks. Me and my tidy pucks.

You've done a brilliant job there. Nice to see.

John

-


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## _shakeyjake_ (Dec 16, 2016)

Hasi said:


> Interestingly, I seem to be dosing less coffee for my shots now: down to 18.5g compared to 20.5g that exited the Mazzer Mini for the same result.
> 
> How come?


Could it be a more accurate and even grind? As in more of the same particle size compared to variations in the last? Or black magic as suggested. haha


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Update!

Today I could finally pick up my lid... a friend of mine (not Joey in this case) turned it out of a leftover oak piece. Rubbed it with sesame oil as it's almost neutral - and food safe. And available in our kitchen!

Anyways, here it is:




























Great little recess for a snuggly snug fit 

Other than that, I'm still awaiting an answer from Macap regarding a replacement sticker.


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## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

Super job on the refurb, the white looks amazing


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## Beeroclock (Aug 10, 2015)

Great Job Hasi!!! Now can do mine?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Beeroclock said:


> Great Job Hasi!!! Now can do mine?


Whatta you got?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Nice curve on the top of the lid


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Nice curve on the top of the lid


Absolutely!

Thanks Jim









Despite its slim look, added depth and curved top give it enough weight to act as a proper closure







I'm really happy with the result!

Maybe I should get me a lathe and do my own lathe art, anytime soon. It seems so satisfying...


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## Ben S (Jun 28, 2021)

Inspiring work, I've just purchased a used one as well.

Fluffy grind and no mess but it could use a bloody good clean and a refirb - did you just start taking it apart (with photos etc) or did you have a service manual/parts diagram?

I couldn't find anything out there. Any suggestions welcome.

Cheers


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