# Gaggia Classic DIY Oak Wood Handle



## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

I've always thought the plastic portafilter handle on the Gaggia Classic looked a bit cheap, so when the latest one broke I decided to make myself a wooden one as a lockdown project... Then I realised I didn't have access to a workshop or any of the tools I required but never mind - I like a challenge!

Stage one - I found some offcuts of oak in my 7 year old son's tool kit. Using a rip saw, electric drill and chisel I cut out a rebate for the "tang" of the portafilter and cut a hole for the retaining bolt - all without the aid of a vice!

I then cut out a few holes in the other pieces oak so they fit together snuggly and I have laminated them together with Gorilla glue, one spring cramp and some insulating tape.

Let's see how it looks in the morning!


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

Stage 2 - The Gorilla glue seems to have worked thankfully, I would have preferred to use West System epoxy but didn't have any at hand. I roughed up the contact surfaces with the hand saw and damped them down well as Oak can be tricky to glue up.

I trimmed the handle to length and cut off the corners with the hand saw - the wood is hard as iron and without a vice this was hard work, much swearing involved but all fingers intact!

Stage 3 - Roughing out the shape was difficult, I tried an angle grinder but only have a metal cutting disk which didn't really touch the oak and got very hot & smokey...

I abandoned this and moved onto a vibrating sander with fairly coarse grit paper, this is a bit slow going but did the job in the end:


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

I've had another go with the sander today, it's slow and dusty work but quite rewarding, I sacrificed a couple of knuckles along the way though...

Stage 3 - Roughed out the top and bottom faces of the handle.

Stage 4 - Marked out and sanded the corners off to give an octagonal shape.

Quite pleased with shape so far and it's starting to feel more balanced in the hand already. I'd like to take off a bit more weight at the top of the handle but think I should leave as much as possible to maintain strength at the joint...


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## ronan08 (Dec 21, 2019)

Wow that looks amazing well done you should do a nice oil finish on that


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

ronan08 said:


> Wow that looks amazing well done you should do a nice oil finish on that


 Thanks, I'm thinking of using the same oil-wax finish that I used on the table in the photos, it's fairly matt and should bring out the grain nicely...


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## ronan08 (Dec 21, 2019)

Yes Totally


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Well done, fair bit of work there


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## MartinB (May 8, 2011)

Awesome 👍


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

Last night I spent a bit more time working on the handle with the electric sander, taking off the corners until I had 16 faces and then finally rounding it off.

I then moved onto sanding by hand with finer and finer grit ultimately polishing it with some wet and dry paper - dry obviously!

Being so hard it came up smooth as a babies bottom and I was tempted to leave it like that but would only have got stained during use so I gave it a coat of Osmo oil-wax satin finish. It looked a bit garish at first but has dried a bit more subtle overnight. I will give it a second coat tonight but have to say I'm really pleased with how it's turned out:


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## coffeefalafel (Apr 26, 2015)

Looks really good, I've wanted to do something similar.

Where you have the metal bolted to the oak have you used any adhesive or is all the strength coming from the bolt?

Common failure of these portafilters ive noticed is the bolt working loose causing an annoying wobble.

How visible is the joint in the oak?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

coffeefalafel said:


> Looks really good, I've wanted to do something similar.
> 
> Where you have the metal bolted to the oak have you used any adhesive or is all the strength coming from the bolt?
> 
> ...


 Hi, I was surprised how well the bolt held the middle piece of wood, I left very little play between the metal and the rebate, also where the bolt bites onto the wood I left the chain of drill holes unfinished so it compressed as the bolt was tightened. By default it will also be held by the adhesive - gorilla glue expands like mad as it cures! The shape of the portafilter stub does not help, it's too short and wide for the length of the retaining bolt really. Time will tell how it copes with constant use but I deliberately left as much "meat" around the metal as possible.

I did consider a longer bolt right through the length of the handle but a) I didn't have one. b) I didn't think I could drill the hole straight enough. c) I didn't have a drill bit long enough. d) I thought it would spoil the finish.

You can't really see the joints between the layers of wood, the grain just changes direction. Again time will tell how it copes with use and expansion/contraction of the metal inside...

If all else fails I will just split the wooden handle off and fit another nasty plastic one!

Follow this post and I will update in a few weeks.


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## Rebel (Jan 14, 2020)

Wow, good job! I took the lazy way and bought a bottomless portafilter with a plastic handle that screws in and then replaced it with a wooden handle I found on Ebay.


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

Looks pretty good all the same!


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

Rebel said:


> Wow, good job! I took the lazy way and bought a bottomless portafilter with a plastic handle that screws in and then replaced it with a wooden handle I found on Ebay.
> 
> View attachment 38581


 Looks pretty good all the same!


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

Another coat of Osmo oil-wax last night and that's my upgraditis cured for a little while!!

Much better balanced than the plastic one and hopefully longer lasting after all that effort. Makes the dear old Classic look quite classy I think...


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## Rebel (Jan 14, 2020)

Huckster said:


> Another coat of Osmo oil-wax last night and that's my upgraditis cured for a little while!!


 Ah but you need a Silvia V3 wand! Always happy to help spend's other people's money.


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## Mikeoffee (Mar 30, 2020)

I really like that!

An oak drip tray and steam knob would really set it off! 😀


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## Huckster (May 16, 2016)

Mikeoffee said:


> I really like that!
> 
> An oak drip tray and steam knob would really set it off! 😀


 Damn - now you've got me me thinking about a matching steam knob!!!


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## ronan08 (Dec 21, 2019)

Oh and dont forget a matching tamper and while you there your aswell to match the counter top 😂


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## Mikeoffee (Mar 30, 2020)

Huckster said:


> Damn - now you've got me me thinking about a matching steam knob!!!


 Go for it! I think the machine is beautiful in its simplicity but the plain standard steam knob is just a little bland.


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## BigginJimbo (Feb 23, 2021)

How's your handle doing? Was all that effort worth it or are you back to a plastic one? Ours broke a couple of days ago. I'm using pliers for now but want to know whether it's worth trying something like your effort or not.


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