Hi guys, after having the DF64 Gen 2 with the ssp MP for half a year and having a few alignment sessions all not ending up in a good result, I started again today from 0.
The lower burr has no shimming and the upper has one in an are which seemed uneven before.
How come the lower burr is evenly wiped off and the upper evenly not wiped out?? Should I just shim the entire upper burr?
Thanks for your help guys ❤️
by Hotdogtest
14 Comments
I probably will get hate for saying this but this misalignment issue is way too hyped. We’re talking about a difference of micrometers and unless you’re grinding at zero point or very close to it, it should be forgiving enough.
Do you notice any lack of uniformity in your ground coffee? Are there a lot of fines or clumps? Is there a difference in how your coffee tasted earlier v/s now? If not, just let it be because all it does is add to your anxiety lol (at least made mine worse)
See my upper burr below – barely 40% wiped but I do not notice any major change in my coffee
https://preview.redd.it/yl16tj6xwatf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82eb8a94877f5d9dca35a2409f407ed6c1526c85
I have the exact same setup and I remember the shop telling me they’re quite difficult to align the burrs, so you’re not alone for sure
It makes no sense to shim the entire burr because that effectively would be the same as pushing the burrs closer. It looks like your lower burr is nicely flushed with the very small section that is perfectly wiped off on your top burr. I think a good first step is to convince yourself that the shimming works as intended (i.e. wherever you shim should get the marker wiped off more easily) by placing a shim on one of the screws where the marker is totally unwiped, then adjust slowly from there.
I wound up using a couple of different materials (parchment paper and aluminumn foil) to get the result I wanted. Best of luck!
The bottom burr being wiped means that it’s equally spaced from the top burr. Now what you need to do is shim until your top burr is wiped as well.
Remember to shim on both sides of the screw not to damage the burr. Took me 2 sessions to get to 85% wipe on both burrs as a total newbie
The lower burr being wiped clean means that the bottom burr is well aligned while the top bur being partially wiped means that top burr can be shimmed into alignment. The top burrs lowest point is wiping the bottom burr clean while only leaving the top burr partially wiped. You should shim the top burr and leave the bottom burr be. Try the marker test again on both burrs once you’ve shimmed the top burr and it has wiped clean. Don’t add marker to both burrs at the same time go one by one!
Your lower burr is the one that spins, and will touch the spots on the upper burr all the way around. Shim the upper burr.
That’s the issue with DF. They are wildly inconsistent. Btw on the topic of alignment, did you use feeler gauges to ensure it’s aligned on the other axis? If it is not then that could be contributing to why you’re not getting an even wipe. You also need a torque adjustable screw driver and tighten each screw on alternate side little by little. Hope that helps
I have a college degree and two masters degrees, but I don’t understand anything in this discussion. 😆
Much of the problem you’re having with alignment is probably down to poor manufacturing tolerances, which in my experience with DF64 and DF83 grinders (I’ve owned both) are common. After messing with alignment, clogging, overheating and other issues I bailed on both DF grinders and never looked back. I have a Mazzer Philos grinder now and zero problems. It just grinds beans properly and uniformly. No drama. Yes it cost more, but it’s been worth getting rid of the hassle and trouble I had with DF grinders. The DF83V might be a different story, however, due to its vertical burrs and otherwise different design (I’ve never used one). It seems to get consistently good reviews.
Ahhh yes the Matt Perger/Barista Hustle method of shimming the burrs with tin foil. Good times.
The answer to your question is because the burrs misaligns in long term use because it sheds/grinds away the sharpness
And yes you need to add tin foil for both sides
Overall, I wouldnt make this a huge concern unless the change is really noticeable with your brews.
You dont even need any shims at all.. they work great out of the box
Don’t bother getting it perfect. Grinders that adjust like the DF series (just a threaded cap right on top of the upper burr carrier) have inherent misalignment. Threads can’t accurately constrain the burrs and the alignment will change anytime you change grind settings. Also, the marker test is so prone to user error, I would just not do it at all.
As to your question: If the moving burr is wiped clean and the stationary one isnt, that means the rotating burr has great alignment and the stationary one is misaligned with the high spot being right at the wiped spot.
There are two burrs, one spinning and one stationary. both need to be situated exactly perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the spinning burr.
|| both burrs even, full contact on both burrs.
\| spinning burr off-axis, will only rub one section part of the spinning burr
|\ stationary burr off-axis, will only rub one section of the stationary burr
Exactly why I got a p64 from Option-O. Same grinder but far superior manufacturing tolerances. I can swap burs with no problem and barely any fuss. Took me a hour plus to get the DF64 burrs aligned and if you look at it a week later, the burrs aren’t aligned anymore.
I feel like this is far too complicated and actually pretty useless – under load (with beans) the burrs move (quite abit actually) and you have fairly little influence on that through this kind of alignment.
I believe Lance showed this quite nicely in one of his latest videos on a very cheap burr grinder.
If the whole system (also the base) is not well aligned it’s no use to play around with the burrs (specially without load) – while I like the DF64 grinders quite abit (atm I also have a DF83v) I prefer the Zerno Z1 because you have an even better control over the grind size (like a scalpel).
The whole alignment thing is something the manufacturer has to handle through design (imho) rather then the customer (it’s already to late then if you ask me).
I had a faulty Philos too (like a lot of people) and although the design should perfectly align the burrs – I call bullshit on that…bc the inconsistency was really bad. I recently received a new version and it was all… 🤷🏻♂️ so even the big ones struggle with this. (Made some videos on those grinders on YouTube)