The La Pavoni is clean and looking good

So far I've spent about 8 hours work on the old, vintage La Pavoni I bought last weekend. Mostly this is at night, along with a few hours on it yesterday. It hadn't ever been properly cleaned during the last years of it's service life, so took a lot of rubbing down with 600, then 1200, then 1500 Wet or Dry paper; followed by No. 7 rubbing compound, then some Brasso. On the base I went for 360 Wet or Dry paper, and created a brushed look rather than a polished look.
You'd be surprised how tough tarnish can be to dislodge from both old brass, and in particular chrome, after years of being “baked in” at approximately 98º to 100ºC for an hour a day. This is why, with the help of some advice from Barb at Orphan Espresso (http://orphanespresso.com) it was eventually obvious that the Wet or Dry paper would become necessary on the chromed boiler. In my opinion the slightly beaten and yet nicely polished look goes well with the age of a vintage piece of kit. New chrome would be perfect and bright, and is an option, but may just not fit will with the “feel” of the device.

And now, the whole thing is looking pretty good. Time for the seals and gaskets kit and to get it rebuilt and running. You can get these at Orphan Espresso (http://orphanespresso.com), Stefano's Espresso Care (http://espressocare.com, and Thomas E. Cara (amongst others).

Here's @jodiekw pulling herself back together (with @Threadsy). In hospital.

We have the best Trauma center right here at San Francisco General, and it's 1 out of just 100 in the US. It's the only one in the City of San Francisco. It's the only center in the entire region prepared for our POTUS, Barack Obama himself, if it were ever necessary. It's where the Police officers come if they're shot or involved in a car wreck. The emergency orthopedic surgery she had was performed quickly and effectively by the (apparently) best bone surgeons in Northern CA. In short, if you have this kind of real trauma, I'm told you don't want the private hospital - you want this one.

Life throws surprises at you from time to time. Most of the time we only pause to consider those who help us in a traumatic event, after it's already happened. Well, me too. So let me salute and thank all of the trauma staff, the nurses, and Jodie's surgeons and doctors, and particularly the gorgeous Ms Chauncy down in Emergency who provided a bit of warmth and humanity, pillows and fresh blankets, and a reassuring smile, all admidst the screams and the blood of the trauma unit on a Friday night. Be thankful for these people. You might need them when you least expect it.

*** Update - interested in the culprit injury? Check these out. ***

*** Another update - whilst I don't have Jodes' films, her new leg looks like this person's (and will forever) ***

*** Final update - we've been back to the Orthopaedic Surgery Clinic for follow-up, and things are looking good ***

 

 

The procedure she had is called an intermedullary, or intramedullary nailing. In essence, a titanium rod is inserted the length of her tibia and then secured with screws. None of this will ever come out, so it'll be the last thing that breaks if she ever gets in another mess (let's hope not!). It'll be 2 weeks before I can leave her at home alone for any time, but she's healing well, and learning her new crutches. Thanks again bone docs! :) Physical therapy starts in a week and a half. That should be fun. 

 

<rant> My entirely contrary entry about the health insurance people, their companies, and their fucked up profit on the back of human misery practices - no doubt about it - will be coming under separate cover. First things first. </rant> 

A La Pavoni espresso machine laid bare

Here you have a classic, vintage, lever-pull La Pavoni Europiccola espresso machine stripped down into it's parts and laid bare on my kitchen counter. If you haunt Craigslist you should be able to pick a working version up from time to time, around $160 to $200.

This photograph is the aftermath of a session with it at lunchtime (basic disassembly), and another last night (descaling, soaking, cleaning). Here's roughly what we have - up back a chromed boiler (yet to be forcibly, no doubt, removed - on a brass base that needs lacquer stripping, and probably a new powder coat - or I might just polish it), and a half-chromed lever pull. In front, brass (just about everything) group head, piston with stainless shaft, stainless filter basket and shower screen, brass portafilter and mostly brass componentry for tubing and whatnot.

The boiler element is older-style brass, is sound and does not short to the base, and this is the critical component. It can be replaced for around $100 bucks but it's sound and spent half a day soaking in descaler, and is now clean - so at it's heart the machine is sound, perfectly refurbishable and now it's time to inventory and order the 12 or so new seals required, and whilst those are coming spend several sessions with polishing compound and Brasso. :)

Here's some useful links:

Went for a walk to Borders w/ @poochcriminal this morning. #deathofthebookstore

I'm not surprised, but still saddened. The headline on the screen behind says it all. The storefront at 3rd and King has been giving off death signals for over a year. It used to be far more vibrant; until good adoption of the Kindle came along. Our generations' kids will never experience that vibrant, welcoming bookstore vibe, hence why I'm still sad about this particular moment of reality, even while I celebrate the arrival of new technology like Kindle and iPad. Life can be like that.