1920s Hobart Coffee Mill [Restoration]
This restoration is on a 1920s Hobart coffee grinder that I recently found at auction. You can see the patent for this tool here: patents.google.com/patent/US1...
The smell of ~100 year-old coffee is now something I can never forget. The coffee bin was missing so I ordered a replacement off another Hobart grinder. The hopper was significantly dented and may not be original to the machine. The tool was also coated in over 7000 layers of paint for some reason. The burr disks were in excellent condition and seems to be made of some of the earliest stainless steel I have come across so far.
The machine needed a fresh coat of paint and pin-striping, new nickel-plating, insane amounts of body filler, some new wires, and a lot of oil. Removing the dents in the aluminum hopper was a lot of fun since I was able to use high-powered magnets on the lathe. I did not resharpen the burr grinders as the customer does not plan on using this as it's more for decoration.
In the end, the grinder murders coffee beans at a rate that is completely unnecessary at a home level. This was most likely used in a grocery store or hotel setting.
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My dad and I restored one of the floor model of this same coffee grinder toput on display in his office (he owned the local Hobart Agency) we replaced all of the hardware, and anything that needed replating with new old stock parts from the parts room, and even had new old stock waterslide-decals for it. Looked exactly like the catalog (and worked like new) when we were done. Lost dad in 2014. Thank you so much for bringing back this memory for me.
I really don't know why anyone would pay so much money to restore one of these without restoring the windings on the stator. They're 100 years old and have probably been through 10k heat cycles. They are covered in varnish to them from shorting to each other. That old varnish decays. At a minimum, there should be a fuse on it.
Removing the lead paint is a bad move because now superman can see inside your coffee grinder while you are using it and I think we all know how bad that is.
Dammit!
True. One of the top five worst outcomes when grinding coffee is superman landing in your kitchen and jeering at you over your choice of bean. Guy's a real coffee snob. He once lambasted me over my lack of Tanzania Peaberry Coffee then heat-visioned my cup because it was five degrees off optimal temp. I never fully recovered.
On the bright side --> They're delicious!
Will you stop lacing your coffee beans with Kryptonite?
@@quixototalis this is hands down the absolute best reply I have ever gotten on a KZhead comment. I laughed out loud and you made my day good sir!
I swear, half the reason for me watching your videos is the anticipation of the random hilarious stuff. The other half is the pure enjoyment of watching these old relics come back to life. Unfortunately now, I need to go pull out my French Press and make a brew.... It's 9pm and have to work in the morning lol.
The "extra coarse" setting is for when you want to use coffee beans as aggregate in the making of mud-bricks.
To be fair it was from the 1920's pretty much everyone was still drinking percolated coffee, no fancy stuff like espresso and the likes at home.
Another awesome moment of learning, thanks to KZhead. If only I drank coffee.
Boiled coffee is best coffee, preferably over fire.
@@SilvaDreams don't forget french press and nowadays the extra course would work great for cold brew
@@JrgenHelland00 I call boiled over a fire cowboy coffee
The sandblasting entrance was the funniest thing I have seen on this channel since The Model. This is an awesome restoration! Great work!
wire wheeling had its moments too...
The model was nice indeed. Always something funny to look after with these excellent restorations..
Man, The Model was a classic from start to finish
Yeah that was hilarious. Unexpected.
35:18
The first thing I note - and I'm exactly 34 seconds in - is that you've changed the cast! What happened to Unnecessarily Prominent Adjustable Wrenches, or Emotionally Distant Garbage On The Floor? Are they ok? Were there contractual issues? Did they leave to "spend more time with their families?" Rehab? Enquiring minds and fans need to know!
This is the important question 😂
And did you notice the mug from AvE at the end? It’s always nice to see an Easter Egg from another great KZheadr snuck into a video.
I would also like to know where the scaling banana is? I haven't seen them in several episodes!
The thing I noticed immediately is that this video was NOT sponsored by Vaporust. Wonder if something changed on the financial back end of things.
@@ControlledWrinkles tits and pickles man 😂😂😂
My full time job is a Coffee Machine Engineer. It's so good to see a old Coffee grinder put back in to action. Well done .
My dad used to work for Hobart, it's nice to see this get restored!
We had a vintage Hobart deli slicer at my old deli, and it outperformed and outlasted all of the brand new Chinese built slicers I bought. Every single one of them. I bought it from an old church social hall for $100. I wish I still had that slicer but I sold it with the business.
Hobart built the best equipment. It definitely needed some TLC, but notice how nothing on this thing was actually broken. Whoever paid to get this restored knows what they have.
They still do. I work for them. We still make top of the line commercial food equipment.
He says he found it at auction so I don't think someone else paid for the restoration. Hand Tool Rescue must just appreciate quality coffee.
@@theKashConnoisseur He says in the video that the client picked the color. Which I assume is the person paying him to restore it.
@@nobuckle40 Yeah, I know. I just wish you guys still owned/manufactured Kitchenaid stand mixers. The N50 Hobart makes is great, but very expensive. Those Hobart Kitchenaid mixers were great...as reflected by the price they still fetch on the used market.
@@danielprivate7442 Ah, must have blinked and missed that caption.
Haha, the steel balls, this is why this is my favorite vintage tool, equipment/restoration channel. Gotta be able to have fun while you work.
That magnetic reshaping tool is ingenously simple... and of course you tried it on the lathe. Of course. 😂 Your little touches of humour are always welcome and on point. I'm really glad you're getting clients! This one must have been so pleased. No stinky century's worth of coffee for them to deal with... I want this to live in a relaxed coffee shop where lots of customers can see and admire it.
I’m fascinated by your ability and knowledge of restoring these old tools. It makes me think about the engineers (without CAD) just a slide rule or pencil & paper designing the product. The draftsmen making the blueprints and the craftsman building the parts. Truly amazing people.
As a renowned film critic I feel obliged to congratulate you for the sand blasting scene. It was nothing but epic, a true milestone in the history of cinematics and a really good vid. Cheers, looking forward to the next one. 🍻👍😁
Glad you enjoyed it!
Always. 😎
@@HandToolRescue 35:20 Bro, you have the balls!!! 😂😂
At this point, I'm convinced that coffee grinders are a right of passage for restoration channels.
I thought this was a prank channel?
11:00 the adjustment is so you can line up the timing for when each coil is on so the motor actually turns. took me until this point in the video to figure that one out myself. basically if the two little black brush blocks engage too early or too late the motor will just be magnetized in place or even spin backwards. so the timing is actually really important to get the most power and functionality from the coils.
fantastic. Still the best channel to watch during long zoom calls...
I'm really impressed with your stop-motion camera skills. At 9:41 it really looks like the grinder is "walking" across the bench top. Well done!
lmao
That's sometimes the only way my car goes. Some hapless bugger has to hammer it from behind.
As someone who has experience moving, I can assure you that most things move when you chase them with a hammer. It's not stop motion, just the fear of being hit propelling it forward.
@@marklammas2465 ...that's what she said
@@marklammas2465 Ive had women like that🤣🤣
When l was a youngster, in the early 50's, gosh lm getting old, the general store had a coffee mill that looked just like that! I used to love going in there because it had so many good smells! The fresh ground coffee, the spices and best of all the store smelled like leather from some of the things they sold!
As usual, nice job. I don't know why but I giggled at how the coffee bean hopper looks like a funeral urn for someone's ashes.
Even the motor winding is a thing of beauty. I thought I was the only one that was built to last and built to look good doing it.
It seems like there are still lots of decent presses and grinders around, but an old mill like this is almost as rare as a coffee lathe! Nice find, and great restoration!
Can I ask what a coffee lathe is? The only thing google shows are misspelled lattes
@@hrtlsbstrd I think it's just a joke about a coffee "mill" like an end mill but for coffee. So another machining tool being a lathe, ergo "coffee lathe". But I could be wrong.
I read ‘coffee latte’… Not rare at all.
@@MatthewBurns8 Aha, very rare indeed
@@noeraldinkabam k k k mm, I 8kpokjokk9 m0
The only thing that is ever missing from your content is a flashback to when these beautiful pieces of history were being used. Like if we could go back in time and watch them in action in their prime!
Agreed
Luckily, you have all of KZhead to search.
used for 100+ years, meanwhile modern junk costs 100x the price and lasts 1/1000000 the time. You get less, for more.
Definitely not for more. Purchases like this were astronomically more expensive in terms of real dollars. The race to the bottom in manufacturing has been the result of production efficiencies that include reducing salaries and taking out employees that cost more due to long tenures. That piece of junk from Harbor Freight is what people buy because it's what they can afford. It's a classic example of it costing more to be poor, but the vast majority of us never even notice it's happening.
@@tenchuu007 no, it's all very intentional. they are banning automated labor in favor of sustainable income. Every business class contains a huge volume on screwing people/customers as hard as you can. Lectures that sound like Satan himself is teaching them to make people be evil to one another and preach it's "goodness".
Awesome job Hand Tool Rescue! I'm an 80's kid so I can appreciate the 80's themed intro!
I just had to stop and say the intros get a very decent chuckle out of me every single time and thank you for that
Ok so had to add to my comment after watching this whole thing it had me in stitches lmfao
It’s so cool that you’re using the MDRS magnets and dent balls! The developer of those is a colleague of mine. He’s a really nice guy. The MDRS tools were developed for the musical instrument repair industry!
I didn’t know that was an actual tool. Thanks for the heads up, I thought he used it brilliantly.
@@whosonfirst1309 yeah it’s a pretty handy tool in the musical instrument repair industry. It was originally developed and sold by C.G. Conn (the instrument company) but the magnets they used were pretty irregular. Some of them were strong enough to use, and some weren’t even worth using as refrigerator magnets. When my colleagues developed this version, they made sure to only use consistent and very strong rare earth magnets in the system. They also designed the handle to be able to accept a few useful attachments. The magnets are strong enough that I keep my phone, watch, credit cards, and bladed tools very far away from my work area lol. I would also caution anyone with an insulin pump or pacemaker to avoid getting too close 😅
@@jakethebard thank you.
Can your colleague confirm whether the MDRS system is lathe-certified, though...? 😂
@@suitov 😂 Well I've never asked him, but hey if it works then it works! I can't see a time when I would have to do any MDRS work on a lathe, but stranger things have happened! When I was starting out in the musical instrument repair industry, I never thought I'd find a tuba that had condoms hidden inside, but I found exactly that about a year and a half after I got out of repair school! 😅
It looks like someone back in the day took a trophy, a mail box, a water pump housing, a bench grinder motor and a funnel.., threw it all together and called it a coffee grinder.
I’m always amazed at how big and robust these motors are! Especially brushes! And rarely are the brushes very worn! Especially compared to dc starters!
The sense of humor brings me back to reality!
Love the beefy switch, would’ve been from before they figured out how to optimise for costs. It’s action is also really interesting, gives a nice solid click to prevent arcing too.
before planned obsolescence*
You spelled "Ka-Chunk" wrong.
@@soul8bounce Yes, these days they need to optimise for a more satisfying Ka-chunk. Today's clicky switches are not good enough.
@@gorillaau need that movie grade Ka-Chuck that sounds real chunky. Like you just threw one of them power station lever switches.
It's interesting because it's a part that would have been incredibly easy to replace had it been broken... But it wasn't, and a new one would have been a downgrade.
you are absolutely hillarious and at the same time doing such a nice job bringing these items back to life. Another great video!
That what I was going to say, now you’ve RUINED it! 😂
HOBART!!! Makers of fine machinery for working-class employees in every restaurant in America!
I was not expecting that "Japanning" gag. Top tier work as always!
I come for the restorations and stay for the laughs. The Japaning one caused me to laugh long after the video was over!
Amazingly well done. I have never seen an aluminium hopper worked with a magnet and steel ball to remove dents. Ingeniously simple.
NEVER!! I cannot emphasize enough. N E V E R !!!111 Never stop a lathe chuck with your hand!!!1 Awesome vid!
The best part about your videos is your sense of humor. I could totally work with you in my shop. We'd probably have too much fun with all the shenanigans though.
As soon as I saw it I had a flashback (child of the 60's), of going to Grand Union with my dad, they had one of those grinders but in shiny red. That smell of fresh ground coffee made the trip worth it. Amazing restoration, that thing is beautiful. Oh yea, I love the balls of steel, they really do take the dents out and put a smile on our faces :), take care!
Another quality episode. I really like the way you tell the stories on Insta and KZhead, but there isn't much overlap. You can follow the Insta stories start to finish and not be bored with the final video. Really well done. Also I hope aVe comes over and claims his cup a joe soon. That would be epic.
Just him in some old Timey clothes filmed in black-and-white would be good enough for me!
I really hope more people get the “enhance…enhance” reference. Super Troopers is one of my all time favorite movies
Your humour without dialogue amuses me no end😂😂 Thanks for the content hand tool rescue 🤘🏻 And a big hello from Newcastle in the north east of England 🇬🇧🇨🇦🇬🇧🇨🇦👍🏻
Love this video. I knew the name Hobart meant something to me. Once I saw your Hobart here I remembered my Kitchen Aid mixer. I am also a coffee fan with a couple old Cory vacuum brewers. They would go well with this Hobart. Well done on the restore. You are the best.
Nice enhancing there, Thorny.
The steel ball/magnet lathe idea I have never seen, amazing stuff he does.
Привет Борода! Не пропадай на долго. Классное восстановление,👩🔧👩🔧👩🔧 с приколами и не забудь вернуть шары на место.😄😄😄👏👏👏
I have to say, the steel ball and magnet idea is absolutely genius! A very convenient and affordable "English wheel". Plus you can get into places you normally couldn't.
They use them in musical instrument repairs there are some sites with more of that sort of thing
Whenever I’ve been asked, I always say that the lathe is by far the most dangerous tool in the workshop. Congratulations, this is definitely a sketchy step beyond dangerous!
no, it's still the lathe. It's the only tool in a workshop that can instantly kill you and turn you into spaghetti that no-one will want to burry.
Than you should watch "the model" episode
@@yak-machining do you have a link to it? Can’t find it
@@thomashowe855 the model kzhead.info/sun/ormQf7N-gHtnZ2w/bejne.html
I'll be honest. This is really really not sketchy.... Try cylindrical grinding or see what even very experienced Machinists do when they have to sand long shafts with strips of sandpaper...... yikes! - an old grey bearded machinist
That switch might have stole the whole show for me. I've never seen one like it. Very cool looking
Very nice work, when you whipped out the torch for the wire shrink though I figured that 100 octane petroleum soaked workbench would go up like a Roman candle lol 😂
I use to work in a musical instrument Manufacturing and repair shops for 25 years and I remember when those magnetic dent removers came on the seen. They work well on big horns like tubas and sousaphone but not so much on small horns like trombones and trumpets. But I really like the way you put that hopper on the lathe and spinning it like that genius. keep up the good work always enjoy your work.🎉
6:10 I WANT THAT 90° STUBBY SCREWDRIVER! 28:40 OH SWEET HEAVENS IT HAS A 45° OFFSET END??? 35:18 :stare: 35:20 *hysterical laughter* 40:10 EEEEE COCKFORD OLLIE MUG!!! I enjoy all your videos but this one was special. Thank you again for taking twice the time of the actual restoration to compose, edit, and upload these beautiful works.
I want that stubby too looks so useful
You retain the title of “Best Restoration Video Creator” without question.
Dude. I know this video is old but I gotta say that magnetic English wheel with the ball bearings is farking amazing! Simply brilliant. Definitely one of my favorite channels.
Я Ваш поклонник,не устаю смотреть ваше видео.Вы большой МОЛОДЕЦ (творческих Вам успехов) С уважением из России.
You are amazing! your attention to detail and your obvious research you do to give your customers and these tools everything they deserve is truly inspiring! Thanks for sharing these projects with us.
Отличная вещь. Вечная. Раньше делали на века. Блогеру огромное спасибо.
Your humour with out dialogue amuses me no end Thanks for the content hand tool rescue 🤘🏻 And a big hello from Newcastle in the north east of England 🇬🇧🏴🇨🇦👍🏻👍🏻😂😂
The "timing" marks inside the motor are for selecting the direction of rotation. I've got 2 much larger versions of these coffee grinders that I've been restoring in my free time and there are many similarities. Nice job!
He notes that at 23:46.
I wondered if it was for adjusting for electrical phase, so you could manufacture wherever and adjust to the country you brought it to. But that makes more sense
You give to all of us entertainment , humor , and great restorations 👌 I enjoy your videos and your sense of humor its just hilarious 😂 .. Great job sir 👌
2 sips into my first cup of coffee & I see this... good morning to me!
I watched other you tube videos that restore things and you do it the best, and yes I'm a subscriber to your channel. 9:30 I would think that is to change the motor timing.
Yes that's what I thought too - a factory-set frequency or voltage adjustment for shipping to different markets. The data plate stated 115V at 60Hz which is a very unusual supply - in modern times only El Salvador and some Caribbean countries have that combo - although it could just be a different designation of standard 120V/60Hz North American supply. It was made in Canada after all.
I am amazed how well the magnetic dent remover worked on the lathe. I was sure it was going to end up with balls being launched across the room and the magnet stuck to the ceiling!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 The humor you inject into your videos....just hilarious!!! The grinder is amazing! Love the paint scheme! I hope the customer was happy with it!!
That intro....it is EPIC!
Wow, absolutely amazing renovation :)
My first job was as a clerk in an A&P. I often wonder what happened to the thousand of coffee grinders that were in their stores. Long before Starbucks, I learned to love the smell of fresh ground beans.
Eight o clock bean coffee
I remember those red and chrome Hobart grinders at the end of the registers.
Nice subtle shout out to AVE at the end. He is the one that turned me on to your channel years ago. Haven’t missed a single one since, even got my dad watching them.
Your customer should have chosen a bright red imo. That's a really nice and big Ole motor. I really appreciate the little fun jokes you add in.
I love the magnetic dent removal system. Absolutely wild the magnet can hold onto those balls whilst turning in the lathe. And it works like a charm.
i mean it's a fat chonky magnet.
I’m pretty sure that it uses a repulsion induction motor so the adjustment inside it would be used for changing the direction that the motor runs in.
I was thinking that, too, due to no starting cap.
@@somejoe7777 the brushes aren’t connected to any power, instead they are connected to each other, so this is a repulsion induction motor. Also when the motor is running it has a regular induction motor sound instead of a universal motor sound.
this is exactly what it is.
I worked at Hobart for many years their quality is second to none. Many Hobart machines built one hundred years ago still work today.
Westfall...from Troy I presume?
@@homefrontforge yes
I am loving the metal tags on the switch wires!
Hell yeah! that coffee grinder is awesome! Works a treat! Looks sharp too! Thanx for a great resto! I look forward to the resto of that Kotex dispenser you got! 😄
What a great restoration it was a pleasure to see something so old restored to its full potential. Well done you 👏🏻 . From Paul UK
The spit-take had me laughing too hard. Loved all of it. The humorous touches are a nice addition.
The magnet ball technique is the coolest thing I have seen in awhile.
This could possibly be my favorite one yet. Incredible video. Amazing result. I like that you don't spend much time on certain things in the video.
Lovely job! Very nice paint work. Your vids never fail to make me laugh. Those balls ought to be of brass, except then they wouldn't be magnetic!
Man, you were really nailing it this time!
When you stuck your finger in the end of the grinder I couldn’t help but think Final Destination film. Excellent job again 👍
Hey mate, I love it! Just a quick tip: You didn't show this in the video, but I assume that you know to apply a thin layer of clear coat after you apply the tape, just before painting the secondary colour? The lines seem slightly jagged to me, and I don't know whether it's the rough metal or your camera lens, but I wanted to make sure you knew to do this
Как всегда интересно и познавательно 👍👍👍Бесподобная работа👍👍👍👍👍
Videos of people destroying the value of antiques are among my favorite on KZhead but yours are the best. Thanks for another excellent video.
Production values through the roof! Felt like an 80s sitcom.
Hi, the adjustments on the brush plate it is called "ax zero" and it is related to the magnet field "slippage" angle. Adjusted wrong it create allot of sparks between brushes and the rotor collector. The simple way to adjusted is by applying a dc voltage to the stator and measure the inducted current in the rotor on the moment voltage from the rotor is removed. You do this repeatedly adding and remove the voltage, rotate the plate on small amounts until you get as less possible voltage measured on the brushes ... that is the inducted voltage in the rotor measured with a voltmeter. Adjusted wright it will give the less amount of sparks on the brushes... but more important it will set the motor to the maximum efficiency you can get from that motor. PS: Be careful when (and if) you perform this, the voltage inducted in the rotor when removed voltage from stator could be quite high, is same as in old cars engines spark coils when at the end of spark plugs voltage is discharged when the contact points are opened by the cam... self induction that is an opposite current to the initial one applied to the coil. :-)
Another way is to run the motor in a darkened room and see how much spark or commutation you get. Once observed, stop the motor and adjust the rocker and run it again. Repeat until you get as close to no spark as possible.
Those carbon brushes were in amazing condition!
Hand Tool Rescue is my favorite restorationist/mime on KZhead!
As an electrician I can most certainly say, that switch is beautiful.
36:24 i can believe that trick with the late worked as well as it did
Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner? I find for items like the control knob it works great for getting dirt out of recessed lettering, groves, etc.
Pure genius putting the feed hopper on the lathe with the MDRS!
I really enjoy everything you do. BEST OF ALL, you are not afraid of getting your hands dirty.
Very nice restoration! Customer has an unusual taste in colors. Love the pin striping. Who did the decals for you? Did you provide them with a photo or do they have an archive of old decals? The burrs look like they have seen better days wonder if Hobart might stock some of this very old stuff or is there a way to re sharpen them. That right angle stubby screwdriver brought back memories, my uncle had one of those. Don't know what happened to it over the years. I have been blessed to have inherited some his tools and toys.
kzhead.info/sun/nLFvp7WjsKpmhHA/bejne.html
Can’t decide if I like the restoration or your humor more… it’s a tie.
🤣
I feel like we come for the humor stay for the transformations. Haha
@@richardmchale3097 Yeah…. Exactly.
Whoa! Another rad video! I was just thinking to myself, "I wonder how you put on knurling with a lathe." 7 seconds later, "Oh, you use that thing." haha
"Fun with the microscope" New section of the channel, I love it. Greetings from Argentina.
I love watching your resto vids. I split my side laughing when you pulled those ball bearings out of your pants. I'm still laughing about it. You do some off the most unexpected things. Great work by the way. You really out did yourself with the pin striping.
Very Nice Job! I love the hard work you put into these restorations! I would have chosen a different color though, like a pastel green or light blue,. This grinder would also look good in red, orange, black or brown as the primary color and the gold or silver pinstripes!
I respect the customer's choice, but agree that it didn't thrill me. Was really hoping to see the original color, olive drab. It reminded me of the once popular "avacado" appliances that faded out in the '60s.
The steel balls gag. Brilliant. Made me laugh out loud. Bravo.
Very nice touch with the HOBART decal. Love the outcome, well done
Is there any difference in handling when you find out there's lead paint?
He usually doesn't sandblast it so it doesn't get airborne.
He licks it less.