Chris' New Thor S1 Tamper

All Discussions about 53ish mm tampers for the Vivaldi
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bobroseman

Chris' New Thor S1 Tamper

Post by bobroseman »

I just received my new Thor Tamper from Chris, which he said, was made expressly for the S1. Here are my initial impressions. http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espres ... 4938#94938

Bob :)
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chas
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Post by chas »

The photos of the Chris Exclusive S1 tamper on the Thor site are much better than the ones on Chris' site:

Image

Thor also has a couple others for the S1 that look neat:

Image
Image

Nice crotchless PF too:
Image
Last edited by chas on Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
Chas
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bobroseman

Post by bobroseman »

Chas,

Do you have a Thor?

Bob
BobG

Post by BobG »

Bob,

Is your Thor tamper flat or convex? I looked at Chris' site and it wasn't obvious.

Thanks,
Bob G
Barry

Post by Barry »

For those who are curious:

http://www.thortamper.com/

Barry
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chas
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Post by chas »

bobroseman wrote:Chas,

Do you have a Thor?

Bob
I ordered one last night on your recommendation. Of the ones pictured above, the bottom tamper for the S1 is internally weighted to approximate the feel of stainless steel and convex (and it's about $94 with shipping!) I don't think the Chris version is either weighted or convex, is it???
Chas
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bobroseman

Post by bobroseman »

I checked mine last night and it is very slightly convex and is weighted. By slightly convex I mean that when you check it with a straight edge you can see daylight at the edge but very little daylight. It weighs in the 350 gram range.

I love mine, so far. I've pulled about 10 shots with it and one was a dud because of operator error.

Bob :)
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chas
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Post by chas »

Got my Thor last night. Still not enough shots to give an opinion. However, I compared it to my EPNW all stainless and my Reg Barber stainless with Rosewood handle. The EPNW is 575g, the Thor is 342g, and the Reg is 325g.

To my surprise, the micrometer measured all three to be exactly 53mm. I was expecting the Thor to be 53.5mm! If the Thor is convex it is much less so than the other two.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
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wgaggl

Post by wgaggl »

I've been using my Thor tamper http://www.thortamper.com/pageseven.html for about a week now. Channeling improved, but not significantly. The biggest difference I find is, that the tamper fits so well, I'm not really tapping anymore between tamps (since there's no coffee sticking to the sides of the basket), so I changed my tamping procedure to only tamping once now. It has a little bit more friction than the previous tamper so I'm not polishing off 270 degree now, just turning it enough to create a good surface without any grinds sticking to the tamper. There's just very little coffee ground on the rim, that I wipe off afterwards.
And of course it's a beatiful piece of craftmanship.
bobroseman

Post by bobroseman »

I find that the Thor with minor tapping and the convex with regular tapping deliver superior shots with 18-19 grams of coffee in the basket. No channeling. The Flat Pro Tamp is the odd man out and pulls shots that are still prone to channeling. The biggest improvement in my shots came from doing a vertical tap to settle the grounds and making sure to use at least 18 grams.

Bob
wgaggl

Post by wgaggl »

bobroseman wrote:I find that the Thor with minor tapping and the convex with regular tapping deliver superior shots with 18-19 grams of coffee in the basket. No channeling. The Flat Pro Tamp is the odd man out and pulls shots that are still prone to channeling. The biggest improvement in my shots came from doing a vertical tap to settle the grounds and making sure to use at least 18 grams.
Hi Bob, could you elaborate a little bit on how you do your "vertical tap"?

Thanks,
Wolfgang
bobroseman

Post by bobroseman »

Wolfgang,

I made a MOV video if you have the bandwidth I could send it to you.

Bob
BobG

Post by BobG »

Bob,

I would be interested in your MOV as well. I sent you a PM on using this site with my email address.

I ordered a custom Thor tamper and should receive it in the next week or so....

Thanks,
Bob G
bobroseman

Post by bobroseman »

I had trouble figuring out how to show these little MOVs because they are eace 11mb, but I think I have it. :lol:

http://home.comcast.net/~bobroseman/Tap_and_Tamp.MOV

http://home.comcast.net/~bobroseman/25_sec_pour.MOV

Let me know if the links work. You might have to cut and past as opposed to just clicking.

Bob
wgaggl

Post by wgaggl »

Nicely done!
Thanks Bob!
bobroseman

Post by bobroseman »

:D It worked? I mean - It worked!

Bob
dsherman

Post by dsherman »

Bob -

Thanks for the video. I've tried the 'vertical tamp' - out of habit from my previous (will remain nameless) machine - but found that it was too much. I waste less grind using this method and fill the basket more evenly. So, I'd like to make it work.

I now have an Espro tamper (which has helped this newbie) and will try the vertical tamp method again in the morning.

- Derek
wgaggl

Thor Tamper and PF handle

Post by wgaggl »

I have my Thor tamper since December and am very happy with it. Made from Amboyna burl it's great to look at and since Les custom fit it to the S1 basket, it fits snug without getting stuck. It has a convex base and is internally weighted. The tamping is somewhat different as with my Expressivo tamper. Since it fits so well (and no coffee sticks to the side of the basket) I usually only tamp once with 30lb force.
Les also made me a nice PF handle and filter holder.

Image Image
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chas
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Post by chas »

Did you buy the whole thing as an assembly or just the handle and put that on your existing S1 PF? If the latter how did you get the existing handle off?
Chas
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wgaggl

Post by wgaggl »

Good question.
I actually had Chris Coffee send a PF to Thor Tamper and he fit it to my PF.
Yes, I have noticed that La Spaziale not just screws the handle onto the PF, but also glues it. I guess you might need to destroy the original handle when replacing it by Thor's. Les from Thor told me it was quite a hassle getting the thing apart and cleaning the glue out of the threads.
W.
wgaggl

Post by wgaggl »

Now, finally I found a reliable (hopefully) mode to get around the "hyperlink limitation" with postion pictures in this forum: I just post them on CoffeeGeek first! :)

My lastest addition from Les at Thor Tamper is a handle for my crotchless PF. And to get back to your question, Chas, I managed to get the old handle off the PF by putting it in a vise (with a cloth for protection) and rocking the PF back and forth until breaking up the glue. I didn't even damage the old handle!

BTW: It was quite a project to drill out the bottom of the PF for the crotchless, it's quite thick; phew!

Image
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chas
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Post by chas »

Are the S1 PFs a standard size such that you can just order the handle from Les - assuming one can get the plastic handle off? Or do yo have to send the handle to Les anyway?
Chas
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wgaggl

Post by wgaggl »

Now that Les has the specs (he made about 3 S1 handles by now), I believe that you just need to tell him to make you an S1 PF handle and he can make it without having your PF, or the handle. In my case it was the first handle (last December for my double PF) he made for the S1, so I had Chris send him a new PF.

W.
barjohn

Post by barjohn »

Bob, now you have put me to shame and I will have to try and see if I can create an MOV file for your viewing pleasure (not tonight though).
hlsheppard

Post by hlsheppard »

Chas I ordered one last night on your recommendation. Of the ones pictured above, the bottom tamper for the S1 is internally weighted to approximate the feel of stainless steel and convex (and it's about $94 with shipping!) I don't think the Chris version is either weighted or convex, is it??
Just a clarification on this: I got an e-mail from Les and he confirmed that Chris' tampers were indeed weighted. He said that he didn't do many unweighted tampers anymore.

Just FYI.
boomdijk

Chris' New Thor S1 Tamper

Post by boomdijk »

bobroseman wrote:I had trouble figuring out how to show these little MOVs because they are eace 11mb, but I think I have it. :lol:

http://home.comcast.net/~bobroseman/Tap_and_Tamp.MOV

http://home.comcast.net/~bobroseman/25_sec_pour.MOV

Let me know if the links work. You might have to cut and past as opposed to just clicking.

Bob
hiya Bob,

Can you tell how many grams you put in your pf in the video? It looks like a lot. Doesn't it stick to your showerscreen?

Thanks for your answer...

Johan
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chas
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Re: Chris' New Thor S1 Tamper

Post by chas »

Good luck with that. Bob was one of the very earliest purchasers of the original S1V1. I believe he sold his and moved on 5-6 years ago. He hasn't checked in here since.

BTW: I haven't heard much about folks buying Thor tampers for a few years. I had a couple of his tampers before I sold my VII plus a couple of PF handles. However, due to his day job and I believe arthritis issues in his hands it got to the point where it was taking many months after sending him your order before anything showed up at your door. You'll notice that his website hasn't been updated in over two years.

For all things wooden for espresso a number of us have moved over to a new guy: Dave Stephens.

Info and photos here: http://www.home-barista.com/marketplace ... 10642.html
Chas
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JohnB

Re: Chris' New Thor S1 Tamper

Post by JohnB »

Still have my Thor 53mm tamper. Mine looks like the one in pic #3. I use it to prevent popcorning in my Mazzers when I single dose.
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chas
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Re: Chris' New Thor S1 Tamper

Post by chas »

Actually I just looked over at my tamper collection and I do still have one. The light blonde style that looks like a chess pawn. I think this was the one made for CCS.
Chas
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