Which to buy · Every setting
Rancilio Rocky vs Timemore Sculptor 078
Two grinders cross-shopped at the same money. The Sculptor 078 is numbered 0–18; the Rocky is numbered 0–55.
Which to buy
Choose the
Rocky if you…
- pull espresso — Rancilio pitched it as the partner to its Silvia espresso machine
- want a 300 g hopper to grind from
- are buying used — Rancilio no longer lists it
Choose the
Sculptor 078 if you…
- brew pour over only — Timemore sells the 078 for it, and the 078S for espresso
- want to buy new
- want variable RPM from a 400 W brushless motor
Shop links are affiliate links: BrewMark earns a commission if you buy through one, at no extra cost to you. The verdicts were written without regard to it.
Rancilio no longer lists the Rocky (its page now returns 404) and sells the Stile as its home grinder, so you'd be buying the Rocky used.
Sources: Timemore — Sculptor series · Rancilio Group — Rocky (archived Jan 2022) · Rancilio Group — Rocky SD specifications (archived May 2022) · Rancilio Group — Stile
| Rocky | Sculptor 078 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Rancilio | Timemore |
| Scale | Numbered dial | Numbered dial |
| Dial range | 0 – 55 | 0 – 18 |
| Burrs | Flat | Flat |
| Espresso → filter | 20 numbers | 4 numbers |
| Filter → coarse | 23 numbers | 14 numbers |
The same number means different things
Both grinders use a numbered dial, which makes it tempting to copy a number straight across. Setting 9 sits at grind index 7.5 on the Rocky but 58.8 on the Sculptor 078 — far enough apart to change the cup.
Converting a setting
If a recipe quotes a setting for one of these grinders, read across for the equivalent on the other. Rows are spaced evenly by grind size, not by dial number — on a conical burr those are not the same thing.
| Rocky | Sculptor 078 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 0 |
| 9 | 1.5 |
| 14 | 2.5 |
| 18 | 3 |
| 22 | 3.5 |
| 26 | 4.5 |
| 29 | 6.5 |
| 32 | 9 |
| 36 | 11 |
| 39 | 13 |
| 42 | 14.5 |
| 45 | 16.5 |
| 48 | 18 |
| Sculptor 078 | Rocky |
|---|---|
| 0 | 5 |
| 1.5 | 9 |
| 2.5 | 14 |
| 3 | 18 |
| 3.5 | 22 |
| 4.5 | 26 |
| 6.5 | 29 |
| 9 | 32 |
| 11 | 36 |
| 13 | 39 |
| 14.5 | 42 |
| 16.5 | 45 |
| 18 | 48 |
Side by side, by brew method
Where each grinder lands for the same brew, worked out from its own dial curve.
| Method | Rocky | Sculptor 078 |
|---|---|---|
| Espresso | 8 | 1 |
| Moka pot | 13 | 2.5 |
| AeroPress (short steep) | 18 | 3 |
| Pour over — V60 / cone | 24 | 4 |
| Siphon | 26 | 4.5 |
| Pour over — flat bottom | 27 | 5.5 |
| Steep and release — Clever / Switch | 28 | 6 |
| Drip / batch brew | 29 | 6.5 |
| Cupping | 30 | 7 |
| Chemex | 32 | 9 |
| French press | 38 | 12.5 |
| Cold brew | 44 | 15.5 |
The shape of each dial
Where the connectors bunch, that grinder’s dial is compressed and single steps count for more. Comparing the two shapes tells you which gives finer control, and where.
Rancilio Rocky
Timemore Sculptor 078
Dialing in the Rocky
A stepped espresso grinder that has been the budget recommendation for a very long time. The 55 steps across 50mm flat burrs are its limitation — for espresso you will sometimes want a setting between two of them and there is not one, and a single step can move a shot by seconds. Twenty of those steps cover espresso through filter, which is more resolution than the fine end usually gets at this price. Two things make it an espresso grinder in practice rather than a general one: changing setting means holding the locking lever while twisting the hopper, and it keeps a couple of grams in the chute, so every switch between espresso and pour over costs you both fiddling and coffee. Most owners pick one end and stay there.
Dialing in the Sculptor 078
The larger-burr Sculptor, and the one with a caveat worth knowing before you buy. The plain 078 ships Timemore's Turbo — “ghost” — burrs: pyramid-cut, aimed at a unimodal grind with few fines and little heat, and built for pour over. Owners consistently report it will not go fine enough for espresso, and its adjustment is stepped where the 078S is stepless. If espresso matters, the 078S is the model with the flat burrs and the fine control; this one is a filter grinder that happens to be excellent at it. Seventeen numbers cover espresso through filter here, so the brew range has real resolution. Retention is genuinely low once the rotary knocker has cleared the chute.