Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I brought one of these home, hoping that pasta nirvahna would soon appear in my kitchen. I had already gone through a similar styled but much cheaper machine that had given mixed results. Thinking that the Simac was more powerful, more expensive and made in Italy, I felt it was a most desired appliance. Anyone interested in a pasta machine should make themselves painfully aware that the absolute most critical factor in being successful is that the dough must be of the most exacting perfect condition before it is ready to be extruded. It's not easy. The first time I used this machine, as suggested by the instructions, I weighed the flour. I weighed the flour! How often do any cooks, do that? Then on bended knee I eyed the exact measurement of the liquid ingredients and started the machine. Over 10 minutes later and after adding both flour and extra water, I still didn't have the desired consistancy, so I pitched the dough that had formed, waited about 15 minutes, and started another batch. Again, the exact measurements seemed to need further tweaking as they would not produce the desired consistancy, and then the kneading paddle slowed, and smoke started to pour out of my brand new Italian pasta maker! I shut it off, and unplugged it. Maybe I got a lemon, maybe I overstressed the motor, but how can I ever trust this won't happen again? And, anyone interested should also consider another factor. It is recommended that the fresh pasta this machine makes be cooked as soon as it is extruded. Do you really want guests sitting at the table, while your sauce and water are simmering on the stove, while the outcome of the pasta is in this kind of jeopardy? I decided it's not worth it! I own a cookbook called "The Essentials of Italian Cooking" that is very insultive about the end results that these kind of extruding machines make. So based on that opinion and my lack of success with the above, I have made the following decision; if I want to make homemade pasta, I am going to have to do it the old fashioned way, knead, stretch, roll and cut. One hundred million Italian mothers can't be wrong.