The Little Pasta Machine That Could Desiree McCrorey

I thought you folks might like to hear this tale of which I was fortunate to be part... 
 

Out of the blue, Judie, a very kind and sweet woman, contacted me about trouble she had with trying to restore a garage-sale pasta machine that she got for her daughter. She'd heard a PM could come in handy when using polymer clay, but she didn't want to purchase a new one.  She found the instructions for cleaning a PM on my website and decided to tackle disassembly herself. After two days with mounting frustration and no success, she decided to donate the poor machine to me, hoping I could perhaps use spare parts. She said she had thought about simply tossing it in the trash, but that she had kinda bonded with it during her ordeal to restore it. So, instead, she wanted to find it a good home! :D  It arrived on my doorstep, via parcel post, in a humble brown paper wrapper. I couldn't resist the challenge of trying to restore the little thing. I hate to see such exquisitely wonderful tools go to waste.  Turns out it wasn't quite what I had expected. Yes, it was a pasta machine (made by Mercato even!), but it was an all-in-one unit (the flat and noodle cutting rollers all in one chassis) and it was the narrow machine (about 4.25 inches across, instead of the standard 5.75 inches).  Since it was a uni-body unit, and I had nothing to lose, I decided to try something I'd always wanted to - chopping off the "shelf", that part that holds the noodle rollers. Out came the hacksaw, the Dremel and whatever else I could use to work on metal. During the process of trying to fix it (it wouldn't turn at all), I also learned the final secrets about how pasta machines work. I kinda feel like I successfully  solved the final puzzle in the endgame.  I am the unofficial pasta machine queen! :D

Now the little PM is restored; derusted, lubed, and turning nicely. I told Judie that I could ship it back to her, but she said that, in essence, the PM's destiny didn't lie with her any longer. Thus, I told her I would designate it the machine for use in the beginner classes I will teach. She told me she and her husband were going to commemorate it by naming it "Jesus Pasta Machine" and toasting its memory with a glass of wine.  Tis appropriate, I think, that this curious event happended on Thanksgiving weekend. I know I'me very thankful. Maybe one day, I'll donate it to someone who'll be able to further enrich the little pasta machine's history.  :)  Desiree