The bass is an old Washburn AB20. The "mwah" bridge is just putting some wood underneath the strings near the bridge so the strings are lying on the wood -- then I carefully sanded/filed grooves into the wood at an angle so the strings would just brush the wood when they vibrate. The idea is to look at a fretless bass when you press the string down against the fingerboard and the angle the string makes coming up away from the fingerboard --- and translating that same angle between the string and the wood block at the bridge. That way it gets the "mwah" rattle against the wood on the bridge side. Hard to describe with words.

It depends on how much you want to make and how wet or dry your flour is (the weather makes a difference hot and dry vs cold and rainy day) and how large your eggs are. I use about 3/4 cup of semolina flour to one egg but I just go by the texture of the dough. If it's too wet it will just wad up in the mixing chamber and not go thru the auger -- if it's too dry it will go thru the auger and jam up (and maybe even break the shaper disk). So I guesstimate and add a little flour or a little water to get the consistency right.

Be careful buying a used one because there are about 4 different shapes and sizes that all look similar.

A few days after I made this video, I made a grouphead warmer. It was pretty easy to do and it works great for me. Now I don't have to pull any warming flushes at all and I get very consistent temp whether I"m pulling one shot or 10 shots. I really am very happy with the La Spaziale. I really like the 53mm portafilter better than 58mm other than the limited choices of accessories for the 53mm.

I grind the flour myself just prior to making the dough. I use hard white wheat (Wheat Montana, Prairie Gold) and sift off the bran. For sourdough I sometimes mix half and half with All Purpose flour for a little lighter loaf. I use 300g flour, 200g water and 100g sourdough starter -- 6g salt -- that's the whole recipe. My starter is half water and half flour so if I'm making yeast bread instead of sourdough, I'll use 350g flour and 250g water and 6g salt (amount of yeast depends on your yeast, my yeast takes a tiny bit, about half teaspoon). With your french flour it just depends on how much moisture content it has so add or subtract water until the dough is how you like it. Where I live (65% humidity most days) I find my fresh ground flour has more moisture content than store bought flour - so I need to use more water if using store bought flour than when using my fresh ground flour.

It depends. I usually run about middle on the speed dial - but if the dough is extra sticky it can help to run it a little faster.

It's available online here: fantes.net/manuals/simac_pastamatic_instructions.pdf

How much semolina flour did you use and did you add water?

With a stock classic you can use steam button to add a few seconds of heat just before you start the shot but you cannot use the steam button during the shot (because the 3-way valve will release all the pressure). I have wired up a toggle switch on my classic so I can engage the heater during a shot without triggering the 3-way. But I only need to do that if pulling a high volume shot. If doing a concentrated (2 oz for example) shot, I have no trouble getting the whole shot at proper temp just by using steam button for 4 seconds immediately before starting shot.

Hi ... I just noticed (3 years too late - haha) that I never answered your questions. I started the first shot at a lower temp because the machine had been powered up and hot for a half hour or more and everything was hot inside. When I'm doing a second shot just a minute or two after the first one has finished, then even though the boiler itself (the metal) is hot, the water inside it hasn't absorbed that heat yet and as the water absorbs the heat, the metal will cool down --- so I start the shot at a higher temp (the metal is hotter, not the water inside) knowing that the water is going to be absorbing that heat over the next 20-30 seconds while the shot is pouring. Note that my shots are low volume - and that is why I can get a whole shot without the heater turning itself back on. The boiler is small and only holds a little bit of water - so if you are pulling a large volume shot, the boiler will be cooling off as the cold water is pumping in. The Gaggia works quite well for small volume shots - but the boiler just isn't big enough for a high volume shot. Good luck!

I wrapped a thermal coupler around the screw holding the water hose down. Its attatched to the boiler

What would you recommend the rest of us do? My OWC is doing exactly what you're describing, shooting a hole into my coffee puck. Any sort of recommendations/steps to take, to duplicate the mod you've done?

Hi Adndpanda9 I just got this model and working on descaling a boiler. Just wonder about you mention on the description above (fabricated a dispersion disk on the group head and widened the outlet hole in the group head) you mean to dill the hole bigger correct? Thank you

Hey Andy, it’s great seeing this video. Is it possible to get your email? I have a OWC Gaggia as well and it has the same issue with the hole in the puck. I want to do this mod, it I want to get some info from you before I go ahead with it.