1. Cut a disk/cylinder from a large DRY cellulose sponge. It will be too sloppy to do so if it is wet. When wet,the sponge should be about twice the height of your deepest basket.You can get more peace of mind if you poke a thin paring or eXacto knife blade through the sponge in a couple of places.

espressme wrote:I have found that with any of my lever machines, and the way I use them, there has been an un-noticed migration of fines and oils into the dispersion screen. These machines include the rogues' gallery below my avatar. The buildup may be a source of off flavors. YMMV
The Prestina is a commercial machine!! I like the Prestina,there is little to go wrong. She is on 24/7 except for a boiler flush and cleaning every so often. It has served me well at large doings and been known to convert 5 pounds of choice roast into milk drinks and Americanos in a very short space of time. The steaming is great. One quickly learns to add water, manual fill, whenever the demand slacks off. Keep it full and steam is plentiful! It is a 1000watt heater. It does take an hour or more to heat up. That huge group and piston assembly is 20+ pounds of brass! It does not have a vacuum breaker so you must relieve the false pressure. Her real advantage is that you can use her most anywhere when some modern machines will blow 15amp breakers in older homes.As with any machine, there is a learning curve. She is quite forgiving though.
Bill rebuilt this one of mine as a home project a few years back.
conti-rebuild-t1949.html

There is one for sale HERE
Don't be afraid to bargain, The machines may have been in stock for a while.

Conti made quite a few levers over the years and some are not so pretty.
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Cheers!