I'm happy to let everyone know that last night I finally got my machine to work perfectly. It was truly only a mater of the fineness of the ground. It's hard to believe that the 30 year old machine works so well. After discussing it with my son, I decided to not restore the machine's finish. To quote him "it looks cool with the patina of age". Do you think that there is any harm in letting it continue to oxidize? There isn't any rust on it but some areas of the cooper has green spots. Other areas you can tell the lacquer finish is gone. Some areas of the brass look more silver than brass.
Is this only cosmetic and therefore will not cut on the longevity of the machine?