I'm with you Pete. Once I finish the shot I usually just drop the basket upside down in the sink and turn the cold water on, tap it a few times, rinse, dry. Good as new. I was just excited and bought a knock box but not its just sitting there all pretty and unused.

On the other hand I pulled a nice bright, albeit slow, single today. I see that most people talk about getting sour shots for months after getting a lever. Whats the usual for this? The first few days with it I was pulling crappy shots with sub par coffee. Once I picked up the black cat, even the crappy shots were still drinkable. No bitterness and nothing too acidic. Not the best in the world, and I'm kind of confused as how to get them better at this point, but nothing bad. I see that I should sample some other beans, and work with the grind and tamp. I cant control temp much. The force depends mainly on the grind and tamp but could in theory be modulated but most people talk about it being important to keep consistent pressure. Oh boy, good thing I have off until starting grad school in August.

I'm leaning toward grind here on the where to start dialing it all in issue, and keep the tamp consistent....light and leveling. To me, the proper dose is the most important factor in pull speed and force along with grind. Let's say you use a 14 g dose, about two scoops of a standard coffee measure, or 14 point whatever as determined by weight for accuracy and then whatever vessel or spoons you use to approximate (plus a little more) this ideal dose....5mm from the basket top with a general fit to level tamp. The advantage of the lever after all is the control of preinfusion, so use it.....drips with the lever up at about 10 seconds sounds pretty good....puck swelling and packing itself, and a single pull through in about 25-30 seconds.
I vote for the basket stays in the pf approach. We use cut slices of bike tire twisted whatever number of times it takes to get the basket to stay in as I am more into using a knockbox or bar in the traditional manner as well, or flinging the puck into the compost pail without having to go fishing for the basket. thought about something that sounds more hygienic like silicone bands or something but haven't come up with a good solution as yet. Used to wrap the basket with aluminum tape, since it is thin and adhesive backed but it gets a bit disgusting with coffee oils after a while.
Pavonis can make some pretty sweet shots for sure.

Interesting approach with the tapes and whatnot. I too came up with wedging something into the side of the basket but I'll have to come up with something better. The rubber band wouldnt go all the way on and some match sticks just wouldnt stay. I am thinking of making it bottomless which would make it easier to wedge something in there. I am playing with the grind and I think I've got it. It takes about 30 seconds to pull a shot and they are nice. No bitterness. I'm surprised because this is the first time I've ever tamped and the first real machine I've used. When I check the pucks afterwords I see no cracks or problems but I'm sure a bottomless would reveal a flaw or many. Maybe I'll just get a drill bit about the size of the PF and drill it from the bottom with the tip in the spout to center it.

As for preinfusion, I've come up with this method.
1)Raise handle 3/4 way and insert PF
2)Slowly completely raise handle and wait 10 seconds (I dont get the drip with the grind I'm at)
3)Slowly and softly apply a pressure to handle until I do see a drip
4) Raise handle back to top
5) Pull shot

I assume that this gives me the full 1oz shot because I refill whatever has been absorbed by the puck. The shots today tasted as good as yesterday. I'll pull a couple more after dinner. Any other at home tips for making the PF bottomless? The best choice would be sending it out I'm sure, as the price isnt bad and they look nice afterwords. But its my only PF and I could manage my self. Drill press was the first idea. I dont have a hole saw or anything. I was thinking of drilling a hole and using a little hand saw with those tiny blades to cut the circle like I used to use in wood working (with a metal blade of course), but I'm not sure how round I'd get it.

Another vote for the "basket stays in the pf" approach...

Each of my two Gaggia Factory machines has a ridgeless/clipless basket that simply rests inside the pf. However, I've found that with practice, I can, in one smooth movement, using the power of centrifugal force (and good aim ), rapidly and smoothly "flip" the pf and have the rim of the basket hit the Grindenstein knock box's rubber bar dead center. For me, this is best done by positioning the point of my elbow one forearm plus pf's length away from the rubber bar, with my forearm starting "cocked", back away from the knockbox/rubber bar and holding the pf face up. I then rapidly swing my forearm in a forward overhand arc, keeping the point of my elbow fixed, until the basket rim impacts, upside-down, against the rubber bar. Anyhow, with the now-upside-down basket between the rubber bar (below) and the pf (above), the rubber bar keeps the basket in the pf for as long as I continue to hold it upside-down against the rubber bar. Usually, the puck exits on impact with the rubber bar (and again, assuming my aim is good, usually inside the Grindenstein...). After that, I can then laterally rotate the pf (with the now-empty basket still inside the pf) 180 degrees by a twist of the wrist, keeping the side of the rim of the basket in contact with the rubber bar as I twist (and moving the pf laterally toward the basket just enough while doing so to keep the basket from falling out) until the pf is more than half way toward being right-side-up horizontal and the danger of the basket falling out is over... All, this is done, btw, without having to touch any part of the pf other than the handle... Practice makes perfect. (But practice far away from windows or other breakables... )

....And with a bow to the Judges, I'm sure you will get a perfect score...10's all round

I was on the same page with you Richard. I tried it a few times. Each time though the puck would be a solid mass and get stuck in the basket, dislodged, between the basket and the bar. Once I finally got it I decided that it would be easier to just keep the basket in the holder. Good tip though, thank you!

Jay, maybe if you dose a bit less into the basket (are you using the single or double basket?) - or tamp a bit more - the post-pull puck may be thinner and more prone to drop out into the knockbox between the basket and the rubber bar "upon first thwack" - though dosing a bit less or tamping a bit more for this reason alone might be "the dog wagging the tail", as either or both would impact what's in the cup - and what's in the cup is obviously more important than what's in the knockbox. But "in the interest of experimentation", adjusting either of those two parameters might be worth a try...

I experimented a tad bit more with the technique, but I like the current dose I'm using. If I aim for the back side of the grindenstein, the portafilter will hit the back wall and catch the bar and be fine. It was working, but I was getting some drips from the PF while all that swinging was going on. ATM, its still easier to drop it in the sink, rinse, and dry. Now I'm trying to find somebody to make me a bottomless for free

I just wanted to comment that steaming on this thing is GREAT! I personally have never gotten microfoam before today. It took two tries to achieve it. I did however spend a little while a couple days ago with my large 20oz pitcher just blasting through milk with horrible results. I conclude after trying various sized vessels that the pitcher is just too damn big and I'm assuming is wider than deep and this doesn't make a great microfoaming environment. I use normal 8oz ceramic coffee mugs I had in the kitchen and just had at it. When I first opened the valve a bit it was okay, but nothing spectacular. It wasn't untill I just cranked it open, more than I thought is possible/needed/would make a difference, it just swirled like there was no tomorrow. Didn't take long either. Maybe 20-30 seconds for a newb to make microfoam of 4oz or so milk. I'm sure the times will quicken once I fine tune this new found ability. Furthermore, my parents no longer want me to get rid of "all my stupid coffee stuff" as long as I keep churning out capps for them.