Well, that was a VERY hard decision for me. I just ordered a refurb Gloss Cinnamon Professional 600⢠6-qt. Bowl-Lift Bowl Stand Mixer. I hope I made the right choice! I wanted pretty. But I wanted function, more. I decided if I'm going to CHANGE from my classic 1987 model then I may as well CHANGE. So I opted for a lot more muscle, in case I start to make artisan breads (I have an awesome Zojirushi breadmaker that makes terrific normal breads and my previous 250 watt kitchenaid mixer really wasn't up to kneading much so I never pursued it, plus I never liked the way the "C" hook kneaded, so I wanted to upgrade to a machine with the spiral hook), or use accessories. Then, I decided to go for the soft start, as one of my biggest pet peeves is slopping flour! I can't imagine I'll ever be using this thing for huge batches of things, so I should have way more power and a hefty safety margin on bread kneading for how I'll actually use it. I would like the capacity to fool around with artisan breads, though! I LOVE the grenadine color, but the gloss cinnamon will work just fine too, and while I have a back-in-time vibe to my kitchen, the non-metallic look is actually a bit more appropriate as my vintage vibe is more toward antique than toward mid-century diner/50s where metallic would really resonate.

I have both, a basic model Cuisinart made in Japan and a Robot Coupe made in France. Both vintage. Both machines are heavy duty and should be able to handle any duties required in the home. Interestingly the parts from the Cuisinart fit and work on the Robot Coupe but not vise-versa. I suggest that all parts and blades be washed by hand. Do not place these parts in the dishwasher. The heat of the dishwasher drying mode will weaken the plastic of the parts. Also be careful when twisting the lid on and off the bowl to prevent the locking/power engagement pin from breaking. Most importantly DON'T DROP IT! If you have a machine with a malfunctioning locking/power engagement pin you could manually depress the button using a pen or knitting needle. Be careful though as you no longer have the safety measures of the power engagement pin to protect you. The question about 3D printing your own bowl....This is not a viable solution for many reasons including: the plastic used has to be food safe. The bowl needs to be strong enough to handle the torque and stress of day to day use. And the plastic needs to be able to handle heat especially if you use the machine to puree hot items. Finding parts for these machines is difficult. Take good care of them and you should be enjoying your smoothies etc. For many many years. Happy cooking!

WOW!!!! I was the original poster back in--------May 2002??!!!! Can't believe this is still going! For the "rest of the story"-----I never did purchase a KA stand mixer after giving it much thought, but ended up buying a very nice GE hand mixer which I have been happy with and for me, seems to be all I need. I use a bread maker just to knead my bread and then I shape the kneaded dough, let rise, and bake in the oven. Glad my original question has been useful for comment for so many others in the last 10 1/2 years. I really appreciate all of these forums on GardenWeb and have learned so much over the years from all of you.

There is a learning curve with anything new and the Electrolux is no exception. I was fortunate to have been at the King Arthur test kitchen and they showed me how to use the machine. Let's take the above items one at a time... 1.) I don't know what they are talking about with the height adjustment. I've never adjusted anything to do with height. The bowl sits on top of the motor so there's no motor head above the bowl to get in your way...hence nothing to "adjust". 2.) The assembly arm can't be "stiff". There is a knob on the side of the arm with large groves to make it easy to grasp...you just simply turn it one way to loosen and the other way to tighten. I have arthritis in both hands and can easily grasp the knob. It's large and if it's hard to move it's because you tightened it too much...operator error not the machine. 3.) The pin holding the attachments is solid SS (about 3" long with a little knobby thing at the top). I can't figure out for the life of me what could be hard to clean. It's a solid piece of SS for goodness sake. I've never had to do anything but wipe it down for a little bit of flour dust. There are NO grooves, crannies, etc. to catch any food particles on or in. It looks sorta like a gigantic SS nail. 4.) Assemble and disassemble...too much work? Huh? Preparing the mixer for use consists of the following: a.) put scaper arm in hole (this is again a solid piece of SS and just drops into a hole...how hard can that be?) b.) push the pin into the roller (wow, that's hard!) and that it...assembly complete...time required...maybe, 2 seconds. 5.) Creaming butter/sugar requires knowing how to use the machine. The Owner's Manual is quite good but sometimes folks don't really pay that much attention to Owner's Manual instructions. The roller adjusts from tight against the bowl to completely loose and floating. If the butter was getting caught on the scraper then the roller was not adjusted property...too loose...the roller should have been tighter against the bowl. If you go into using this machine expecting it to be a KA then you'll be frustrated. It works on a completely different design. It is, IMO, much superior for all mixing but it is extraordinarily superior for kneading bread dough. The roller acts like the palm of your hand in the kneading process. With each rotation of the bowl, the roller pushes the dough against the side of the bowl the same way in hand kneading you push the dough down against the table. You end up with a thoroughly kneaded dough that is silky smooth. My machine came with a separate mixing bowl and wire whip for doing egg whites. I've never used it. The Owner's Manual tells you that the roller does a better job but since most American's are used to the whip attachment they included one. I find the roller does a beautiful job on anything from a single egg to a couple dozen for angel food cakes. I especially think it does a great job with meatloaves. The roller is more gently than a hook and so you end up with a more tender meatloaf, meatballs, etc. Cookies...the Electrolux is so much better here it's almost funny. The roller does not beat so much air into the cookie dough so your cookies will not have that awful commercial texture even doing a triple batch loaded with chocolate and nuts. The speed control is excellent...it using a sliding knob that gives infinite control of the speed rather than separate speed zones. I've never needed a timer with more than 12 minutes. Six to eight minutes will perfectly knead even the heaviest of rye doughs. Capacity is huge at 22 cups. I'm not sure what else to address...if you have more questions, I'll try to answer...wish I could have you over for a slice of fresh, warm bread and show you how the machine works. I was so fortunate to live within driving distance of King Arthur.