I pre-soaked the container as recommended and it ended up cracking one of the slats. Still, the crack went from the top to about 1/3 of the way down and didn't leak. Also, the clip on the latch which goes over the motor to hold it in place is missing. Where can I get a replacement latch, I can fill the crack?

The wood barrel leaks and I even tried to put the water in it like the book said to do but I keep having to add water. After one use the wood started cracking we had to put it in a dish pan so it would not leak on the floor. The aluminum freezing canister is not very strong after using it one time it has several dents in it from the ice. We have a 4 quart ice cream freezer and wanted a good 6 quart ice cream freezer. I want to return this one and try again with a different maker.

Do not buy this product. Return policy window is very short. I don't make ice cream very often. Discovered on my second attempt that the bucked does not hold water. After the first batch I discovered that the ice cream would not freeze. On my second attempt I finally figured out that the water was not overflowing like it's supposed to but leaking out of the bottom. I then found out that my window for return or replacement has expired and I am stuck with an ice cream maker that doesn't work.

This is a nice freezer and I love the fact that it is both electric and hand-crank. The bucket had a couple of pretty significant cracks in it when it arrived which were simple enough to fix... a bit of wood filler and some spray shellac did the trick. However, I don't think I could rate the product with five stars due to the cracks. Now that it's fixed, I have used it several times and it does a good job of freezing the ice cream. I would recommend the product, but would also warn the buyer that there may be a bit of putty involved before the first use.

For clarity sake I bought the 6 quart machine not the 4 quart. As soon as I opened the box it was clear that this was not a specifically engineered 6 quart mixer but merely the 4 quart mixer increased by 50%. The most evident place for this is the stirring stick, to which they literally added an additional 5 inch piece of plastic (there is a seam, please see photo). The pine tub has only 2 bands while most 6 quart mixers have 3, also these bands are so loose they are clearly only for show and are not helping keep the tub together. This has me seriously question if the motor has been upgraded for the additional load from 2 more quarts of ice cream or if mine is simply going to burn out faster.

One of the small bolts holding the motor/crank mounting brackets was missing and floating around the bottom of the box. Not a huge deal, I know how to re-attach a bolt, but it speaks heavily to the kind of manufacturing quality control they have.

My tub had a large knot which was not properly filled and it leaked. Before you throw me under the bus and decide I am a fool, I have made rock salt ice cream before and yes I realize it is a messy process. The issue isn't that it leaked but what leaking means to the longevity of the machine. If water is leaking through the wood then the inside of the wood is being exposed to water and this will lead to premature failure of the tub.

The Hand Crank - One of the reasons I was most excited about this ice cream maker was the dual motor and hand crank. I can never get my rock salt ice cream as hard as I would like it with an electric motor. My dream and the advertising claimed I could take off the electric motor once it shut off, attach the hand crank and crank away to the desired consistency. In theory that could happen, except the hand crank is built so cheaply and poorly that it can barely hold up to churning the ice cream. The loose PLASTIC gears slipped repeatedly as my children and I churned the ice cream. While the poorly designed handle wobbled back and forth, held on only by a small screw. The concept is sound, they have squared the end of the metal bar attached to the gears, and placed a square hole in the end of the mixing handle, but instead of engineering it properly, they went for "close enough" so it is loose.

The chinsy plastic handle cover which encases the metal bucket handle broke on its first trip to the side yard to dump the salt water.

In short if you are looking for a rock salt ice cream maker this is not what you want. Either buy a cheaper machine with a plastic tub, they run around $40. If you want a really good machine then you will need to double your budget to get what you're looking for.