I don't use my machine much anymore because I can't get proper pasta flour here--but I love it when I do use it. The kids have fun with it, too. I knead my dough right in the machine (a manual Atlas)--just keep folding the dough and rolling it on the widest setting about ten times or so until you get the right texture. (I also make bread, incidentally, so it isn't the hand kneading I'm avoiding. The pasta dough is much denser and stiffer than bread dough, so I find the machine the easiest option.) I do not let it rest before rolling it out: once it has the right texture, I start tightening the machine rollers.