Speaking of lathes, the last time I used mine was to modify a couple of spare espresso machine filter baskets, for the shed Espresso machine. I heard about people using non-pressurised baskets, and saying they were better, or produced a better tasting coffee than the standard pressurised ones, so I thought I'd give it a go.
Set the outer basket up on the lathe and removed the bottom, leaving about 2mm of lip.
Result was yes, I think they can produce a better coffee shot, but they take a bit of experimenting with grind size and tamping pressure. A work in progress though.