I've used the ice cream maker a few times and gotten good results after I learned that the container can be either too cold (making extra hard ice cream that doesn't freeze right) or too warm (making too soft ice cream.)  I found that leaving it in the chest freezer was too cold and the cream freezes to the sides before churning, which can make it lumpy or cause the dasher to detach.  My fridge's freezer doesn't get it quite cold enough to be usable in a cone.  By turning my fridge's freezer down a bit, I was able to make great ice cream.