this machine has the shoe extension and adjustable tailer - it is a new machine to me and I'm just now setting it up for small grass seed. You mention the "fingers around the shaft on the inlet" - do you mean the adjustable panels that limit the airflowIJ If so, I've just discovered that this machine doesn't have them, so I plan to put them on. I should have noticed this before, bacause it is also blowing seeds out the back, even though the fan speed is at the minimum.