Didn't used to think a wet towel would cut the oxygen that fast, but now I'm a believer after my neighbor did the same thing with his stick burner back in March? His firebox lit up like a blowtorch and he just dropped a damp rag over the stack, and it killed the flames in maybe 10 seconds. I'd always thought you needed a fire extinguisher or baking soda to deal with that kind of thing, but the towel trick is dead simple and doesn't mess up your bark with powder residue (plus it's right there on the counter anyway).

Hit 15 minutes extra bottom time after fixing the same thing, @caseyrivera. Slow exhales and keeping my shoulders soft made the biggest difference for me.

Check if the previous owner tried to fix it with the wrong lubricant. I found a Yashica once where someone put WD-40 in the advance mechanism and it attracted dust and turned into sludge. Try dripping a tiny bit of lighter fluid into the advance gears through the gap near the rewind knob and work it back and forth. That'll dissolve any gummy residue without you having to pull the top plate off. Just let it dry fully before you add any proper camera oil.

Wait, didn't that get annoying having to switch pencils for grid lines though? I guess if you're doing the same thing over and over it makes sense to save those small bits of time. The real test is if it actually makes the lines clean enough to read later.

Haven't you ever worried about that plastic snapping off inside and getting lodged somewhere worse? I've seen too many delicate mechanisms get completely trashed by random household stuff.