Busted Bread

I've been having bread issues, it all started with a hand me down bread machine that my mom gave me, lord only knows where she got this contraption.  The first couple times I used it I was just curious to see if it worked and it did. I used regular AP flour and the bread was an okay texture but bland. I picked up some bread flour and WW flour and mixed them 50/50. The next loaf was an oat bread and was delicious but I must have trashed the slip of paper it was written on. Another loaf with the closest recipe I could find online was not great, it came out kind of flat and heavy, like it had deflated. I then tried a Rosemary Bread recipe, which came out a little tough, had good flavor but no one in the family except me liked it. So I tried the oat bread recipe again and used the WW setting on the bread machine but it was seriously deflated and hard. Shouldn't this thing be idiot proof?? I'm going to try again and use the "rapid rise" setting in hopes that my bread will not be flat. The chickens seem to be the only ones enjoying my attempts at bread making.