This button maker is sturdy and ready to uses straight out of the box. Just make sure the parts are all aligned before pressing down on the handle- it has small arrows (triangles) to line up the parts of the button inside the round holes. If you don't the back might be upside down. All the buttons I tried to make came out perfect. The only thing that was my mistake is that the template I made was too big, so the edges wrapped around to the back of the button. Remember to make a template a little smaller than the actual cut out of 1.25 inches - so leave a little space around the edges to wrap around. It was a breeze, so much fun it was done in a flash. Takes less than 30 sec to actually make the button. I think cutting out the template is more work :)