Originally Posted by cabbagepatchkid
"Slide plates are sometimes stuck, penetrant and a little force will loosen them.
ETA: I'm glad that your bentwood case came through without being in a million pieces. How did the shipper wrap everything?
Cathy, thanks for the How-To!
Even though I knew my case was pretty battered to begin with, I still held my breath and thought of your experience with your pristine Bentwood case until I got a good look at this one. The machine had been tightly wrapped with extra large bubble wrap. (However, the foot pedal was left loose in the bed area, and the needle was down.) The machine was then put in a rather large, extra sturdy computer box which was filled with styrofoam peanuts. So, except for the unwrapped, unrestrained foot pedal - which COULD have been a battering ram against the needle/needle bar -- there seemed to be some care taken in the shipping. Certainly better than crumpled newspaper.