I also inherited a great machine cabinet, and my machine didn't fit in it. My DH wound up screwing a piece of wood into the bottom to lift my machine up so that it was flush with the top surfact of the cabinet, and he had to cut out the pieces on top that fit around the machine. There's no mechanism to lift it up. My machine stays set up all the time. The only problem is that if I need to get into the area under the needle to change a bobbin or something, I have to lift up the hinged top surfaces. Kind of a pain in the butt, but worth it considering that I got the cabinet for free and it's full of great storage.