You have the Studio 2, so the roller portions fold up, correct? Sorry I called them wings... You need to make sure these are folded completely out, and the whole thing is set up on a completely flat surface. I've thought about this a bit more. The empty tray should just slide thru without having to turn the handle. The cutting plastic should sit entirely within the tray. If the plastic is too big and over hangs the edges, you need to order the larger tray. I've had the original Studio for almost 20 years. I've received a couple of incorrect dies in the past and it has been very easy working with Accucut to get the order right. The Studio dies will not work in the GO!. Sounds like the Churn Dash die you ordered is a GO die and you ordered the adaptor? I don't have a problem turning the handle, but I'm very careful to make sure the tray is going into the machine straight so it doesn't rub against the sides of the rollers or the machine. I have noticed that others who use my machine have more problems because they don't make sure the tray is feeding straight. Takes a bit of practice. Also, you will have an easier time cranking if you position the die in the tray so that the blades are on a bit of an angle. Some dies are so large they fill the entire tray so you can't do this, and other dies have the blades positioned on an angle on the die block already. Don't know if any of this helps. Let me know if you have more questions and feel free to send me a PM.