So glad to hear that the crank works but bummer that you cannot put the lid on the case with the crank on the machine. That would be disappointing to me also as I would then have to find a place to store (and cover) the machine and lid separately. Storage is at a premium in our downsized house. Wouldn't you think that the Chinese would have come up with a slightlly shorter setup for all those 3/4 machines out there in Bento Boxes? Guess there is no way to fix this issue either, right ..... other than taking the crank off every time you want to put the lid on?