I have the Studio 2. I love it and use it all the time for cutting strips, then sometimes turning the strips to cut squares or rectangles. I invested only in the strip dies, and I'm not interested in any other shapes. Turning the handle isn't difficult for me. However it doesn't sound like this setup would work for you. The Studio 2 is extremely heavy, and it takes up space at the end of my long cutting table. It's too heavy for me to move it around, and it really does need to be on a solid foundation. The dies are also heavy, but I can manage them, and they also take up a lot of space in the bookcase under the table.