37mm Button Maker Machine - 1.5 Inch DIY Badge Maker Kit with Aluminum Frame, 400pcs Button Parts & Circle Cutter - Perfect for Custom Pins, Promotional Items, School Projects and Crafting

I personally love this button maker machine. I bought it for my daughter and since then she’s been going button maker crazy. She’s made pins to put on my other daughters graduation gown and she’s made keychains to give out to all her aunts and uncles. It’s a nice memory that you can keep. It came with all the parts she needed to throughly enjoy for days of non stop fun. She’s made everything from refrigerator magnets to pocket mirrors. It’s unique designs makes it lightweight and easy to operate. I can’t wait to use it when she’s done it makes a great diy project tool.Came beautifully packaged!! Worth the money!I debated a long time before buying this due to the mixed reviews. I have an Etsy shop and was looking to add buttons to my product lineup. I couldn’t afford a big professional maker, but the cost for this wasn’t exactly a drop in the bucket either.When it arrived I was surprised at how heavy it was. It has some sturdy high quality metal. Assembly was easy with the Allen wrench it came with and the basic instructions. Making the actual buttons was where the reviews diverge and I think that is because it’s hard to visualize what exactly you need to do from the instructions. There are a few good YouTube videos that helped me with that. I recommend searching them up. They show you how to line the molds up properly for each step and that makes a big difference. Some of the tips I have:• Make sure that your mylar is not stuck together. They are sticky and if you have more than one you won’t get a clean button.• Use a glue stick to glue your image onto the metal. It prevents it from wiggling when you press.• Make sure your image and your button back are turned straight so that the pin will face up correctly when finished.• Hold the press down about 5 seconds for your second press. It makes sure the mylar has time to set into its shape.• Use the right paper. You don’t want a thick paper, but still want your images to look crisp. I bought a package of matte presentation paper here on Amazon and it has worked very well. The brand I bought was epson, but there are other brands that would work.• The circle cutter is garbage. Don’t expect to be able to use it. I purchased a large hole punch (also on Amazon) to make my circles. Make sure it cuts 1/4-1/2 inch bigger than your finished buttons.With the YouTube videos and my tips you should be able to make high quality buttons with no problems. Out of the hundred or so I’ve made so far I have only mis-punched maybe 5 buttons and those were where my tips come from. My press was also very loud initially, but a bit of WD-40 fixed it right up.Good luck, and get creative!So the first button maker I recieved had a crack in the frame. This frame was listed as aluminum but is in fact plastic. I contacted the company directly and they very quickly sent me a new one. This one had a similar, but less substantial crack. I have made quite a few buttons at this point and gained some skill. Early on I was having about 1 in 6-8 button fail, but this had improved. The only failure I get is the mylar not being fully captured around the edges of the crimp. I believe this is due to the mylar being a little too small, not the button press itself. The crack has extended most of the way around the frame, but fortunately there appears to be an inner steel structure that keeps it together. It appears that all the button presses of this design are one and the same, painted plastic. This is fine for occasional home use, but nothing beyond that. The circle cutter included is not good. I ended cutting the buttons out with scissors. Product- Workable but not the best. Customer Service- Awesome! I will perhaps update this in the future as I continue to use the machine.Easy to use. These are my first few buttons. Everything works great so far. I'm addicted already!As someone who previously worked on a $500 punch machine, my experience did me no good. But GONT GIVE UP! After some practice (and I mean like 30-40 punches) I finally figured out a method to produce perfect buttons.Tip 1: PAPER MATTERS! Using regular cartridge paper from my printer lead to many flared punches. I switched to a matte photo paper and started getting better results except...Tip 2: Don't press too hard on the second punch! Doing so led to cut edges. Once I switched paper I got full attachment around the edges, but ended up with the metal cutting through the paper. I eased up on the pressure on the second punch, and I didn't get any more tears.THIS MACHINE TAKES PRACTICE!! And you just gotta get the feel down. I put little reminders on mine to stay aware.If you want an easier experience, you'll have to she'll out the money for it. This machine is for people who are willing to put in the extra attention to save money.First let me say once I figured this machine out I love it. I purchased this for the University I work for. We already have a 3 inch button maker but we needed a smaller on without breaking the bank. I had extreme difficulty following the directions to make a button. The directions are not clear. Let me break it down for you if you are having problems.1. Once it is assembled put your items in the machine for making.2. If there is gap between the two molds you have to manually push the top mold down.3. For this portion the poles DO NOT GO INTO THE HOLES. The mold she be lined to where the two outer sticks are not aligned with the holes.4. When you get to the second mold it should be lined where the sticks go in the holes.I know that sounds like a mess BUT it will help you. The directions never mention that the holes do not have to align with the poles in the first mold. Overall I definitely recommend this machine. We also have had no problems with the plastic backs. Plus for the price, (our 3 inch with $400 through another company) I cannot complain BUT i would recommend them updating the instructions.It's been a long time I was looking for a button maker for different purposes.. I found this one very handy, easy to install, and even my kids are easily using it to make buttons for their art projects and gifts..Last week, it was my son's birthday and he made handmade buttons to give to his all classmates and teachers in his class. they all loved it as it's quite unique.. its good that it comes with lots of badge-making pins so, I can use it for long time.. Like, We are planning to make some badges on fathers day to create a special gift..The body of the product is plastic and you need to put a few drops of oil on the metal piston that go through the plastic otherwise it requires to push too hard. Once I've done this, it is easy and not much pressure is needed and it works great for my daughter with near 10/10 reliability. Out of 30 pins we would have maybe 2 that didn't close properly.The biggest issue is the paper, you need something light like office paper, not a photo paper as it will prevent the clear plastic from closing. Ideally thin 20lb glossy inkjet paper, but that is a bit hard to find. So far we print with color laser on normal paper and the quality is OK.There were 300 sets of pins, that is you can produce 300 complete pins. I assumed these would be just 100 of each part, but no, there was 900 pin parts in the box, which is a lot! You can easily sacrifice20 to find the correct settings for your printer and paper. My daughter loves it and now all her friends wear tons of pins :)USED!!! The box has been previously opened and is bent where the openings are, all bags except 1 we’re wide open. One keychain of 5 is missing, one bag is entirely empty (was supposed to be bobby pins I think) and the pin maker itself has wear on the handle and is dirty and dusty on the base. DO NOT PURCHASE.I read all of the reviews and was pleasantly surprised when I saw a perfectly crimped button on my first go. I used the test cut outs for the first one and then my own design for the second. It crimped perfectly again except my design was too big and didn’t look “right”. I went back to try it again with my new image size only for the machine to not hold the crimp. Every single button I have attempted since has been unsuccessful. I mean, it’s understandable given the retail price of these machines but still disappointing. If you’re seriously interested in custom button making, I would pay the additional dollars go with a more heavy duty machine.When assembling the machine, the intructions were helpful and easy to understand. It didnt take long for me to finish assembling it and start making buttons! However, it did take a few tries to make a decently pressed button. The instructions were clear but it was a little hard to distinguish the pictures because they are black and white. Other than that everything is working quite well! The button maker is easy to use and it works smoothly as well.