If you are saying the shaft isn't completely inside the clear tube, it shouldn't be. Part of it has to attach to the motor inside the handle. Does that help?

Do the outside contours line up?

The way I read it about pushing it completely in is that some people fail to seat the shaft completely, not that the whole deal is supposed to disappear into the unit, rather than line up. The shaft has to push into the body of the press after all.

Manual is easier. I have a cheap Chinese gun style one that was less than $20 and works better than any other cookie press I've used.

Bigger issue is the dough. It has to be chilled but not brick solid. Carolb's uncle's recipe is awesome. Lovely little perfect butter cookies. If the dough is too warm, the bits won't stick to the paper/pan.

Good luck!

Fun2Be, the stem has to go up into the body of the motor. Then the clear tube is filled with dough. When you press the button, the stem begins to press agains the dough causing it to come out through the disk. The issue was we could not get the stem into the motor body with the shaft adapter in place. We tried removing the shaft adapter but found that it is necessary to make the stem descend.

(EDIT above to change terminology for clarity, perhaps). Here is a crude illustration of what I’m trying to explain. The green line on the bulging motor body is the hollow shaft. The stem (highlighted in pale green) has to fit into the shaft.

Plllog, the stem would not seat into the shaft. I pushed it quite firmly. I didn’t want to break my friend‘s gizmo, but it wasn’t going in - not with the shaft adapter screwed on.

Btw, the instructions that came with the Cuisinart say not to chill the dough. They also say it cannot be too stiff or too loose or too hot or too cold. They caution practicing. I prefer my cheapie manual cookie press.

I'm not understanding what isn't working. What happens when you put the shaft in and line up the arrows? Does it seat in when you push all the way and hold without falling out? That's what should happen. If pushing doesn't work, and the arrow are lined up, check that there's nothing blocking the spot where the shaft seats and try again pushing harder. Think man muscles. :) Maybe rub the end of the shaft with a little vegetable oil. Sometimes these things just take more force than most women are comfortable with.

If there's nothing blocking it, and muscles don't work, it may have a real problem.

We crossed. Don't be so delicate.

Re the dough, not over-chill, but butter needs to be chilled some, unless you have a cold kitchen and haven't been beating the dough.... I think when they say "don't chill" they mean the overnight stiff as a brick kind, which won't work. Think fresh can of Play-Doh. This is, after all, a fancy Play-Doh pumper. :)

Wait! Does the shaft seat without the shaft adapter on?

If so, is the shaft in a different position with the adapter on than it is when it's off? Or does it feel too short with the adapter on?

I'm assuming that the adapter is a round screw on piece with a square hole for the shaft, which keeps the dough out of the mechanism.

This shows the process but it's not great photography. Maybe it'll help some. The salient points start about 50 seconds in.

pllog, after watching that video, I’m beginning to think that something may be broken inside her unit. She is going out of town on Monday for a week. Perhaps I can get her to leave it with me so I can monkey with it. I hate to say this, but of our cookbook group, I may be the most mechanically inclined.