Some of the pins wouldn't press together, and required several attempts. But in the process of making well over 100 pins so far, I think I only had to discard 6. Really not that bad. I found that if I tried again, most of them would fit together. The biggest annoyance so far is that I have had to discard more of the small plastic covers (they get crimped in the first attempt, and rarely will succeed with a second attempt).I love the machine overall, and maybe the issue is me being new at button making. I'm not sure. I would recommend this machine. :)