Description Compressing Plate Adjustment To adjust the compressing plate, loosen the screws and bolts. The inside bearings will go down once the screws and bolts are loosened, allowing the compressing plate to be lowered. A spacer equal to the height of the desired gap may be used. There are 8 units that must be adjusted. Normally, adjustment of the compressing plate is not recommended unless the machine is skipping stitches.