Mast-R-Lift leveling screws too tight?

I just received my new JessEm mast-r-lift yesterday and must say I’m pretty impressed with the quality and function. I did run in to a bit of a problem though. The leveling screws that thread into the top plate to level it with the table surface are REALLY tight and hard to screw in. There are 10 screws and I probably spent 30 minutes getting them in as much as I could. They kept feeling like they were crossthreaded, but they weren’t, so I’d back them out and try again, but kept having the same problem. Eventually I managed to get things pretty much level except for the left side of the plate where it really matters. I ran a few test pieces and they manage to just slightly get caught up on the table where the plate feels like it’s a few thousandths of an inch too low.

I ended up using a 3/8” drive ratchet with a hex key attachment to tighten the screws, and broke the tip off, so I’m afraid I’ll damage the lift if I try to tighten that screw any more.

Just wondering if anyone’s had similar problems or if I got a lemon. My rout-r-plate that the lift is replacing didn’t have any problems with the leveling screws. I sent JessEm an e-mail yesterday and haven’t heard back yet, so I think I’ll give them a call this afternoon. I figured I’d see if anyone else has had a similar problem or has any suggestions I can try before I call them later.