More tips: After you run the die through your machine, remove the top plate and turn your die/cardstock a quarter turn (if it was horizontally aligned before, now it will be vertically aligned). Run it through again.
If there is just one part of the die that won't cut, try putting a few layers of Scotch tape on the back right over that part to increase the pressure there.
My original Cuttlebug came apart! We were trying desperately to get a die to cut, and nothing would work. Metal shim, tape on the die, cardboard shims. The machine clicked back together, but every time I tried to use it, it popped apart again. Fortunately, I had bought a spare when they were on sale for about the same price as the replacement plates and die that came with the new machine. BTW, the die was at fault, not the machine. I have since bought that die for myself, and it cuts fine.
The wax paper won't help the cutting; it's meant to make it easier to remove the die-cut. I watched one video that said using wax paper would eventually dull your dies???
Also, I watched a manufacturer's video about the Precision Plate for the Big Shot that said once you had used the Precision Plate with a die, then you needed to use it always with that die. The presenter said that it could make it difficult to die cut with the die without that plate. She didn't explain why. Has anyone else heard this or had a problem?
Daria