chrisquilter Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I have an older Millie and recently had the interchangeable feet installed. I have been so looking forward to using a "real" 1/4 inch foot. The old style foot had a thin pan style foot that did not have the needle centered in the foot. So I have this really intense crosshatch quilt to do and I go to use the back of the foot and the shaft is in the way. The way the foot is designed, you do not have 360 access to the quarter inch! URGGGG! I am so disappointed and frustrated! Do other people have this problem or am I trying to use the foot incorrectly. Why was this designed this way! I love my APQS machine and all the wonderful support this company gives us but I feel so let down. Does anyone have a work-around for this problem. The crosshatch is in very large diamonds in a mariners compass type quilt so the lines are on every angle you can imagine as I try to work around the quilt. Thanks for letting me rant, it has been a stressful day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Perhaps remove the foot and grind/sand down the "bump"? I think others have done this and not compromised the strength of the foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I have one of the 1/4" foots on my machine as well. The only difference is that it is not the interchangeable type. This one was from before they developed the interchangeable. I have no problem going around it 360*. Pretty cool, but the interchangeable would be nice I think. Zeke..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Chris, I just got the interchangeable feet and am loving the open toe foot as I can still use rulers and yet see exactly where my stitches are going....I have done a fair amount of crosshatching and found this to be a good way to go... I never liked using the back of my hoping foot with rulers so I stabilize the quilt all the way through, then I start at the bottom of the quilt and work my way back up using LInda's crosshatching rulers...this way I always use the front of my hopping foot. Maybe I am doing this the hard way but it always turns out well and I like to use the front of the foot. Hope this helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 My husband dremmeled off the dag on the back of the foot but I still find it is not precisely 1/4". So you cannot stitch around circle templates and a get a perfect circle using it. The open toe SID foot is good if using it top to bottom but for curves the opening leaves a straight edge. I've whinged about the foot before Luckily there is a gentleman here in Australia that is working on making a better APQS foot. that is a consistent 1/4" all the way around. He has the Gammill one done beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Lyn, I saw an interesting Gammil foot on Westalee's website right after I read your post. Is this the one? It looks pretty neat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisquilter Posted October 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Zeke, how do you do go around 360? Does your foot have that bump out in the back of the foot where the shaft connects? Linda, yes, I will have my husband grind it down and see if that works. Vicki, My problem is that the areas I want to crosshatch are very large diamonds surrounding a circular center. As I work through the quilt, I have to use every side of the foot. I have been just marking the areas where I would have to use the back of the foot. I feel like the distance between lines are different if I mark them as opppsed to using the foot against the ruler. UGG! I can't believe this foot has this problem. Who thought this was a good idea? I feel like I wasted my money as it does not give me the flexibility to use my rulers like I need to. I am truly disappointed with the limits of this foot. I waited a long time to get this foot. I guess I should have researched it better. Lynn, I would like to know when this foot is available for APQS machines. I looked at the website Bonnie mentioned. Looks exactly like what I want! Do you know how close they are to making the foot. Will it be able to be used on the interchangeable foot shaft? Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bliss Quilter Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Chris/Lyn Thank you sharing your findings. I was about to buy these and will re-think my purchase until APQS develops a better foot. Dawn, Are you aware of this Australian Development? Is APQS backing this product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I have a 2008 Millie and have been trying to master ruler work for some time. My foot is definitely not 1/4" on all sides and I have struggled with this. I thought it might be how my hopping foot is adjusted, since I have had issues with the space under the foot ( higher or lower from front to back, causing uneven stitches). I guess from reading this thread that the needle to edge difference around the foot is an inherent problem with the foot itself. I have been interested in the interchangeable foot, mainly for the visibility, but also because I thought changing the foot would help with the 1/4" problem. From what I have read, getting the new interchangeable foot will not solve this issue, and that is good to know, but sorry it did not fix your problem, Chris. Thank you for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Gosh and here I've been dying for a better foot on my nolting machine, too!! Their ruler foot leaves me wishing for more vision. Last week I switched out their high viz foot to the ruler foot, had to change the height and now my tension is messed up. Darn it. I'm sorry for your foot dilemma -- I know how frustrating it is to toss $$ away. It would be awesome if westalee could make me happy, too, with one that would fit my machine. I might shoot them an email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat C Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Chris, I too feel your pain. I ordered the interchangeable feet and was very disappointed that the "bump" is still on the back of the ruler foot. I had read somewhere on here that the bump wasn't on the new foot so was rather excited. So, I try to avoid ruler work on the back but sometimes it's just not possible. Also, I was told you do not have to take the hook assembly off to remove the old and install the new. Wrong. I have a 2009 Millie and there was absolutely no way that old foot would come out without taking off the hook assembly. It was suggested I cut the old foot off, which I did. I had to cut in two places with a Dremel. However, after getting the old foot off there's no way the new foot would install without having to remove the hook assembly, which meant retiming it. It was quite the process. The instructions were OK, but not that accurate. All in all, I do like the visibility of the open-toe feet, but guess I'll have to "rework" the regular foot to get that bump off and hope I don't mess it up. Rather disappointing after spending so many $'s and time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Bill from Westalee, has my old foot! well the foot that was on my machine before I had a huge operator error and had to change my needle bar He is working very closely with the lady who purchased my 2007 Millenium to make a foot for the APQS machines that is precisely 1/4" from the needle to all sides of the foot. Since he designs longarm tools that need that consistency I know he will get it developed one day. The gammill foot he has made has been very well received. When inquiring tell him Lyn said hello. He was in the booth beside us at the AMQFestival in Adelaide at the start of this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisquilter Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Lynn, will do! I look forward to contacting Mr Bill about the foot. I will pass on your howdy doo!. I strive to give my customers the best quilting job I can. That is why I chose APQS. Though this foot bobble is disappointing, I still know I have a great machine from a good company supporting me and my machine. Pat - I had Dave Jones replace my foot for me when he was here to do a spa treatment. I had no desire to get into all that cutting and retiming. I save all those scary jobs for him when he comes. He does a great job for me every time! I did not buy the open toe foot, but I like reading the good reviews on this. Maybe after I get the 1/4 inch foot problem fixed. Bonnie - I hope you find a good Nolting foot in your future. You know, we ask for so little LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 Chris and Pat, if you have the interchangeable foot from us and the weld in back is causing issues, please contact our service team. We have alerted our machinist about the issue and we will be happy to work with you to get those fixed. We have rectified the problem with our new kits going out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delld Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 I have the same problem as well. Thank you, Dawn, I will call as well. Have a great week end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat C Posted October 26, 2014 Report Share Posted October 26, 2014 Great news Dawn! Thanks so much, I'll call Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted October 26, 2014 Report Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have considered grinding some of the metal off the back of the foot on Lenni. What scared me was how to know when I'm at 1/4 inch from the needle. I decided to trace the outside of the foot, and poke the needle thru the paper. If you mark the back part 1/4" from the needle hole, you can compare the two, set the foot down on the drawing, and not be grinding off too much, or not enough. I'm comfy with that.. BUT, how in heck does it need to go down into the bobbin area? I am thinking of getting the multi foot bar, and get the old needle bar off and put the new in. I understand it is not an easy job? Should I let Himself try to do it, or not? I'm really undecided about that. Can't afford the shipping and the needle bar and feet too. Ohhhhhhh I think I should ask Kelley or Angela.. the 2 closest reps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisquilter Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Thank you Dawn, I will call. I'm so glad to hear there is a solution to the problem. I should have called in the first place, but I was so frustrated at the time. The back of the shaft pushes against the ruler causing it to move with each each stroke of the machine. I am sure this also causes the stitching line to be larger than than the stitching line on the front or side of the foot. Thanks for your response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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