Thinking about upgrading to Bliss....but have an important question!

[Tamarack]

For those of you that have had Bliss for over a year would you say that it is just as good as the day you got it? How many quilts have you done since getting it? I have a longarm business and quilt about 100 quilts a year and I find my M+M wheels that I installed a year ago already need replacing. So I am wondering do I get new M+M wheels every year or do I invest in Bliss. I am concerned that if I do the upgrade that in a few years I'll wear Bliss out too!! It is much cheaper to just replace the wheels then spend $3000 on Bliss if is only going to last a few years. I live in Northern Canada ....shipping is crazy here so it would probably cost me closer to $4000. SO it is a big investment and I just hoping to get some honest feedback on how Bliss handles over time. That is my only concern when it comes to buying it.

[barbm]

Kathy,

Your M&M wheels should NOT be wearing out, even with 100+ quilts in a year. Contact APQS - those wheels have the same 8-year warranty as the rest of our equipment!!

[ffq-lar]

Somewhere there was a discussion that there was a bad batch of M&Ms. I wonder if you got a set of those? My Bliss is wonderful. I do 100 quilts+ a year and so far so good. We know the ball bearings won't wear out soon. My M&Ms are still fine.

[Linda G. Craig]

Kathy, sending you U2U.

[Tamarack]

Originally posted by ffq-lar

Somewhere there was a discussion that there was a bad batch of M&Ms. I wonder if you got a set of those? My Bliss is wonderful. I do 100 quilts+ a year and so far so good. We know the ball bearings won't wear out soon. My M&Ms are still fine.

I wonder if I did get wheels from a bad batch! The part of the wheels that touch the rails have gotten really rough and the are scratching up my aluminium rails!!

Thanks for letting me know your still happy with Bliss after all the quilts you have worked on, that gives me peace of mind if I take the leap!

[barbm]

Kathy, the "scratchiness" you see on your wheels may not be a defect - it may be accumulated oxidation from the rails!! I have a couple of customers who have seen this happen - it takes rubbing alcohol and some "elbow grease," but that oxidation will eventually come off. Try it on one wheel and let us know what you find.

[Tamarack]

I am pretty good at cleaning my wheels and rails after every quilt with Rubbing alcohol and will rub them until the black stops coming off. Maybe I need to give it more 'elbow grease" like you say. I am actually starting to think the rails are the problem as they been scratched up from this and that is what is making my machine move sluggishly. It moves really well on the outer edges where I rarely quilt but in the center of the rails you can see the wear and scratches ( that run perpendicular to the rails). My husband suggested using 2000grit automotive sandpaper to polish the rails again....is this a good idea??

[barbm]

Originally posted by Tamarack

My husband suggested using 2000grit automotive sandpaper to polish the rails again

Kathy,

I don't see why that wouldn't work, as long as you're not "polishing" so hard that you change the profile of the rails. You might want to call or email APQS service just to double check. You can talk to them about the wheels at the same time.

[KathG]

Gosh Kathy, don't frighten me , I sure hope the Bliss does nor wear out. It cost me over $5000 to buy and get it shipped to the UK for my Lenni.

[Tamarack]

Don't be scared Kath

I am just hoping to have a honest dialogue about how Bliss performs over the long run.

My rails are now all clean and shiny, almost glowing in fact, but are still rough so will try smoothing them with the 2000grit sandpaper and see how that works.

[KathG]

Kathy, I seem to be having a bit of a hiatus with my quilting over the last month, but honestly for me buying the new Blissed frame for my Lenni was the best decission I have made.

I know it won't make me a better quilter, but the smooth movement and control is so much better. I can even SID sometimes without a ruler.

[epprog]

Hi Kathy! I live in Northern Saskatchewan so I know what you are talking about when you say you have to have something that lasts. I run two Millie machines, one with M & M wheels and the new one has the Bliss. The older machine has M & M wheels and it still doesn't move great but I KNOW that I have way too much wear on the rails. I also have an IQ on that machine and I know the poor thing has to work hard on those rails. I think that on those rails I have quilted at least 2,000 quilts. There are even a few dips on my rails and definitely much more wear on them in the center of them where most of the quilts are quilted. In short, I can hardly wait to Bliss that machine as it will solve all of the problems with the rails and poor handling. I have had my new machine since Christmas and LOVE LOVE LOVE the Bliss. I honestly don't know if the M & M wheels will ever wear out on it, I had never even considered that until you asked the question. The Bliss runs soooooo smooth and the balance on the rails is perfect so I don't think that there is even a bit of strain on the wheels. The M & M wheels are on the carriage (Y Axis) on the Bliss where, in my opinion, there is way less strain on them. On my older machine the wear problems are on the rails on the X axis (the rails that the machine runs on from left to right) and on the Bliss you would have awesome ball bearing on the X axis. Hope that helps! I recommend Bliss over replacing the wheels once again.

Cher

[Tamarack]

Thanks for you input Cher, I really appreciate it! Mine is the same, the wear is on the table rails and wheels, the carriage rails and wheels are fine. I have an opportunity to try a Mille with Bliss this summer so once I give it a try and see how it works I will decide if that is the way I want to go. I am pretty sure that I will get Bliss but it is nice to hear that you are happy with your decision to get it.

[dlnewell]

Kathy, I was one of the ones who had a bad set of wheels. They made squeaking noises as I was quilting and my machine was much harder to push. If your wheels are good and everything clean, with no quilt on the machine, and the frame level, you should be able to give it a push from one end of the frame and it travel down most of the frame length. Before changing out the defective wheels, it would barely get halfway down the frame before stopping.

[MarieBrewer]

"This year alone I have done over 150 projects, not all big quilts, and my bliss is as good as the day I got it which was as soon as they came out. I have probably done over 300 quilts on it and am as happy as ever. Call Amy and talk to her about your M&M's. She is always willing to help a person out.

[Tamarack]

Originally posted by dlnewell

Kathy, I was one of the ones who had a bad set of wheels. They made squeaking noises as I was quilting and my machine was much harder to push. If your wheels are good and everything clean, with no quilt on the machine, and the frame level, you should be able to give it a push from one end of the frame and it travel down most of the frame length. Before changing out the defective wheels, it would barely get halfway down the frame before stopping.

Sounds like I do have bad wheels then as one does have a low squeak and if I give my machine a push it will only travel about a quarter length of the table!! I have checked the table and it is level too.

[RitaR]

OK, here comes the wet blanket.

When we were in Paducah, I was permitted to try the Bliss, with their Lenni.

I felt the machine was "moving heavy", compared to my set up, which are new wheels and track that was being supplied for adding the Side Saddle.

When we got home, I tried Penny out, and she actually IS smoother, and lighter to use.

www.homesteader.com is the addy, and the SideSaddle button is on their website, as is the phone number.

Jennifer and/or Dave are quite willing to answer questions and talk about the computer, and the table set up.

I wouldn't trade my SS rails and wheels for anything at this point. So nice to use.

Guess I need to say the wheels are verticle.. created no probems.

[Oma]

Rita, are you saying you use the Homesteader with the SideSaddle or do you have an APQS machine using the SideSaddle? The vertical rails are throwing me.

[Sheri Butler]

I think you have a wrong address there Rita!