FrammaJoy Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Does APQS have some kind of little doohickey (professional terminology, lol) for centering the needle in the hopping foot. I have been able to center it with TWO people and MUCH fiddling with that far-away and hard-to-see screw from side-to-side. I have NOT been able to center if from front-to-back AND side-to-side. Can one of you experts out there please give me some advice? I called my Sales Rep. She did not know. She said hers is already centered. I like to do ruler work, and I need 1/4" all the way around! Thank you in advance. Hugs, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Oh, no. Is my question too hard??? No replies yet. Maybe I put this in the wrong place. Will keep watching. Hugs, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Hi Joy, When your foot is all the way down, your needle isn't centered? If it is off side to side, then you can go in through the hole on the sideplate just up and to the left of the upper tension control. By loosening the screw that holds the clamp in there, you can adjust your hopping foot up and down and also rotate it. So that is how to make sure it is centered. You need a long straight screwdriver to loosen that screw as we have it really tight. Don't want your foot to slip. If you still don't understand or have difficulties, give me a call and I can walk you through it. good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Yes, yes. I know all about the screw. Didn't I mention it in my post? The thing is, I wondered if there was a guide (I think Gammill has one) that you can use to make sure everything is centered. Otherwise, how do you KNOW if it is or not? Thanks, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Joy, I thought that the needle was normally centered in the hopping foot. There isn't a lot of room in the needle plate for the needle to be other than centered. If you have a 1/2" foot, half way across would be 1/4", wouldn't it? Maybe I'm not understanding your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Are you talking about whether or not the eye of the needle is straight ahead? If so, I put a pin through the eye of my needle to check for straight. Of course, first I have to find a pin that isn't all bent out of whack. Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 No, the foot can move all the way to touch the needle if you wanted it to -- it turns when the screw is loose. I understand that. What I want is for the needle to be centered so that all sides of the hopping foot are EXACTLY 1/4" away. It certainly does not JUST happen. I have been doing tons of ruler work lately, and the back of the foot would be farther away, the front closer, etc. to the ruler. Evidently, I'm the only one having this problem. It seems to me that they could make the bar of the foot so that it could go up into the hole just one way . . . have a flat side on it that could only go in one way so the foot could not turn. I know how to put the pin point in the eye of the needle. The needle isn't the problem. The foot is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrna Ficken Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Joy, If your hopping foot screw is tight your hopping should not turn when you are stitching. However if you are applying to much pressure your hopping foot will flex. That will happen on any machine. So if you just eyeball the hopping foot to center, tighten the screw you should have no problems. Your needle bar should be straight no matter . As Mark said if you still have a problem give him a call and he will help you out. Myrna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 My needle will not STAY centered. I tried for 30 minutes yesterday to get 3 different screwdrivers in the slot of that screw. None of them would go in -- or stay in. When I use a ruler against the foot, it is moving it. Therefore, I was trying to tighten the screw. It would not turn because the screwdriver kept slipping out of the slot in the screw. Is it possible my screw is stripped from being set so tight? Is there a screw with a bigger slot in it that one of 3 screwdrivers might fit into? Even my husband spent 30 minutes or more when I first posted this. I must be the only one having this problem. Sure is frustrating. Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Hi Joy, I doubt that the screw is stripped. If you need to, take off the other side plate and this will allow you to see inside from the back of where you are trying to get the screwdriver into. You need a long narrow straight screwdriver that has a thin blade end on it so it will fit into the screw head. But if it is that tight, I can't see how your foot is moving. You might try grabbing your foot and moving it side to side and front to back by hand and see if it is just flexing or if you feel movement from up inside the housing where the shaft is. And then let us know what you find out so we can get to the bottom of your problem. Take care and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Mark, You are SO adorable. Why can't you just come down to Lake Texoma and stand by me while I quilt? I will feed you real good and I have lots of guest rooms. Actually, the problem DOES seem to be that the screwdriver is too "fat" on the end to get inside the slot. My husband said he will grind a screwdriver down for me to fit in that screw. The foot does move back and forth with the ruler. So I would think it was not tight enough. Maybe when we can fit the tip of the screwdriver into the screw head, all will be fixed! One can hope. Mark: Please check my other post about my two new problems. (I am out of town for 2 weeks, so can't do anything on Millie til I get back.) Hugs, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Mark and Joy, Don't forget the business card... Mark, we do still use the folded business card as a guide to hopping foot height, don't we?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 If I remember right...someone told me you need a special size screw driver to get that screw to loosen. Like a Craftsman...or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Hi Linda, yes that works fine. If you mostly do a very low loft batting I like to even have it only 1 business card thickness off of the plate to make sure that the foot is holding the fabric. Mary Beth, I don't think it is anything special, just need to have the blade skinny enough to fit into the slot of the screw head, and long enough to have torque to crack it loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Joy, Food!!! I can be bribed pretty easy, but then I wouldn't get anything done here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudie Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 I'm going to be doing some double batting for a comforter - how many cards high to I raise the hopping foot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Terri, I would try it at the 2 card thickness and see how the machine moves. If you feel a lot of drag or like the wheels are stiff, then raise it to 3 or 4. Only go as high as you need to because too high will give you stitching troubles. Take care, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyLee Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Hi Joy. I had the same problem with that tiny screw so my honey ground a screwdriver down for me and it worked just great. That is a tiny screw, I sure wish they would find some kind of wing nut for holding that needle in, like on a domestic machine. Something you could tighten with your fingers. Like Beth said, I also use a straight pin to be sure the eye of the needle is centered in the hopping foot and not turned a bit to either side. I believe Gammil has a tool to use called a centering tool, but really, the pin works great. Judy Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Judy, That is not the kind of centering I need. I need the entire needle centered in the circle of the hopping foot so that no matter where you place your ruler -- front, left side, back or right side -- you have a perfect quarter inch between the needle and the ruler. Hope that makes more sense. Hugs, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 To adjust the hopping foot and the needle bar you need a good high quality screwdriver with a thin blade. It needs to fit perfectly. Craftsman makes one and I got one at Ace Hardware and I'm sure any quality brand of tool will work. Lowe's also has one I think it is Cobalt brand. I use a feeler gage to set the HF height because business cards vary. I set it to .030 inch. You will seldom have to change the height unless you use very thick batting. Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SherryRogers Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Joy Maybe you need a new bushing if you are having that much trouble. Whatever it is, I hope for a simple fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlittle1 Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Joy, I think I'm understanding your question; you want your needle to be perfectly centered within the circle of the hopping foot so that when you use the hopping foot as a guide your stitching is exactly a quarter of an inch. From my needle to the outside of my hopping foot is a quarter of an inch except at the back. The back of the hopping foot is shaped in such a way that I can never get a template to be an accurate quarter inch away. I don't ever use the back of the hopping foot as a guide because of that. Of course, my machine is a Liberty so maybe my hopping foot is a little different. From the answers I'm reading I'm not sure that everyone is understanding what your question is. Phyllis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 You got it, Phyllis! Thank you so much for that. Makes perfect sense. Today, I am using the wave ruler across the bottom of a border. It squeaks terrible when I am moving. Do you know what that is about? It isn't the ruler rubbing against the hopping foot because it doesn't always do it. My machine seems to be developing a lot of little things that don't happen when the service tech. calls back. Wouldn't you know? Tried to call you today. Hugs, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydids Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Phyllis, I have the same problem with the foot on my Millie. I am a quarter inch on the front and both sides, but the back of the foot is shaped funny. Makes it impossible to use rulers at the back of the foot. Joy, I too have gotten that squeak when using rulers. don't know what it is. It DOES seem to be coming from the foot rubbing on the plastic, but I haven't found it to be anything to worry about. It is definately not the machine. Patty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrammaJoy Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Yes, I about went nuts today trying to follow the wavy ruler 3 times up and back on all the borders. If you don't hold it with a death grip, it moves. And I do have the sticky stuff on the back of the ruler to hold it. Thanks for the information. Hugs, Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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