RunningThreads

Sue I know at least once when it happed to me I had sequenced the whole quilt and it messed up about 3/4 the way through. It’s like the tablet missed the stop command and the stopped after it made the single stitch at the beginning of the next row. The reason I was thinking heat is because I believe it happened a couple of times after I stopped for lunch and left the machine on and then it messed up when I came back an hour or so later. The first few times were before we had the ability to sequence the whole quilt. Nigel

I’m sure you meant Intelliquilter. Yes it happened to me several times but never did it consistently enough to diagnose. I sent my logs to Zoltan but they showed the machine working properly. I suspect it may have had something to do with the tablet getting hot as it seemed to happen after the tablet had been on for several hours but I’m not positive. When the tablet is cool I would blow some compressed air through the tablet vents and blow out the fan on the docking station. I’ve since sold my machine and retired. Nigel

Laura can probably tell you better but basically you must use the turn the flywheel manually to make a single stitch to pull up the bobbin thread. Then I would hold the tails away from the direction I am going to quilt and turn the machine on and make a couple of very short locking stitches and then quilt away. When you want to stop make a few short stitches as you are turning off the machine. Then bring the needle up manually move the head away a few inches, grab the top thread, move the head back to the last stitch, make a single stitch, move the head about an inch and pop up the bobbin thread hold both threads, move head away several inches and clip threads at quilt. Look at this video and you will get the idea, you just don’t have the single stitch or the automatic needle positioning. After a few tries it will become second nature. Nigel https://youtu.be/e1PCvBa6jsk

Loretta You can grab the thread above and below the pig tail and drag it in a circle around the inside of the guide. If it catches at all you have a groove. Loosen the screw and rotate the pig tail upside down and tighten back up. That will last for many months until you get replacements. They are inexpensive but the shipping isn’t so wait until you have a few other things you want from APQS. Nigel

Hi Loretta The U2 is a real workhorse and once you get it sorted out will give you many years of dependable service. You didn’t say what thread you are using but I would suggest using something like Superior So-Fine or Glide to start. Both are quite strong and work well with the high speed machines. Also look for a groove in the check spring and needle plate. Grab the needle bar and see if there is any play front to back or side to side, should be none. Remove the bobbin case, put your thumb on the centre pin of the hook and your first two fingers behind the hook and see if there is any play in and out, again should be none. Any of these issues are corrected simply and inexpensively. You probably could find casters for your table but I suspect you are on your own. You could also use furniture glides under the legs, that’s what we did on carpet and the machines were easy to move when needed. There are a couple of people on here that use U2 machines every day in their businesses. Pretty good for a machine that has been out of production for almost 20 years. Nigel

PJ This is probably the most common zipper system used on long arm machines. http://stores.longarmconnection.com/quick-zip-system-machine-set/ It looks like the zippers for a 14 foot machine would be about 144 inches. As long as the rails are in good shape (not nicked or dented) where the wheels touch that is good value. Any other service or repairs can be done by you at home for a reasonable cost. APQS encourages us to maintain and repair our machines at home and will provide excellent support. Nigel

If I had to guess I would expect it to happen when you stop and start but I’ve never tried one of these cases in any machine. What machine are you using this bobbin case in? Maybe you need a backlash spring in this case for the high speed of a commercial machine. Just my immediate thoughts Nigel

As always Cagey gives good advice. One more thing I would do is change the needle screw and hopefully that will stop the needle from falling out. If you don’t have one you can get a 4-40 screw from the hardware store. Nigel

I’ve sold our machines but I only remember one bumper installed at the rear of the carriage to stop the head hitting the levelling roller. The head will bump into the take up roller going the other way. The head won’t come off while the rollers are in place unless there is something different about a Bliss machine. Nigel

The main power fuse on a Lenni is 3.15 amps which is the equivalent of about 400 watts. You want a unit with zero delay and that is what dual conversion will give you. Not to say you can’t get zero delay without dual conversion. I’m not sure if the Lenni will tolerate a delay switching to a backup but I know the Millennium won’t. If you are quilting along and the power goes out there is an excellent chance the needle is in the fabric, you will tear the quilt. In my opinion buy the smallest dual conversion back up, you just need it to keep the machine running until you can stop moving. Just my two cents Nigel

Hi Nicole Properly adjusted the needle up/down will take about 1 second each direction so about 2 seconds for a complete stitch. If the machine is new I would wait for a month or two as it will get a little quicker as the machine breaks in. If you go to the APQS website and look under support you will find some service videos. There is one there for how to adjust needle up/down speed. Nigel

Bruce Do you realize this thread is seven years old and the original poster hasn’t been on this site since 2013? Nigel

Betty Ann Type hammock into the search box and you will be rewarded with pages to review. I think this one will probably give you some ideas. https://forum.apqs.com/topic/36592-tips-to-manage-batting-on-frame/?tab=comments#comment-502861 Nigel

You will be fine. It has nothing to do with stitch quality. Much easier adjustment than timing in my opinion. Nigel

Well done. It certainly cuts down on your loading time. Nigel