RunningThreads

I agree with Jim. If you tear a top stop and see if the customer has any of the same fabric for you replace the damaged piece with. Consider supplying the label for the backside of that other one. We’ve also offered the quilting at no charge even when we have made the above repairs and have always gotten paid anyways. Be honest with your customers and most will be more than fair with you. Nigel

Try this link. I have no affiliation with him I just found it by using the search feature for his name. http://www.mcautomationinc.com/led2.html

Yes. You should be able to use any size needle in the same class just like you do in your domestic machine. When I had machines I successfully used needles from 3.0 up to 4.5 without making any changes to my machines. I think the problems usually come in when going to a significantly smaller needle because they flex easier and may require the timing to be set up so the needle kisses the hook a little harder. That is why APQS will tell you to stay within one size up or down from 4.0. Nigel

Gayle Click on the three dots at the top right of your post. The edit function is there. Nigel

I haven’t seen any Green Millennium from the factory in quite a few years. They would take the Ultimate 1 machines strip them down and rebuild them to Millenniums and then use green decals instead of red to differentiate them. The factory would wait until they had a good number to do at once as the process was a little different than a straight build using all new parts. We had one of those machines and the savings was about two thousand dollars and it came with the full warranty. Nigel

Call Nolting and ask them. At one time they would do installs on any machine. Also there is another company http://www.quiltez.com/perfect-stitch/ that had a kit for the APQS machines. I believe it may be the same system used on the Nolting NV with the rest of the Nolting line up using Intellistitch. At one time APQS would take in Ultimate 1 heads on trade towards a newer head with stitch regulation. When they had a good number of Ultimate 1s they would do a run of Green Millenniums. It might be worth asking if they will still take your machine on trade. Best of luck and please let us know if you make the change. It may help someone else with the same decision down the road. Nigel

You’re absolutely right and math was my strong subject fifty years ago. I haven’t had my coffee yet. So you would have to take a 1/32 off the edge of the ruler but I’m sure that is not an acceptable solution either. I’m not helping so I’ll be quiet now. Nigel

Lorri Maybe you could wrap a couple of turns of electrical tape or similar around your hopping foot to increase the diameter to the true half inch. It would be an inexpensive fix until you find the exact feet you are looking for. Nigel

Reported

Jamie For these people that don’t give contact information click on their screen name and you will see an envelope icon that you can send them a message that goes direct to their email. This particular ad is four and a half years old so unlikely it is still for sale. We get many ads posted here and then the poster forgets to check back. Nigel

Ever check the brushes? Here is the video. https://www.apqs.com/motor-brush-maintenance-video/

When I was quilting I would use https://www.habanddash.com/ for any of the Fil-tec threads. They do have have a minimum charge for the first order and subsequent orders. A minor inconvenience to get wholesale pricing. Nigel

Looks like you are going to learn how to time your machine. It will probably take some a little while the first time but once you’ve done it once it gets much easier and quicker. Here is a link to the APQS video. https://youtu.be/xWeqiuvwk5E Nigel

Reported

Sorry I’m late to this conversation. If this is happening with full bobbins it could be they are slightly too full or egg shaped and rubbing on the side of the case. Quite often I would have to pull off a few yards until the tension ran smooth. I guess a bent bobbin case would also cause this. Nigel

Yes that check spring does need changing occasionally. It will get a groove worn in it just like the pigtails but not nearly as often. The check spring’s job is to prevent the thread from getting wrapped around the needle. It does this by taking up any free play between the tension and the needle when the needle is out of the quilt. Some will disagree but it really should have no effect on tension unless the thread is snagging on the spring. Have someone record the thread path with your cell phone camera as you are quilting. When you review you may see your problem is further up the thread path, not feeding off cone properly, first guide not centered over cone, thread not inserted fully in tension discs etc. When you find your solution please post back. It will help someone in the future. Nigel

From what I can tell TM-3 is for “m” bobbin case and TM-1 is for “l” case. The George like most APQS machines could have either L or M so which does the machine you are asking about have? Nigel

I assume you have already checked the outlet the machine is plugged into for power. Also try another fuse if you have one. Nigel

We always used the stitch regulator with the design boards.

There is no formula that I know of. There are too many variables mainly the density of your quilting. I don’t know about Quilt Path but Intelliquilter will tell you how many linear yards are in your pattern when you set it up to sew. When I was quilting I would start with a full bobbin and sew the first full pass of my pantograph and then look to see how much bobbin was left. If there was not enough for the next pass I would start another new bobbin. I avoided restarts in the middle of the a pass. My time was more valuable than wasting maybe a couple of dollars of thread over a quilt. After a while you will have an idea of how long you can quilt on a bobbin for instance I could go about 15 minutes on a self wound and 22 to 25 on a prewound but your mileage will vary as they say. Nigel

Maybe check the motor brushes if it has them. Nigel

Reported

Reported

I’m not quite sure what you are talking about when referring to gauge and surge protector. Here is a link to a discussion on surge protection and uninterruptible power supplies. Pay attention to the response Cagey got from APQS. I think you would be hard pressed to find anything better. Nigel https://forum.apqs.com/topic/41689-surge-protectors/?tab=comments#comment-542184

That makes perfect sense. Been there done that as well.