polls on lenni

[sandyg]

Does any one else have a problem with thier polls loosing and dropping out of the sides of the frame? This happens to me all the time. When I am rolling the backing on. The takeup roller drops out of one side and so does the backing roller. Any suggestions of what I might be doing wrong would be greatly appreciated.

Sandy g

[JustSewSimple]

No, my polls are nice and tight. That would scare me to death!

[RitaR]

My poles are fine, there is a small silver button that we can push in to get the roller thru the hole, and let it pop out when we have it in place. Doesn't your poles or rollers have that at one end or the other??? If not and they came from APQS you might want to call them and ask about it. They should not fall out.

Good luck on the poles...,

Ritar

[Brenni]

Yes. I have just made checking the poles part of my routine so it does not prevent me from having fun with the machine.

Before each quilt I tighten each pole on both sides - unscrew them first to make sure the pole is all the way to the edge before tightening each side. As long as I can see the edge of the pole meet the edge of the arm hole, when I tighten, it is OK. Then I check the pole about halfway through loading the backing. If I don't, the backing rolls up wonky. I also check the poles after each time I advance the quilt. This routine just takes seconds. If you don't keep the ends of the poles in place, on the outer edge, the quilt shifts on you. Also be careful with downward pressure on the poles - this could cause them to pop out.

I can take pictures if that would help.

Mary

[Janette]

Yes that happened to me once, it was scary !!! now I regularly check the tightness of the end screws which hold it all together.

In fact your post had just reminded me that I haven't checked it in a while, and one of the ends of the leader bar was loose, so thanks, otherwise it may have dropped out tomorrow !!!

[Brenni]

Rita,

I went to your webshots to see a picture of how the ends of the poles are on your table. The silver button sounded interesting. My table is different. The ends of the poles on my table are different too. When tightened, they are flush with the sides of the arms. I bet SandyG has a table like mine. It is not intollerable but you do have to make a habit of checking the ends of the poles as you work.

Mary

[RitaR]

Wow Brenni, I didn't know there was such a difference in the table and pole set up.. Glad you were able to straighten it out, that is if you were talking to this Ritar and not the other Rita.. LOL, it's hard to keep us straight, even for me.

Any way, I can't see in my mind how yours work and still let the poles roll the quilt.

RitaR

[IBQLTN2]

I don't know which kind I have, It has never fallen out so maybe mine is like RitaR's mine is a 2007 one piece table.

[Brenni]

Here is a picture - I hope - of the screws used to keep the poles attached on my table.

Like Janette said, I just have to check the tighness of the screws. I just do it as habit before I put the grips on each time I roll.

I am sure it is something I am doing. I don't seem to have the problem except when I work from the front of the machine so maybe I am leaning and not realizing it.

[KathG]

Mine is a 09 table and seems to have the same set up as Brenni.

I have had no problems with mine, but now i will have to go check them

[JustSewSimple]

My polls don't look like that at all. I have the same table as Jeanne, I think. Mine is a solid one-piece. I have had it for 18 months. We double check everything every week or so and my table is stable every time - even the polls. Sorry you are having problems. Perhaps there is a cure.

[JBQuilts]

Brenni, I have the same poles as you. My caps on the end screw all the way in and touch the poles and have never come loose. Is that actually where yours stop or is that just so we can see? If not, screw them all the way in. (it looks like one is all the way in.) If that is as far as they go, talk to APQS. I actually have about half an inch of pole that extends beyond the hole that allows the pole to slide back and forth but the cap keeps it from coming out. Talk to APQS. They are really good at helping with problems. My biggest problem was the locks for the rollers. I spoke to someone at MQS last year about it and they sent me new locks that don't come apart and they work great.

[Brenni]

Please note I am not complaining about my Lenni. I really enjoy my Lenni machine. I am simply responding to the question posed by SandyG. Based on Janice's response, I may just call APQS. My picture has the black cap unscrewed so you can see it.

I performed a test today. When loading a back, I watched each side. What I saw was the backing pole was turning but the cap on one side was not - thus it was unscrewing. If I did not fix it, once it unscrews the width of the arm (about 1/4 inch), the pole pops out. I am going to try a few things like putting felt between the black cap and pole. I think the poles may be a smidge too short. I will let you know if this works.

Mary

[Brenni]

Victory!! I put two washers between the endcap and the pole on one end and it seems to work! It is just enough that it doesn't move left/right but the pole and BOTH caps turn now! I used 5/16" washers.

Thanks for bringing this up SandyG.

Mary