Jump to content

Help with New Millie - Not gliding smoothly

Madison

By Madison
in APQS Help

Recommended Posts

Madison Advanced Member

Madison

Posted
Posted

First let me say that I recently purchased my brand new Millie and am so excited to play with her! My husband and I set her up between Friday and Saturday with very little problems. Everything is level side to side and front to back and the distance between cylinders on the table is exactly the same on all cylinders. When I turned her on (with no quilt loaded) she seemed to have a vibration when moving in SR mode (almost to a small hop when I slowed down her movement). We re-adjusted the wheels so they matched exactly. Small hop was less noticeable when moving in SR mode and moving slowly, but still there. When I sew in non-SR move the hop is not there. I also want to mention that the carriage seems to glide well when the machine is turned off. It’s very easy to move front to back and side to side.

I thought maybe it makes a difference if I load a quilt on the machine and try to actually stitch. So I did that. My stitches are coming out fine so the tension is good however when I move the machine front to back and side to side it’s like moving the machine through the mud. It doesn’t glide anymore like when I don’t have a quilt loaded. The machine I tried as a demo took very little effort to move the machine and my circles and feathers were coming out round – on my new machine I have very square looking circles and feathers. Also as I move the machine to the leveler bar it gets tighter. Might I need an adjustment to this bar. I read other posts and they say you should be able to put your finger up to the first knuckle under that bar. I can only get half my fingernail under. Also, in looking at the trusses there is a definite bend in the truss at the center although the table is level. Should it have a bend? We installed it per the directions. Should this bolt be set a little looser? Is this having any affect in the machine movement? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I can’t wait to get started. Also, I have the M&M wheels on the machine which people have raved about. Should there be any different settings to the wheels? They are currently set at 10 o’clock on both wheels. I’m trying not to get too discouraged…….

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Katydids Advanced Member

Katydids

Posted
Posted

congratulations on your new Millie! and welcome to the family.

Yes, you need to raise your levelor bar so that you can get up to your first knuckle under the bar. Use a 4' level or longer to check the center of the table to make sure you don't have that truss bolt too high. Put the level along the aluminum rail and not on the lexan top, see if there is any rocking of the level or if there is a dip in the center and then adjust accordingly.

The SR does add some resistance to the feel of the machine vs running in manual or just with it off. Also the fabric will add some resistance, especially if the bar is too low and the fabric is really rubbing on the bed of the machine.

Also check the encoder wheels to see if they may be too snug into the black wheel, this could also add a bit of resistance

I would check these things first, especially raise the leveling bar and then you can get into adjusting the wheels if this does not improve the movement.

One more thing, with the SR, the lower you have the SPI, the more resistance you will feel as it takes longer for the machine to fire a stitch. So, if you have it set at nine vs 13 it will not move as smoothly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
barbm Advanced Member

barbm

Posted
Posted

Madison,

You don't say where you're located. If you have an APQS rep nearby, they may be willing to come out to check your setup, just to make sure everything is working the way it should. And sometimes the smallest adjustment on the wheels make a HUGE difference. And ditto what Patty and Kristina said.

Barb

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KathyA Advanced Member

KathyA

Posted
Posted

Madison - the machine adjustments can take a bit of time at the beginning. Just work with the customer service group if you don't have a rep close by. My Millie glides smoothly - perfect circles. And call your nearest rep, even if they're not that close. Sometimes if they are doing any traveling they will stop by to help you out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Madison Advanced Member

Madison

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So, here’s where I am now…..I re-checked every level surface last night and everything is perfectly level and each cylinder is exactly spaced. (Even had my husband bring home a brand new 4 foot level from work) I lowered the truss bolts about ¼ of an inch from the recommended height in the set-up manual….table is still level. I’m still a little concerned about the bend in the truss…is it supposed to have a “slight bend” or a “noticeable bend”? I raised the leveler bar so I can fit my fingers under to the first knuckle. I am noticing that the base of my machine is at a slightly higher point so I can see the outline of the machine and thread cutter….is that normal? I readjusted my wheels at the front of the table to 9 o’clock, then 10 o’clock and 11 o’clock and finally 12 o’clock. I didn’t really notice that much of a difference when quilting at any setting. I did check the spacing of the wheels per a diagram I found on this site as to where the wheels are supposed to sit and readjusted to that setting. I’m at 11 o’clock now - and at the time it was actually 11:00 and I need to get up in 5 hours for work….ugh! Can you tell I’m not quitting yet! Checked the stitch regulator sensor wheels and they don’t seem to be binding or too loose. Increased the stitch length in SR mode and still feel like I need to have a very firm grip on the machine handles to get it to move in the direction I want to go. I have a pretty good grip on the handles, which I don’t think I probably should need to have. Am I expecting too much in thinking this machine should move with the touch of a couple of fingers? I do have the quilt glide and that seems to be working if I’m doing tiny stipple stitches. One thing I want to mention is that if I’m quilting from the back of the machine it seems to move a little more easily. I did order the new M&M wheels, but how do I know that they are the new wheels? They’re black and from what I’ve read the older wheels are black also. They’re not stamped with M&M on them so I don’t even know if they’re the new wheels – they came installed on the machine. I’m not sure I will call my local rep as I don’t think they’re too happy with me because I didn’t purchase the machine through them. What’s so frustrating to me is that on my previous machine I could do circles and feathers with no problem so I don’t think it’s a matter of learning them – just learning the feel of the new machine. Any other thoughts you gals may have? I’ll keep trying to tweak the wheels till I get a better ride. Also, someone mentioned in a posting that they can very lightly move their machine and it will glide down the rails. Mine only moves about 10-15” when moving with a light hand and no quilt on the machine. Sorry for the very long winded message.....:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Madison Advanced Member

Madison

Posted
  • Author
Posted

After a few hours on the phone with Myrna we finally were able to get my machine gliding smoothly. It took a few adjustments to the legs and carriage wheels but it is running great! Thanks for your help and suggestions and an extra special thank you to Myrna for spending the time to walk me through the adjustments! Your terriffic! I'm off to play with my machine!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...