Used Machine Tension Problems

[pfrost]

My daughter & I are shopping for a used Mille. We flew this last weekend to AR to look at one & test drive it. We were very disappointed in the quality of the stitches it produced. It's the first instance that we've seen a Mille with poor stitches. The individual trying to sell this Mille indicated that we were trying to "drive" it too quickly & that was causing the poor stitches. The top stitches appeared to be loose & about every inch or so there would be a loop on top, too. BUT, while one is using the stitch regulator, one SHOULD be able to go either fast or slow & get a consistent stitch. That's the whole point of a stitch regulator, right? So, we're of the opinion that: 1) the tension needed to be adjusted on either the bobbin or the top (I'm guessing the bobbin tension should be adjusted since the loose stitches were on the top); 2) the upper thread may not have been threaded properly; 3) an adjustment needed to be made on the wheels; or 4) all of the above. While driving the machine from the front, there seemed to be a bit of "play" in the front wheels. When driving the machine from the rear, the quality of the stitches was improved, not the best as we've seen, but better. HELP! Are these adjustments that we could make in order to have the beautiful stitch that we've seen on other Milles? Or should we run away, as fast as we can, & not even consider this machine?

[JudyL]

I'm sure Connie or someone more knowledgeable than me will weigh in here but here are my thoughts.

The S/R is intended to create perfect or near perfect stitches even without you having to move at the same speed but I think I read that if you go 100 mph and then drop down to 5 mph, the stitch may not be perfect but for just our normal fluctuation in movement, you shouldn't notice a problem.

Maybe the newer models of S/R are better than some of the others but I've kinda tried to outrun my S/R to see what happens and I haven't been able to do it. I hear fluctuation in the motor or S/R (not sure what I hear) when I go slow or fast but my stitches remain great. I can't believe you were causing enough variations in your movements to notice consistent changes.

It isn't rocket science but it takes a bit of adjustment with bobbin and top tension to get perfect stitches. Any time I switch weights of thread, I check the tension. Pull the thread through the needle and see how it feels (you know after a while how you want it to feel), do the bobbin drop test or buy one of those tension checker things to check the bobbin tension, make a few test stitches, make any necessary adjustments in about 5 seconds, you have perfect stitches . . every time!

As far as the "play" in the movement, sounds like the wheels needed to be adjusted. You can get a 'whiplash' effect if the wheels are too loose. If they're too tight, the movement seems stiff. It's very simple to adjust those wheels perfectly to suit your own preference.

My feeling is that you CAN get perfect stitches on these machines.

[nhintsa]

Hello! I purchased a 3 year old used Milleninum in May. The machine was crated and shipped to me. The seller assured me the machine was in perfect working order and it was. We had to set the machine up ourselves using the set-up and maintenance video APQS provides (maintenance video is an additional cost item). The machine stitches beautifully. I would guess that either the decoder box that rides on the back wheels may not be adjusted correctly (sounds like the front wheel aren't adjusted too well either!), needs thread tension adjustment, OR there is something wrong with the machine. My personal opinion would be to not buy a machine from the current owner who has it running in such a poor state without knowing or making the needed adjustments herself. It would make me question how well the machine was cared for while she owned and oeprated it. I think most sellers would have their machine in tip-top shape and running smoothly for a perspective buyer! Just my thoughts.

Nancy

[mark]

I would have to second Judy's thoughts here. It sounds like this lady didn't have her machine adjusted properly at all. We are one of the only companies that manufactures our own SR. It is built right into the electronics of the machine, so you don't have to worry about staying consistant with your movement. In other words, you can't out-run it or have to let the SR catch up to you. All of the adjustments that Judy talked about are very easy to do(Wheels,Tension) and will make your Milli run smooth and give you awesome stitches. As you have well seen in other places. I hope this will help you. If you have any other questions, please feel free to call us at (800) 426-7233 Ext. #6.

Happy Quilting!

Mark APQS

[pfrost]

Thanks to all who've provided suggestions. It was our concern, too, that the person selling the machine (& who told us we were trying to drive it too fast) was NOT the person who actually used the machine. One would think that if a machine is for sale, it should be operating in its best condition to make that sale happen. We left AR thinking we could probably make any necessary adjustments, particularly if we would have APQS tech support helping us. However, we weren't ready to make an offer on it because we just couldn't fathom the machine's problems--we'd never seen a Mille with poor stitches. We'll be giving it more thought, with the consideration that we can probably make the necessary adjustments.

Mark, what would a new encoder box run, if that should be a part we'd need to replace?