Millie Like New thanks to Dawn--truss and table adjustments

[donna sco]

Have had a love/hate relationship with my Millie for the past year or so. Had even considered that maybe I should sell Millie because I couldn't learn to make her perform properly. But assumed it was probably me and not important enough to call APQS. Felt like my skills were going backwards rather than forward.

Thanks to someone recently asking about drag and a reply said your machine should move a long ways along the table with a slight push. Mine moved about 18"-24" and would stop. I had faithfully checked with a level and my table was level. WRONG

!!!! Dawn explained some troubleshooting procedures using a plumb line along the rails and guess what--my table was over 1/2" high in the middle. No wonder I kept getting square circles uneven arcs, etc. and felt like I was fighting Millie all the time. I was trying to quilt uphill and then downhill. Then while checking the adjustment on my wheels we discovered that my front carriage wheels were reversed and therefore the adjustments I would make were somewhat working against each other. Guess this happened when installing the M&M wheels (which is a long time ago).

I still have some adjustment yet to make on some other items.

Then we talked a bit about tension, stitch length and needle flex. I have never been able to do stippling on the Millie even though I could do it pretty well on my domestic. I knew you should make your stitches smaller but didn't realize how small. So I set the stitches much smaller on the intricate designs and what a difference it made.

I put on a charity quilt and am doing the same background fill that had just frustrated me on a customer's quilt a few days ago and my arcs are smooth and I am able to space them so much better.

It was such fun quilting yesterday that I wanted to stay up late and quilt.

THANK YOU to the quilter that responded to how freely the carriage should move. It really prompted me to call Dawn.

So DO NOT PUT OFF CALLING APQS when you have a problem.

THANK YOU DAWN

[Pat C]

Donna I'm so glad things are working out with you and Millie. And yes, Dawn and the entire staff are top-notch. I had some issues when I first got my Millie too but they were learning issues, not machine issues. I've learned so much from this forum alone. It's almost like a 24-hour self-help guide!

Isn't it great once things are going well? You just want to quilt forever!

Enjoy your new Millie and happy quilting!!

[Bekah]

Yes, Dawn is a rock star and always there for us. I a so glad you are able to enjoy your machine and are having fun with again. Cheering for you.

[JudithWashburnQuiltStudo]

Can you explain more about the plumb line Dawn had you do?

[DawnCavanaugh]

Donna,

You are VERY welcome!

Hi Judith,

Many APQS tables have a black truss underneath the long aluminum rails. This truss provides upward thrust on the rails so that they don't sag in the middle...kind of like how a bridge support works. If the truss pushes too much on the rails, they will have a "crown" and if it doesn't push enough the rail will sag.

Since most people don't have a really long level, just using a level alone won't necessarily tell you if your table is straight and level.

To check that the truss is set correctly, move your machine over to one end of the table to have clearance. You'll need a helper and a sturdy string that doesn't stretch much to test the truss bolt height. Have your helper stand on one end of the table, and hold the string along the outermost lip of the rail (on the outside, not on top of the rail.) Then you move to the other end of the table, and hold your end of the string in the same location.

Pull the string taut between you both, and then look to see if the center of the table is in line with your string, or above or below it. If the table center is higher than the string, then the truss bolt is putting too much pressure on the rail and is bowing it up. Of course if you have a sag, the truss bolt isn't providing enough upper thrust. Adjust the height of the truss bolt until the rail is straight.

Be sure to do this on both your front and back rail.

Note: if you don't have the black truss, it either means your table's length didn't require it, or you purchased more recently where the truss is integrated into the aluminum rail (sometime after mid-2010).

Hope that helps!

[dancing bear]

standing ON one end of the table? hmmm ... how about standing AT one end of the table ... no way am I climbing up on that table! LOL!!!

[DawnCavanaugh]

Sylvia, you caught me!

[Zora]

Dawn, thanks so much for this. I had noticed that quilting at the ends of the machine where I never quilt unless I have a huge quilt..was much easier than quilting in the middle of the table. We had used a really long level when we set up the table. We re-adjusted the table today using the string and we were surprised just how out of level it was!

[queenie123]

OMG ,this is such a great tip ,going to check mine very soon ,the tip off for me was the mention of it being easier to quilt near the end of the table ,bingo ,thats the same for me,my machine moves so well since the addition of the M&m wheels that I really just thought it was some what normal because I am really happy with the way it moves now and the thought of it getting better just makes my day !