catsigler Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Is there a proper name for these? I recall a recent discussion about devising extenders for the quilt back to prevent the hopping foot from running into the clamps. A great idea, by the way. I am mounting my first muslin practice "quilt" and I need to make a set of extenders. While looking around the garage for a wooden yardstick or dowel (could have sworn we had one but can't find), it occurred to me that one of Steve's golf club shafts would be perfect, if I can just find the hacksaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jhend Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I used an old pvc quilting frame that I bought from JoAnn's a long time ago. It was the perfect size and I only had to put a cord through the one piece and snap on the cover. Worked great and cheap too. I also made another out of samples of sofa fabrics, used a wooden dowel on one end to clamp on to and pinned the fabric to the backing. This was better as nothing got in the way, but the pinning and unpinning was a PITA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I use a yard stick on each side of the quilt, run under the elastic right next to the clips and set on top of the roller for the top and the roller at the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingstitcher Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Go to Yardsticks Galore right on the corner, I mean Home Depot. Bill says that at the very least you should cut up Steve's driver which will give him an excuse to go buy another one. They are only $450 a pop! Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoAnnHoffman Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Hartley products has wonderful aluminum bars that are curved on each end and fit perfectly on the roller bars to lift up the straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliagraves Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I used some old cheap curtain rods instead of yardsticks - the kind that are in two pieces so that one fits into the other, and then the sides are bent 90 degrees to hook onto the hardware in the wall. The curved part rests on the takeup roller so they don't fall off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I also use curtain rods to hold up the clamps. They work fine. I tried pieces of wood but they kept falling off when we rolled. My problem today was we went accross a bump, broke and bent a needle and now I think we will have to retime as now the needle clicks and the thread in the bobbin and the needle both break. Tomorrow we will do the retiming thing and hope for the best. I am not used to such a huge machine but all of my Singers and Whites New Homes and others all needed retiming at one time or another so how difficult will it be? If I have to will call for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsigler Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Originally posted by dancingstitcher Go to Yardsticks Galore right on the corner, I mean Home Depot. Bill says that at the very least you should cut up Steve's driver which will give him an excuse to go buy another one. They are only $450 a pop! Vicki, you crack me up! My yardsticks and side "leaders" are installed and I'm regrouping for my first foray into longarm quilting with threaded needle AND bobbin! Told Steve what Bill said; he likes Bill a lot! All these ideas sound interesting, but I would like to see pictures. I'm not seeing what some are saying. My side extenders are for when there isn't enough backing to attach the clamps. In my practice muslin "quilt" the backing is the same size as the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Hi Cathey and Vicki, I cut up my yardsticks and made my side extenders over the weekend. I used them on a community quilt today that gave me approx. 1"inch of backing and batting to work with! They worked so neat! What I liked about the fabric extenders, compared to the clamp/yardstick method I have used in the past is that now the sides are all evenly tensioned , and my quilt seemed to be so much flatter and nicer to work on. Thank you Vicki! I think it was you who posted the pictures here orginally of yours. ? I should have taken some pictures, but the quilt is off the frame---maybe tomorrow. Great tip/idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixieqwv Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I also use curtain rods. Sometimes I use men's pants hanger then attach my leader clamp to the hanger part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Joann, I've been all over the place looking for the Hartley Products bar you mentioned. Have a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryll Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Myrna Ficken sells them check her wesite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastazzu Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Would you all mind posting some pictures. I'm sorry but I don't have a clue what you all are talking about. I'm a rookie at this stuff and I'm a visual person to boot! So, Pleaseeeeeeeeee post some pictures!! It would be so helpful for me. Thank you all, Donna Gale Hays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanieceKS Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I purchased curtain rods to keep the clamps up and out of the way. You can get them at any K-Mart, WalMart or Target and they're inexpensive - and they work great! I got the ones that are white and have a 90 degree angle on each end. They expand, so they'll fit any width for any of the machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingstitcher Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Thanks Sparkle. Yes it was me that posted the side extenders. I continue to like them because the tension is spread all along the edge. I got my Hartley bars/rods from Myrna too. Also bought a second set for making the front panto table to do medallions, but haven't used it in my own studio yet. Think I'll trace my giant roses off Mom's Roses Tote and use the outline for those stitched on a future quilt. Myrna used a 15"x27" piece of lucite and double stuck it to the bars/rods, then used a 15"x15" second piece of lucite as a cover over the paper panto. Handy things these rods. Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I think we are talking about two different things here. The yardstick and curtain rods are used to keep the straps up so they don't interfere with the wheels when you get to the edge of the quilt; the fabric extenders are used to attach to the backing so you actually have something to clip onto when the backing is short. Am I on the right track? I simply made a sleeve and inserted dowels in the sleeve and then I pin it to the backing and attach the clamps to the dowel. It does work great for proper tension over the entire quilting area and not just the clamp area. Sorry at work and no photo for the visual people! Sharon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I got my Hartley bars from Myrna last year. I didn't see them on her web-site but I bet she still has them. I think they were about $20. I tried the curtain rod thing but they felt too flimsey to me. I love these smooth aluminum bars. They work great to keep the clamps elevated enough to stay out of the way of my base expander (RulerMate) http://www.aquilterschoice.com/products.htm Marion - Timing your machine. No big deal?? I have done it 2 or 3 times and it is a PITA. Have a flashlight and maginifying glass handy, that will help. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justahelper Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 There are always several ways to do things. In this case the easy way is get ahold of Myrna and order the Hartley Clamp Supports as has been mentioned. I, on the other hand like to do things the fun way. I went to Home Depot and bought some 1 1/2" pvc pipe and glue and made my own. Remember - measure twice and cut once. I did it the opposite way. :mad: P.S. I would sure love it if someone would tell me why my image will not show up in the post. What am I not doing??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clovismom Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 The instructions for making the side units as well as pictures are at www.sharonschamber.com just look under the long arm section Raquel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastazzu Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Justahelper, Thank you for posting the pic's. Donna Gale Hays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenslug Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 My DH made them for my machine. He bought aluminum strips, 1"wide x 1/8" thick and cut them to just less than 30" long. Bent them (can't tell you how as he isn't here), put velcro on inside of bend where they go over rollers and they work very well. Bought material at Home Depot, Lowe's or Menard's (so much for my memory). They would probably cut it at the store for you if you do not have a way to do this. Know there are many methods to make these bars. Marilyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenslug Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 My DH made them for my machine. He bought aluminum strips, 1"wide x 1/8" thick and cut them to just less than 30" long. Bent them (can't tell you how as he isn't here), put velcro on inside of bend where they go over rollers and they work very well. Bought material at Home Depot, Lowe's or Menard's (so much for my memory). They would probably cut it at the store for you if you do not have a way to do this. Know there are many methods to make these bars. Marilyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingstitcher Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 We're talking about two different things on this thread - the aluminum strips/rods/yardsticks that put tension onto the elastic straps to lift the clamps up a bit; and also the fabric extenders that Sharon Schamber designed and I modified using yardsticks. So I started a new thread called Extender Photos. http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/viewthread.php?tid=5302&page=1#pid40908 Hope this is helpful. It's sad when we lose our archive photos, so here are some new ones. Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Vicki - thanks for posting the new post and also posting the link to the new post on this post ..... whew! now... which - witch - is which? I'm done now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8 Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 We use two long (about 3') pieces of selvedge leftovers - one for each side - and pin each end to the backing about a foot or so apart - the clamp is attached to the "V" that is formed at the fold. Clamps are always out of the way, and one clamp does the work of 2 for even tension. Works even on those 1" bigger than the top backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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