jimerickson Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Here's a photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue White Posted May 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Thanks Jim. I'll start from scractch and see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Dawn, I see you have the old spoon foot on your machine. We sell the 1/2" foot for ULT II's, so you can use all the rulers on the market with it! email me at 1sheributler@gmail.com if you are interested! foot pic 1.bmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue White Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Thanks everyone for the advice. Clara is up and running with no tension issues. We had to lower the foot back down so I still have the problem of the foot pushing the fabric but at least I can use her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Just a thought, what batting are you using? With a very high loft batting my spoon foot would "push" my fabric along, also. But with cotton, or low loft I had no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Baker Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 I recently watched the YouTube videos by Matt Sparrow an introduction to longarm. The video shows how to handle the fabric as you baste it on to keep it from shifting (even though they have a hopping foot, the concept is good). I've also started from the center and working to each side. It seems like a balance between having the foot low enough for good tension and stitching and just high enough to glide. I also got a 1/4 inch ruler foot from Nolting to use with the templates and rulers for my Ultimate II. Michelle Baker Ultimate II Missoula, MT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue White Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Chicken Scratch: I'm using warm and natural. It's not a very thick batting. Michelle: I watched the video and found it very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 This is for jacq1013 about how I have adjusted my Ult 2 foot to suit my needs better. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Baker Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Jim, can you post a picture? Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Michelle: There's a photo attached to my May 2 post. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacq1013 Posted June 10, 2015 Report Share Posted June 10, 2015 saw your picture, Jim-thanks...i'm going to look into fabricating a foot like that. i had the same 'pushing' issues until i raised the foot a lot-it doesnt even touch the surface of the quilt now. when i was talking to the service dept, they said to ignore the 'spider' test when checking the bobbin tension (when you dangle the bobbin in the bobbin case, the case should slowly fall slowly, like a spider hanging from its web) she told me to loosen the bobbin completely and then tighten just enough that when you hold the bobbin/case in the palm of your hand and pick it up by the bobbin thread, the thread tension should be just enough to stand the case on its side but not enough to lift it from your palm. she recommended keeping the bobbin that loose so all your tension adjustments would then be made at the top of your machine. then, when doing your practise stitching, you can loosen/tighten the upper tension until it's balanced. I havent had any problem since...course, i also stopped using the Gllide thread. i dont have the time right now to experiment on my own quilts to get the tension set right. the one piece of advice they gave me was to add as much drag to the upper thread as you can BEFORE the tension disk. i have 3 more large customer quilts to do before i have time for experimenting jackie western PA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue White Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 I ended up lifting my foot about 5 business cards and it's perfect now. Tracey Russell (APQS dealer) took pity on me and had a look at my machine. She straighten out a lot of things and also fixed my tension. Everything was working good then I started getting a lot of thread breakage. It turned out I needed a new hook assembly. Clara is all better now and ready to go. I'm going to put my first quilt on the frame today. Fingers crossed that I have no more problems. I have to say if anyone is thinking of or looking to buy a longarm they should talk to Tracey. She is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 Jackie, My husband has a patent on that foot that Jim showed you! We sell them! The link of the picture is above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I adjust my presser foot the thickness of a dime above the needle plate. I set my bobbin tension at about 18 on my TOWA (180 on the newer gauges). Being right handed, I rotated the "assist" lever to the right side of the presser foot bar, and as well as lifting the foot to clear obstructions, use it to do close work. No need for micro handles. I get nice tight stitches with those settings. Jackie: I think you need to lower your foot. In order to get a good stitch, the foot must hold the quilt sandwich down as the take up spring pulls the stitch tight and the needle rises. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacq1013 Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 i never paid any attention to the vibration, thinking it was normal. it makes it difficult to do detail work, as i cant focus on something that's shaking so bad its a blur. is this something that others have as well? is there any 'cure' for the vibration? its the entire length of the table, not just in one area... Jim-i have my foot up probably 2-3 business cards; maybe the width of a dime. it stitches fine, as long as i dont use Glide thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Jackie: If you'e stitching in non-regulated mode, change the machine speed. There are harmonic vibrations that come and go at different speeds. Changing the speed can affect the amount of these vibrations. Two or three business cards clearance is close enough to give you nice tight stitches. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacq1013 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 i dropped the foot down closer, abt 2 cards away. i also increased the speed, but it increased the vibration and now i see double lines of stitching. i know i stitch slower than most people; normally at a 5; but i upped it to 6. others i talk to go full tilt at 9-10! i cant control the machine movement at that point-its like trying to steer a semi truck. what speed to most of you sew at? i have another question- has anyone else had problems with the bobbin thread getting caught between the bobbin and the case? every time i start up stitching the bobbin gets caught and breaks, even tho i have the threads pulled to the top and have knotted them. i also have issues with the thread getting wrapped around the bobbin latch itself which throws the tension out of whack and gives me eyelashes. you check it at the beginning of the row and all is ok but then it tightens up and boom, its off and you have no clue. did it again last night and i had to rip out an entire row of feathers. at that point, it was time to close up and go home. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacq1013 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Sue- i had forgotten, i was dealing with broken/frayed threads a lot and we ended up putting in a new hook assembly as well. worked so well i'd forgotten about what it used to be like! once i had the old assembly out i was able to see and fix a lot of the burr issues. unfortunately, even the new teflon assembly had rough spots that i had to file...there was one notch i filed as much as i could but it was still ragged so i put a thin film of clear nail polish over it to smooth it out...works fine now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Jackie: Have you checked the bobbin case backlash spring? It sounds like it's not working. Broken bobbin thread for me has always been caused by backlash spring malfunction. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anniquilter Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Sue, I'm sure you covered this somewhere along the way but I didn't see mention of it, when you raised your foot did you raise the needle bar too? The thread looping when you first raised your foot made me wonder if the needle bar got moved too so it can't make a proper stitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue White Posted June 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Anne- I had someone come in and retime my machine. When he was here he adjusted my needle bar. Everything is working perfect now. I managed to quilt two small quilts last week. Hopefully my troubles are over. Jackie- I too get vibrations, mostly when the machine is quilting toward the front part of the quilt (towards the front roller bars). I don't know what's causing it, sometimes it's not too bad and others it's reall;y bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Sue White, have you checked out the nuts & bolts, holding the end rails On? Not very encouraging, just thought I'd toss it out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue White Posted June 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Rita R- Thanks for the tip. My husband will check them tonight when he gets home from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 YV Welcome.. hope it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacq1013 Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 i tightened up my table, re-leveled it, and even put a thin washer on the two right carriage wheels. it rides a bit tighter now, a little too much perhaps, but actually better than before. i'm debating getting the edgerider wheels vrs seeing about getting a business loan and upgrading the entire machine to one with the computer and Everything. Maybe i should do both; if i do upgrade, i can try to sell the Ult II outright...IF there's a market, and the wheels would be a feature. people who are buying/selling Ult II's-are they as old as mine is??? its a mid-'90's. I'm not sure i want to go into debt that deep at this stage of the game but i really want to go all out & quilt for a living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.