nineva Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Help ladies! My lovely Lucey is only a few months old, but everytime I load a backing on, the right end sags. I square my backings before pinning so I know that is not the problem. I just finished pinning on a very square backing and it is sagging on the right side again. I had to unpin the right side and taper it in on the leader by 1.5 " to make it not sag. It would appear the leader on the back or the front is not square. So, the question of the day is: How do I test the leaders to see if they are square and if not, how do I square it up? The thought of untaping them from the roller bar is a scary thing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qltnbe Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Are you left handed? I find my left side sags a bit and I am right handed and I thought that maybe when I am rolling the quilt that my dominant hand rolls tighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srichardson Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I can't find the original instructions that Tina Collins posted about straightening leaders several years ago but Carmen saved them. Here they are: http://forum.apqs.com/index.php?/topic/21354-straightening-canvas-leaders/?hl=%2Btina+%2Bcollins#entry301959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WW Quilter Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Nancy, I was having this problem on my Lenni from the time I got it. I finally unwound the whole take up leader and could see where it had been glued crooked from the factory. I peeled it off, and cleaned off some thick bumps of glue. Then I taped it straight with duct tape. Problem solved. I haven't had the problem since. You might check yours to see if this might help if it doesn't appear that the problem is stretched leaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaahma Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 I had this problem with my Millie - the leader had been taped down with a large crease in it! I just re-taped the end where the crease was and make sure it's still smooth with every quilt. Works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted June 4, 2015 Report Share Posted June 4, 2015 Hi Nancy Jo! It may not be the leader that is crooked. Check the large threaded bolts that hold your rollers. The top take-up roller and the front (backer) roller bolts need to be checked. If one bolt has more threads showing than the other, that side will roll tight since that makes the rollers not parallel with each other. The front roller bolts are horizontal (stick out towards the front) and the back roller bolts are vertical. Adjust them until each pair has the same number of threads showing. You may have both sets uneven and that will cause even more sagging as one side rolls tighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted June 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Linda, that is good advice, but I am confused. Maybe I have a different set up, but my rollers go through holes in the table legs then are clamped in place by big round metal clamps that I tighten with a hex key. The rollers have the exact same "overhang" on each end. They don't thread like the old table my Millie had. At any rate, what you said makes sense. Since they are both the same, I am guessing I am going to have to unroll the leaders on both the quilt back roller and the take up roller. Darn. Unless you have another idea....(good to hear from you!!!) I am not left handed but that is a thought. Thank you for the link to Tina's instructions. Now I have to figure out how to get notifications when y'all answer my questions. I don't get back here that often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o2b Quilting Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Nancy, you are correct. Your Lucey table is different than Linda's table for her Millie. Unless you upgraded to the heavier table that comes with Freddie and Millie, your table is like the Lenni table and there is no adjustment. It is not a big job to unroll the leaders and check to see if they are attached straight and with no creases. I periodically do this on my machines just to make sure that the leaders are rolled on evenly. I have zippers on my leaders so I just zip them together and roll all the way one way and then apply resistance while rolling the other way. I roll back and forth 2 or 3 times with the resistance/tension on the rollers and the leaders are once again rolled evenly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachside Quilter Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 I do the same as Lucy; I zip my leaders together and roll back & forth to even out any distortion. Leave them zipped together with moderate tension overnight. Helps to keep my leaders square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 That sounds great! I do not have zippers, but I can pin the edges together and do the same thing. Thank you so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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