annlittle1 Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 I started this post an hour ago and had it almost finished when, I hit the wrong button on the computer and poof, it was gone, never to be seen again. I hope. Anyway, let me see if I can re-construct it. I've had my Liberty a week now. I've tried to practice on it every day, but I'm really having problems with the up/down needle button. Sometimes when I hit the button it does it right, but other times it just keeps going and going! I decided I was going to call APQS this morning, but first I'd try it again just to be sure it wasn't operator error. Of course, it worked right at first. So I just kept going. Now I know that the pony clamps are bright orange and anybody should be able to see them, but I was really concentrating on trying to make round swirls instead of square ones when I ran into a pony clip. Bent the needle. No problem, I changed the needle. I've been doing that for more years than I want to say. Except, when I tried to sew, it wouldn't pick up the bobbin thread. The bobbin looked fine, so out came the manual. I started reading through it. Nothing sounded like the problem until I came to the section on Timing. Oh, no, not the monster, Timing. I couldn't deal with that by myself so I called APQS. Mark wasn't available right then, but they'd have him call me back. It dawned on me that the first question he'd probably ask was if I'd watched the Maintenance Video. Of couse not! Why would I want to do that? So I got out the video and popped it in to watch while I ate lunch and waited for Mark's call. About half way through the video it came to the needle and how to fix it. I could do that! Unscrew four screws, unplug the white pluggy things on the left side and take the front off the machine above the light. Stick your screwdriver in the hole and loosen the screw that is there and adjust the needle holder to the right height and tighten up the screw. Oops! It didn't say that if you took the screwdriver out of the hole while you were fixing the needle height that the screw would fall down inside the head of the machine and you couldn't tighten it! (Okay, don't panic. You don't need an extra Wellbutrin yet.! I can handle that, the video showed how that part comes apart just before it showed the needle part . Four more screws and I've got the side of the head off. The screw is on a clamp that must go on the needle holder thingy. Finally, I got the clamp back on, made sure the needle was in the right place and put it all back together. Yeah! It worked! It actually ran. Mark calls. I tell him what all I've been through and he says I did it right. Now to fix the up/down needle thing. Mark says I have to loosen more screws on the top of the head and pop out a white plug so that I can make another adjustment to a screw on a little blue piece. Hung up the phone with Mark. Loosened all the screws, but had to take out two of them before I got to the little tiny screw that had to be adjusted. Made the adjustment and put the screws in and tightened them all up. It works, but now the stitch regulator shuts off when I start stitching! Aaaah! Maybe its the little white pluggy things on the side/front of the machine. Maybe something's loose. I take out the screws again and I'm jiggling all the wires and plugs inside when in walks my husband. He takes over and puts the little pluggy things and wires all back inside and screws it back together. It works! Yeah! Where was he two hours ago when I had to deal with something mechanical? Why does he think he can just take over when I've conquered all with my set of screwdrivers! Of course, DH does know that I once put a chair together by hammering in the screws instead of using a screwdriver. Mark didn't know that. Hey that chair stayed together for twenty years! Oh, well. Libby's up and running, but she may never be the same. I may add an extra Wellbutrin to my daily pills! Maybe that would make my swirls round! I just had to share my newbie fun with everyone. Phyllis Hughes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnQuilts Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Hey, Phyllis! Congratulations on conquering the machine; just goes to show that it CAN be done (with a little help from APQS)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammi Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 I LOVE this story! I especially enjoyed your technical terms for the bits and pieces we "get" to play with being owners of longarms. After about a year of working on these, we could probably build a bus or a car or a Ferris wheel! My DH no longer goes to his workbench for tools. He just heads straight for the quilting room. His latest acquisition is a laser level I bought him for Christmas. He loved it .... and I use it to "shoot the line" for cutting batting off the roll. Am I a great wife or what?? (He has never used it) sammi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busybee Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 I think this is one of those gadgets that you can't live without. That make your quilting easier. Nita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Yeah Phyllis! You GO GIRL! I've told Mark that my friends call me Linda the tool woman Steller! And that was before I got my Liberty. Good for you in taking the initiative to watch that maintenance video and figure out most of this for yourself. Really makes you proud doesn't it? Now you can get back to the fun stuff - QUILTING! Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Darling story!! I'm so glad to hear that you got everything in working order. I don't really want my husband to know some of the things I can do, I'm sure you can understand!! I, too, have been fighting the needle positioner. Yesterday I counted, it went up and down 12 times before stopping. I get so frustrated. I hate to call. It seems like I don't have very good luck getting return phone calls. When I do I get everything taken care of. I would love to hear more of your adventures--keep us posted!! Kelly Millennium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giftedhands Posted March 21, 2005 Report Share Posted March 21, 2005 There's a maintenance video? Cynthia:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted March 25, 2005 Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 Yes Cynthia! You can order one from APQS. It's about $30 I think. Very useful thing to have around. While all my videos are stored in a special cabinet, that one stays right next to the VCR. I don't want to have to hunt for it if I need it! Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlittle1 Posted March 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Kelly, The fix that Mark gave me for the needle positioner was to look for the white pop out button on the right side of the Liberty near the top. Pop that button out and you should see what he called a "blue building". At the top of that blue building is a small gold screw. Turn it slightly to the right. If you can't get to the screw by popping off the button, then loosen the screws all along the top of the machine except for the ones holding the thread guides. If that won't let you shift the head enough to get the screw driver in that screw just take out the first two screws from the front of the machine. That should allow you to shift the top enough to get a screwdriver into the gold screw so you can adjust it to the right. Don't forget to tighten all the screws up. I've done it twice now and it is very easy. My machine is a Liberty and I'm assuming that the other APQS machines are the same way, too. Good luck! I've only called the one time, but Mark called me back within an hour and really tried not to laugh at my description of what I'd done! Phyllis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcqlnurcheck Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 Phyllis - I loved your story!! I am not mechanically inclined whatsoever and my husband will not let me touch my machine with a screwdriver. I always have to wait for him. however, I do the cleaning of it and the rails, etc. and I can change a needle. When I purchased the machine, I didn't realize there was so much involved or that I would ever have to take apart the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlittle1 Posted March 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Jurcheck (now you've got to have a better name than that!) I'm not really very mechanically inclined either, but my husband was in the Coast Guard for 25 years so I had to learn to do some things myself. The first two years he was at sea six to eight weeks and home six weeks. The last two he was on road trips two or three weeks out of the month. I learned that I had to evaluate whether I could handle the problem, wait for him to come home or call a professional. In most cases I handled it or found a way to make do until he came home. The scariest thing I ever had to do was change a thermostat. It was in the middle of winter (20 degrees) in Seattle and he was in Washington DC for two weeks. With him on the phone giving me instructions I got it done. Even though I turned off the electricity I was still terrified that I would get shocked! I'm terrified of fire so I had to borrow a friend's husband to come light the pilot light. We had heat that night! After my first adventure with Libby, I found the machine is not all that complicated. I figure that if I'm going to make a business out of this I've got to learn to do as much as I can on the machine because I can't have down time waiting for DH to get home from work. Besides its only really dangerous if you put screws in my left hand and a hammer in the right hand! Now that I've learned about electric screwdrivers I could probably have put that chair together without the hammer! Be brave! Think positive! Call the service desk and have them walk you through the fix. Just remember to unplug the machine first! You can do it! Phylis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.