Hartley Fence Purchase?

[DoryJM]

I have just found a Hartley Fence for sale that is an older model that has a turning knob for locking/braking. This, of course, means nothing to me as other than the pictures on this site, I\'ve never even seen a Hartley Fence!

This Fence was used on a Millennium, so the machine is the same.

For those of you that use this item, can you give me some advice as to what you think of this model; should I purchase it being so new to LA\'ing; should I save my pennies and purchase a new one? I\'ll take any help I can get!!!

Oh, the price for this one is $350 + shipping from Kansas to CA.

[victoriasews]

I\'ll give you my 2 cents since you don\'t seem to be getting any feedback. And mind you, it is just my opinion. A Hartley Fence came with my Millie and after working with it awhile and getting a highly recommended video with it (By the way, the video was excellent), I ended up selling it and getting a Circle Lord. It is quite a bit more expensive but I can tell you it is worth the expense. It takes a second to plop it down and it is ready to use. It makes beautiful circles in hundreds of sizes. The Hartley always made wobbly circles for me, although it could have been human error, but I\'ve had no problem with CL. CL does not have the diagonal fence, though, but over time, I learned to use a ruler and liked that better because you can adjust to "not quite accurate" piecing. Hope that helps some.

[countrylanequilting]

Regular price for the new Hartley Fence is $595.95 and worth every bit of that price. Myrna Ficken has also produced an EXCELLENT book and DVD on how to use it. You can learn do everything a Circle Lord can do and for a LOT less money. No need to continually add stencils. Our Hartley is almost always left mounted to the table to be ready to use at a moments notice. However, even when it is not on the table and we need to use it it only takes about 2 minutes to remount the fence on the machine table.

If you are getting any wobbly designs when using your Hartley Fence it is ALMOST ALWAYS because either the guide bar that attaches to the machine is not fastened TIGHTLY (not muscle tight - you still want to be able to remove it) or, you are not applying consistent gentle pressure against the outer portion of a circle or against the guide bar when creating circles or straight lines. You are welcome to give me a call or email if you are still having difficulties.

If the HF you are interest is a candidate for being upgraded (you would need to call Hartley at Hartley Manufacturing to know that answer) it is always worth the extra pennies.

[DoryJM]

Thank you Janet & Victoria. You\'re answers just reinforce the fact that I need to try before I buy. Therefore, I\'ll be hoping that both companies are represented at Innovations so I can check them out.

Thanks so much for responding!!