DogHouseMom

Hello all

Finally got my long arm frame and machine set up today! Woot!!!

I have the Hinterberg stretch frame with a Voyager 17".

I have a question about setting the machine onto the carriage. I had thought that the carriage would be marked, or notched or something to indicate "machine sits EXACTLY here" ... but it's just a big blank flat piece of wood. My machine seems to barely fit front to back, all four feet on the bottom of the machine are not entirely on the carriage. Also, how do I know I have it EXACTLY centered side to side ... and is it necessary (I'm thinking yes it is). I had thought there would be something to hold the machine to the carriage ... but no. Should there be???

I bought my set up used and I've looked all over the net and could not find anything. The manual simply states "place the machine on the carriage". Is it really just that simple?? Am I over complicating it????

Hoping to get a test quilt loaded tomorrow and put my new toy ... errrr ... tool through it's paces.

Thanks!

Oh ... heres a picture. She has her very own room.

Chasing Hawk

I had the very same frame before. It is that simple the machine just sits on the carriage.
Just lube the track every once in a while to keep the noise level down and ease the carriage along the pipes.
I used a product called Bose Shield T-2, you can get it at Sears.

QuiltE

Congratulations on getting it set up!
... and you already know that I have no answers for you!
Just had to say how excited I am for you to be this far along.

Great room ... though you need to dress it up!

QuiltnNan

congrats... enjoy! yes, there is no special placement of the machine. that's one beauty of it. one can use so many different machines on that frame. i really enjoyed mine.

Prism99

I just went and checked my setup. The base of my machine is flush with the front of the carriage and overhangs the back of the carriage by 1". There is 1" of space to the right and left of the machine (that is, more carriage than machine).

I'm not sure what you mean by "feet"; I don't think there are any feet underneath the base of my machine. However, I'm not picking up that 70-lb monster to check! Dh lifted and centered the machine for me.

One thing you want to do is get a level and check that the frame is level from front-to-back and end-to-end. Ideally the machine and carriage should stay put no matter where you stop it. If the frame is not level, the machine will slide from the position in which you place it.

DogHouseMom

Thanks all!! I guess I'm set then!!

Prism ... we did level the frame but we used the machine to tell us if it was out of level. If the machine migrated by itself, we adjusted accordingly. We kept adjusting sides and center until the machine stayed put both side to side and front to back. Now if I move in any direction and let go ... it stay's put. Oh ... feet ... my machine has 4 rubber feet on the bottom of the machine case.

The last thing we need to work out is the electrical. The wall outlet is high on the wall and the length of the cord for the SLR isn't long enough so we needed to add an extension. But the capacitor for the SLR is heavy and wants to drag. I've also managed to snag the SLR cord under the carriage frame while moving the machine. So we need to rig something up where the power cords are coming off the back of the machine up and away from the carriage. We'll get it sorted out.

cindi

Go to Hinterberg.com. They've got instruction sheets for everything there, and you can email them with your questions. They're very helpful. Yep, it just sits on the wood shelf. With as much as that machine weighs, trust me, it's not going anywhere! As long as you have it centered on the shelf, it's correctly centered. You want it a bit larger than the shelf so the machine can quilt as far as it can without the shelf stopping it. It sure looks to me like you've got it set up correctly! Have a ball with it!

DogHouseMom

>>Go to Hinterberg.com. They've got instruction sheets for everything there, ....

Actually I did. I even looked through their forums. And of course read my manual and looked at scads of YouTube video's for this and similar frames. None of them said anything about "where" to put the machine on the carriage ... just "place the machine on the carriage". Can't believe that not one of them even said to center it. I knew that much ... but didn't know if there was anything else missing.

triciaa

My table has a power strip attached to it with a 6'ft cord. that keeps me from tripping on it and my machine eases along nicely