I talked to the representative at Nolting today. His suggestions were
1. Are you sure the presser foot is down? (yes)
2. Do you have a sharp needle? (yup, and put another in today)
3. I suggest you loosen the bobbin tension. (did that till it wouldn't sew, then increased it till it would)
4. Where do you live? (Alabama)
5. We don't have a dealer near you. (I know)
6. I think it needs to be seen. (I have 3 weeks left I can get free shipping for a replacement)
7. I'll see if there is someone going to be in the area that could stop in and check it out. It may be tomorrow before I can get in touch with you again, but I'll be back in touch. (thanks)

So, if I don't hear from them tomorrow, I'll contact Hinterburg again for another replacement.

Sigh.

(((HUGS))) I am hoping that you hear back that someone will be in your area soon!! :D:D:D

What kind of problem are you having? (I missed your first post.)

I can't get the tension adjusted. If the top is tight enough not to loop on the back, it breaks the thread. Everything is aligned, and clean, new needle, good thread. Just cannot get it to work.

I had a similar issue TWICE! I have an older model Janome. Just a thought...

Do you have the same weight thread in the top and bobbin? (I didn't.)

Are you using a specialty thread? (I was and I didn't notice the suggestion for the size of needle to use on the thread display til I went back to purchase a different thread.)

I hope you find your solution. Quickly.

That sounds so frustrating. I hope you get some answers tomorrow. Keep us posted.

So sorry to hear of your problems with your long arm. Frustrating I know.

Hope things get better. I know how frustrating it is.

I know it's frustrating. Learning to adjust tensions is the hardest part of learning to longarm, no kidding! More people get frustrated with this area, and many quit, than any other. I assume this is your first mid/longarm. Here's some tips that may help you:

1) go up to a size 18 new needle if possible (trust me)
2) use same thread top and bottom, and for now, I'd recommend a strong poly or cotton/poly (because they don't break as easy, 40 weight) or BottomLine in bobbin and strong thread on top (you didn't say what threads and batting you're using - it's important)
3) adjust tension in bobbin so that it will barely lift off of your hand, just the edge of the bobbin case or to your number with a TOWA guage (recommended for all longarmers - the lifesaver! You'll need one, in my opinion!)
4) now adjust your top tension to fit the bobbin tension (you should just see the bobbin thread peeking through the holes on top and NOT above/laying on top of the quilt top or perfect tension top and bottom of quilt).
5) If bobbin thread loops on top - then tighten bobbin thread. If top breaks then that tells me the bobbin is a too loose, so tighten it '5 minutes' and try top thread again. Keep doing this over and over, until no breaks/loops. Sometimes you may have to also loosen the top to allow more thread to be pulled to the bottom of quilt.
6) If top thread loops on back, then tighten top thread. If top then breaks, you need to loosen the bobbin thread as the top is having to pull it up too hard - thus breaking it.
7) It's not uncommon to have to adjust both tensions together to get it right, but always do the bobbin first, top second, as it's easier to adjust, test, and get right using the top thread.

Hope these items help. If not, please ask again and state exactly where you are having problems. I'll try to help - I'm pretty good at tensions...but they do require a LOT of patience! Testing and patience! And more testing, and more patience :) I need to know what thread you're using, what batting, and needle size - it's all important and helps me to help you. Have you ever had it good and been able to play/test/quilt? If we can get you to a standard tension setting that works, then you can tweak it from there for any other type of thread/setup.

Hope that makes sense - sometimes you have to redo everything, not skipping a single step.

Debbie in Austin

This is one reason I'm hesitant about buying a LA of any brand. There are no dealers close by. The few people I know that have a LA in this area, they all have terrible tension issues, skipped threads and breakage. Seems they are always trying to adjust their machines. Most won't change thread type once the machine starts sewing like it's suppose to.