profannie

Hi everyone,
I moved my quilting studio in the last month and since I had more place, I added a 4 feet section pole to my frame. I have a old HQ16 on an adjustable frame. The frame is basically only pole, rail and brackets put on kitchen cabinet. The set-up was previously excellent, I made a few twin without any problem.

When I added the 4 feet section, I notice that the back pole was sagging a little in the middle and was now rubbing on the arm of the HQ. DH told me that this was normal because of the weight of the pole. There was two others setting on the side brackets of the frame so I just adjusted the height and it seems ok.
But since then I just can't get the tension right when I load a quilt! There is always some part that end up sagging (sometimes it's the middle, sometimes it's one of the side, etc). I never had this kind of problem before so I'm assuming there may be a different way to load a quilt on a bigger frame. Any idea about what I should try? I'm near to give up and put the frame back to the original setting!
Thanks,
Annie

PaperPrincess

What you are describing is an issue with poles that are not ridged enough to hold straight their entire length. One thing I can suggest is shop around for poles made from a different material that will stay straight. My old frame had a dip in one of the rails. Load the quilt the same as you did before, then check the tension across the quilt as you advance it when you quilt. If there's an area that's loose, unroll just a bit, then lay a piece (or two) of scrap batting on the top and re roll. The extra thickness of the batting scraps should take up the slack.

MaryKatherine

My frame is adjustable up to 12 feet but it was clearly stated that when you move to those wider position you need to encase the original poles in galvanized tubes (local building stores). Take a sample of your pole and get a snug fit. But be aware you may not be able to revert back to a shorter frame except by replacing the poles.

Macybaby

I had that problem with my gracie frame. It also was extendable, and when I went from 8' to 12' - it came with one 8' pole and one 4' extension pole. I had DH make me a wood spacer that held the front and back poles the required distance apart, it wasn't the best solution but it worked. I removed it for each advance, and then put it back in place to sew. That was with the Bailey, and it liked a tight quilt. I now have a fixed 12' frame with an HQ Fusion. Those poles are very ridged, even though they come in three 4' sections. Once put together, they don't bend towards each other at all.

Another idea is if you can put a sleeve inside the pole to help stiffen it up. Would depend on if it's hollow, and you can get something that is big enough to barely slip inside - especially if you can bridge the join point.

profannie

Thank you very much ladies for your help. I wonder if I should just order the available pole upgrade from the HQ website? For now, I will try the scrap batting addition; it may do for a while.

Snooze2978

I started out with a Grace Pro frame......wood frame with aluminium poles and they bowed terribly so I found conduit poles to fit over them as my frame had special end pieces to attach to the frame. With the conduit poles I could set screws into them to attach to the original poles so they didn't rotate on their own. Worked great for me and you can get the conduit poles cut to size too at some places.

Onebyone

You need metal piping for long lengths to not bow. The thickness of the metal pipe wall will determine the amount of bow you will have.

butterfly48

I had to do the same as snooze to cover my poles . Worked fine.

AliKat

I had extended my HQ16 from 6 or 8 ft [I forget which it was] to 10 ft with no problem.
I strongly suggest you call HQ for direction. I know I'd rather have poles/rails that go with the machine for better performance. HQ phone tech has always been helpful for me. We even once had a phone conversation and the a cell phone photo sharing to resolve an issue when I updated the bed and trolley/carriage. The problem was a contact in the trolley wiring connecting to the machine.