Originally Posted by taiboo
Originally Posted by Sheepshed
Tia - what do you intend to USE this new machine for ? I am guessing the Tiptronic has a variety of zigzag type patterns, and the Juki is straight stitch... so what you would like to DO with the machine would be a deciding factor I guess....
Well i already have two machines, but I am leaning towards the Juki so I could eventually put it on a frame for machine quilting.....I am seeing that it is considered a long arm and that would be a major plus to have.
The Juki isn't a long arm machine. I think they may have mislabeled it in the ad. It's arm is 9".
Short-arms start at 13", mid-arms at 16", with longarms at 20". Perhaps they meant that it could go on a frame kind of like a longarm. And it could. A frame something like a Grace type frame (there are several brands). My friend had this same model of Juki set up on a frame for a few weeks before she upgraded to a mid-arm. She had about 5-6" of complete quilting space with that size arm. The amount of free space you have at the end has to do with the type of batting you use. Most agree between 2-3 average.
Hope this helps some. They are both good machines - just depends on your needs and/or desires. The price is certainly good!
Oh, I forgot...One of the Juki's, and I don't remember which one, has to have special needles. They have to be ordered. JoAnn's, Hancocks, etc. don't carry them and it can't use the more common branded ones. You may want to look that info up, so you're informed. Sorry I can't remember which one it is.