"The bobbin needed to be refilled" would be the biggest negative about using the machine on a frame. The bobbins are small and they're drop ins. Not only would you have to be dealing with small bobbins running out frequently, you'd also have to be shifting the machine to the side all the time because the quilt would cover up where you need to insert bobbins. This is why long arm machines have a horizontal bobbin assembly. I had a 301 on a frame for a while and found the room to quilt with when the quilt is rolled, is very, very small. The 301 is only slightly smaller than the throat of the 201.