Originally Posted by
Nilla
i never minded quilting a smaller quilt, such as a crib size or maybe even a smallish lap size on my regular sewing machine, so it's not the actual process of quilting, and when my long arm just turned on and ran without having to adjust tension constantly etc, I could even enjoy that type of quilting, but I don't have the patience for constantly being in the lookout for something going wrong. I just want to turn it on and go, and apparently long arms don't work that way. I don't think I've ever adjusted tension on my regular sewing machine, but that does make me wonder; do you have to adjust tension constantly in the sit down machines?
I do think you have the wrong longarm, or maybe it's a lemon. Yes, you do have to occasionally adjust tension, but that's true on any machine. You shouldn't have to fight with it constantly, but you do have to do some maintenance. I have a 26" Innova. I very seldom have to adjust the tension, mostly because I tend to quilt with the same thread and batting most of the time. It requires oil in only one spot, I clean and oil after almost every bobbin change, and I wipe the rails and clean the wheels after each quilt. This is quick maintenance. I took the whole thing apart last December in preparation for a move to another state, and when I put it back together in July I was up and running again in no time. I really love mounting the quilt on the frame, rather than having to sandwich it. That was my least favorite part of quilting, and you still have to do it with a sit-down longarm or a DSM with a large throat.