Originally Posted by
PaperPrincess
King Tut is a lovely thread and comes in luscious colors. It is cotton, however, and it will produce lint. The lint can build up in the tension discs causing the tension to go flooey (technical term). The same thing can happen in the bobbin. Fluff builds up in the tension spring. In either case you could be sewing along just fine with great tension, and due to lint build up, your tension goes south. Before throwing in the towel, I would try a poly. Superior bottom line is a good choice, it is thinner than King Tut. FilTec Glide is another choice. It's poly and the same weight as King Tut.
Here is a great video on how to set your tension:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM
Nilla, know you've been given lots of advice, pros & cons, but since I have both a Gammill LA and a Consew commercial machine (along with my Elna Quilt Pro Queen) I'm going to weigh in.
While I don't have a computerized robot on my Gammill, I do not have to constantly mess with tension My top tension is set & while I always check that my thread is seated along the thread line when I change bobbins, it's my bobbin tension that gets checked each bobbin. I use a Towa gauge with each bobbin change & it's really saved lots of headaches. I also find that the cotton threads like King Tut are more linty and So-Fine is my favorite. If I use Glide(FilTec) or Magnifico (Superior) or similar I use a cone net (or even a stocking toe with the toe opened up) as the thread comes off the cone more evenly.
The long arm guild I belong to had a panel of speakers on robotic guided LA and the consensus was with most, switching between computer & FMQ was a hassle due to tension, etc. That may be part of your tension problems?
Lastly, my Consew is heavy-duty! I can sew through leather, several layers of denim, etc. As was pointed out--the machine head is separate from the motor and the table--it has a "clutch" that if not engaged makes the foot almost impossible to lift. I'm not sure of the harp area, but probably no more than 12-14". This Consew is about 40 yrs old and still cost $500+, and judging by the manual I bought later--hasn't been changed much in the last 40 yrs!
I do hope you are able to come to a good solution for you--while I did quilt up to twin size on my Elna, I hated to sandwich & baste, & the quilting process killed my neck & shoulders. So for me, the LA, which has taken me about 3 yrs to get figured out, has been my best bet. Hope you find a good solution too.