on the little dsm (I ;think it had an 8.5 inch neck) I had on a bad frame, I was down to 4 inches by the time I got to the end of a full sized quilt so I just basically did meander and a fairly small scale one at that. also the little frame I had required leveling almost every pass....so I spent more time rolling and adjust than I did actual quilting. On my Lucey...she has a 26 inch neck and I often do not even advance the quilt the full amount each time I do as I find it a bit of a stretch to reach the furthest distance. I am only 5 foot 4. Umm...just like I recommend you get a set in cabinet for your DSM as it makes it so much easier to work on large projects, I would recommend getting a good table for your long arm. Mine has a 12 foot length and a leveler bar so no adjusting with each roll of the quilt, just have do the rolling, I don't have the auto advance that some tables have. I do have a manual horizontal channel lock which greatly helps when loading the quilt. As a good set-up is pricey, I do recommend taking lessons and renting out time first. to make sure you are going to like it.