I can totally relate to your problems with your Handiquilter. I have had a Juki J350QVP long arm for 4 years. I LOVED this machine until the end of August when I started having problems with the thread shredding and leaving birds' nests. I had used Glide thread without any problems since the day I got the machine and never had any problems. I do a LOT of charity children's quilts for my guild (470+ in four years) so I actually have used the machine a lot. My dealer came out and said I had a burr on the hook assembly and fixed it. The machine worked okay when he left, but the next day the thread shredding started again. To make a long story short, I took the machine in for service to my Juki dealer 3 times. The dealer insisted the problem was with the Glide thread. That was funny because the Juki dealer at the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show was using Glide thread to demonstrate the J350. They were even using the same color thread I had been using when my machine problems started. Anyway, the hook assembly was changed twice, I got a new bobbin case, tried several different brands of threads, different brands of needles, different needle sizes, etc. I didn't even want to do any long arming ever again. I was ready to junk the machine, but then decided to give it one last try at fixing the machine. I took it to a local quilt shop that actually sells Handi Quilters. The HQ dealer adjusted the timing and needle position. Most importantly though, he showed me how to use a Towa gauge I already had but never used. Major game changer. He told me to make sure the Towa gauge setting is at 220 for the Glide thread. This dealer uses Handi Quilters and Glide thread for professionally long arming quilts so you know they have to be perfect. Anyway, I've used the machine for about six weeks now and have done about 10 quilts on it and absolutely NO problems. It is sewing perfectly. So my suggestion would be to invest in a Towa gauge and try setting the tension to 220 before investing a lot of money in a new machine. If you still end up buying a different machine, you would still be able to use the Towa gauge for that machine too.