Glad to hear it's up and running!

Don't know why my post wants to be in the middle of your quote Connie. Anyway let this jerk of a dealer know you are reporting him to the Tin Lizzy supplier as well as Better Business Bureau and your state's Attorney General -- Consumer Protection.

Have you joined the Tinlizzie yahoo group? They may have some suggestions.

I feel your pain!!! I don't have a Lizzy, but I do have a mid-arm. The guy I bought it from (a friend) spent an hour with those problems.......and I finally figured out what was wrong. He was putting the bobbin in the case backwards. The thread on the machine needed to go from "front to back"...he was thread it from "bak to front" just like his machine at home.

May not help...but have a friend come over and go over the booklet and thread everything again....then scream if it doesn't work....then call and threaten to take it back to them. And tell them you'll stand at their front door and picket them if they don't get it to work....:)

Good Luck

I had a problem with my Tin Lizzie a few weeks ago, sent an email to the company with the "contact us" on the Lizzie website. Got a call from the technician 10 minutes after I posted! I followed his directions and cleaned where he said and it has been much better since then. Quilted 2 charity quilts this weekend (pantograph done from front of machine with a home-made shelf).

I had trouble when I first started--tension, tension. It takes a long time sometimes to figure it out. I thought I had my upper too tight but it was fine. If you adjust the bobbin case do it slowly. How your bobbin itself is wound is critical. I was amazed how a different bobbin worked when I tried switching it. These machines are temoermental but they sure do a nice job. Hang in there

My suggestion is to get out the manual that came with the machine--read it line by line--checking the settings it mentions until you get to the end. That worked with my Husqvarna/Viking Mega Quilter. Turned out I was putting the bobbin in wrong and did not have the tension set to the right setting for FMQ. Best wishes...

Hi, my DH purchased me a Tin Lizzie Queen Quilter18 last October...I understand your frustrations. One difference is that my dealer is wonderful....I bought mine at Sewing Machine Plus. My saleman was Victor and my tech is Todd. Consider calling them just click on about us and it gives a list of people who work there, they are located in San Marcos CA. http://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/index.php and considering I'm from Canada they are great and still are...I'm a member on the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TinLizzieLongarm/. We have a wealth of information and Marge is the moderator for this group and let me tell you she is one great wonderful person....you should look into joining this group.....

I have a notion called the Bobbin Genie. It is a little silicon disc that goes in your bobbin and keeps you from getting bird nests. Here is a link to a UTube video on it. Also one source where they are available.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdo_q0M2rsw

http://www.clotilde.com/list.html?criteria=bobbin+genie

Another notion I read about that many long arm quilters use in the Towa bobbin case tension gauge. Maybe either of these can help with your tension problem.

http://columbiariverquilting.com/tow...ion_guage.html

Years ago, my husband told me to go and get the Pfaff 7530. I come to the store, I'm asked to come at one because they were having a sale on a bottom price machine, at one the lady told me that she didn't have time to take a bite. I asked for the price, she doesn't know. I came home crying, finally I phoned the head office in Toronto, they made an appointment with me for the next day to a different store, I got the machine wholesale, they threw in some freebies, had lessons with the chief instructor of the company and phoned me a couple of months later to know if I was still happy with it.

Don't let things go, talk to the highest representative you can, at the headoffice. if you still are not satisfied or give you the attention you need, bring your problem to Consumer Protection Agency. Don't quit or get discouraged . Explain yourself well without raising your voice or making threats

It's a learning process. Give yourself plenty of time to learn and be gentle with yourself! Best of luck to you!

The midarm and longarm quilting is different in so many ways from sewing on a domestic machine. The tension can be off by a hair, and I mean that literally. I clean the bobbin area of my longarm with a brush. I spent one morning in agony, fiddling and fussing with tension until I found that a hair--ONE HAIR-- from my cleaning brush, was lodged in the bobbin case. AAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!

I find Dick Fuller's tips to be priceless when it comes to tension. I keep a copy on the wall of my workroom.

Dick Fuller's 44 Longarm Tips

Top Thread Breaking

1. Try different thread or put thread in the refrigerator for several hours.
2. Replace needle and ensure the scarf faces the throat of machine.
3. Check thread path. Re-thread the machine if necessary.
4. Sew 8 to 12 itches per inch.
5. Use larger needle to reduce needle deflection.
6. Loosen fabric roller.
7. Adjust Needle Bar so all of the Needle Eye can be seen while looking into the Hook Basket with the Bobbin Case removed.
8. Time: Turn machine forward with Hand Wheel and place the POINT of the Sewing Hook in the middle of the scarf of the Needle as it rises 3/32", less than 1/8" or the thickness of 8 business cards, from the lowest position. The Hook should almost touch the Needle. To check: turn the Needle with the scarf facing you and it should juuust miss. Don't forget to turn the Needle back to sew.
9. Polish Hook Point with fine (800) Emery Cloth.
10. Hopping Foot at the lowest point of it's stroke should be the thickness of one dime or three business cards.
11. Loosen top tension.
12. Tension Check Spring broken. It should be at 11 o'clock.
13. Turn thread cone/spool upside down.
14. Turn the Needle Slightly to the right.

Loops on Under Side Of Lining Fabric

1. Moving machine too fast for selected needle speed.
2. Tighten (to the right) top thread tension adjustment 1/2 turn at a time until corrected.
3. Clean under the Tension Spring on the Bobbin Case.
4. Bobbin thread not in tension spring delivery eye.
5. Put a sock on the thread cone.
6. Check thread path on machine
7. The stationry finger that holds the Hook Assembly and prevnts it from turning should be 1/2 to 2/3 into the depth of the notch.

Loose Thread Tension On Top Fabric

1. Tighten Tension Adjustment (turn clockwise).
2. Loosen Bobbin tension.
3. Center the thread cone directly under the guide.

Machine Hard To Move

1. Raise Take Up Roller to clear the machine lower arm by 1/2" to 3/4" or the width of your finger.
2. Thread clogging wheels
3. Center wheels on the track groove by adding or removing washers.
4. Increase Hopping Foot height

Skipped Stitches

1. Replace Needle, insert all the way up with the scarf toward the throat of the machine.
2. Re-time (See #8 Top Thread Breaking).
3. Take-Up Roller too high.
4. Loosen Fabric Roller
5. Poish Hook Point with fine (800) Emery Cloth.
6. Thread not on Take-Up Spring
7. Check thread path on machine.
8. Hopping Foot too high.
9. Tension Check-Spring at 11 o'clock with moderate resistance.

Needle Breaking

1. Replace Needle and tighten Needle Set Screw.
2. Use larger needle.
3. Moving machine too fast for speed setting.
4. Re-time (See #8 Top Thread Breaking).
Timing: Adjust the needle Bar height first. While in the lowest point of the stroke, look at the sewing hook, and the entire needle eye
should be visible. None of the needle above the eye should be seen. Ensure the Needle Bar does not rotate from its original position.

A proper stitch has both the bottom and top threads meeting at the center of the layers. The top thread and take-up lever have much greater affect on tension adjustment than the bobbin tension. The take-up lever takes the slack out of the top thread as the needle comes up out of the fabric. Thread can become wrapped around the encoder wheel, causing the stitch regulation mode to
malfunction. Grasp the thread-end with tweezers and move the machine to unravel the thread.

Regards, Dick [email protected]

This is weird. I have a Janome and the bobbin has to feed off the back, go around a little slot in the front and go through the hole in the plate. My bobbins kept flipping the thread. I finally put a "washer" type thing in the bobbin case to keep it from jiggling around. I wish these companies could come up with some standard way of designing their machines. But, that would be too easy, right?

I'm happy to see that you have gotten your TL to working for you! Happy quilting :)

What is a "Tin Lizzie"?

I have a tin lizzie 18 also and love it. I did have a few problems at first but once I started using King Tut Thread all my problems went away. No problems since.
Sue

I sent an email to Tin Lizzie about this problem and the owner called me! I was very impressed with his concern about the problem gzbird was having. He said he would take care of her concerns personally. Now that is doing what is right. I'm glad I did send the email. I know the company will stand behind their product. I think I have a Tin Lizzy in my future after all.

Are you sure you do not have the needle in backwards. I did that with my daughters Voyager and the stitching was terrible no matter what I didl. Put it in correctly and the stitching was great! Good luck.

ask the manufacture what type needle to use.May have to order from them .My mom can use only one type of needle in her machine nothing else will work.It has an off set in the back of the needle

I have had problems with some of my machines over the years. And, I find that if you take everything off of the machine and start right from scratch - read the book/instructions on how to thread it and how to put the bobbin in VERY carefully and do each step as you read it. This has helped me find the step that I somehow missed, or just thought I know what I'm doing - don't need to look in the book!
In fact, I have 1 machine that the bobbin thread has to come from the back and off to the left of the bobbin, while I have another machine where it has to come from the exact opposite side and off of the front of the bobbin. IF I do it backwards - nothing but problems!!!
So, just pretend that you have just gotten the machine and follow each step AS YOU READ IT.
Hope this helps you.

I have a baby lock jewel and i had that problem they said to make sure your bobbin is in tight mine is clockwise the other thing when you turn your tinson one whole circle and try that but remember where it was before.


76 and counting

I am so sorry, I would demand your money back, you might get help that way. Hope things work out. God bless. Penny

I having the same problem but getting help from a retired family member who is helping me out thread might be too old the needle and the tension, IAM READY THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW.I also have a grace and a viking

This was like reading a good mystery with a happy ending. Glad it's working for you now.

Had the same problem but once we figured it out, Lizzie has been crankin. It is such a great machine and you really can't blame anyone because after you figure out the problem, it was all in the book, all we had to do was read it correctly. We all try to fix a LA like a sewing machine but the tension and threading is much different. Just moving the thread spindles can change the upper tension. So happy you are now ready to create. Hugs

good luck hope you get it figured out soon, hugs hugs

This is an old thread but let me tell you how I got my revenge on the Tin Lizzie Co. I was attending the Mid-Atlantic Quilt show this year and I stood back from the Tin Lizzie booth and if anyone seemed too interested in the Lizzie I went to them and told them my terrible experiences not only with the machine it's self but with a company that just dropped me and NEVER EVER gave me any help. I wish I had had the nerve to just speak out to everyone standing at the booth but I did as much as I felt comfortable with.