Okay so I JUST got my new Bernina, but before I was surprised with that machine I purchased a JUKI TL98E off of craigslist.

The cost....$100. The woman's mother quilted, and she had it sitting in a closet for 5 years and finally decided to list it. It has the thread cutter on the foot peal as well. Although she did tell me that it was broken on the pedal. (Turns out the wire was cut, so I spliced it together and it works just fine now.

So here's my question, my original idea in buying this was to get a quilt frame and try quilting that way. However now I have my Bernina with BSR....so do I still need this? I believe the throat space on this is bigger that my Bernina.

Whatta think?

Keep the Juki for high-speed piecing. Or spend $500 for the stitch regulator for it and put it on the frame. But you can't go wrong for $100, even keeping it as a backup machine.

Try them both and decide which you like best. I'm sure there will be both positives and negatives for each. If you're happy with the Bernina, you could always sell your Juki. Then again, you may wish to keep it just for backup, the price was certainly right.

Cool, anyone know of a place to get parts for a JUKI? I went their website but they don't have a dealer in Iowa.

I originally asked about a walking foot and a new foot pedal from an online dealer and they said it would be around $600...I was like...WHAT!?!?

Anyway I would like to get a new bar for the hands free presser foot lift, and then just have a resource for anything else I might need like bobbins etc. :)

Sounds like I should keep this as my backup, suppose it will be nice to have as a machine for friends to use, I've been trying to recruit them for our own little quilting guild. :)

My Bernina was a surprise gift from a friend. She has an Aurora as well. So I will need to keep that either way. But looks like I should keep the JUKI for the time being. :)

I have a Juki TL98Q and love it. Just make sure you oil it frequently--it gets very thirsty. I have mine on a Little Gracie II frame and that's the only place I'll be using it. I got mine as a combo, but the machine itself would have been over $700. Getting one, even used, for $100 is great.

There is a Yahoo list for the the Juki: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TL98EJuki/
I suggest you join it. You can get lots of info, including where you can order parts for it. Good luck with it.

Forgot--from the yahoo group, you can download a service manual and I think an owner's manual, too.

Type in parts for a Juki TL98E and see what comes up. I think bizrate.com or allbrands.com has the walking foot, don't know about anything about the foot pedal. Lots here has this. Mine is a Juki TL98QE with out the thread cutter,speed control,stitch regulater or the extension table. As a matter of fact I have 2 of these one for a back up. You got a great price even if you just use it as a door stop.

I have that Juki on a Grace Frame and love it. When I first got the Grace Frame I used an older Bernina on it. Nina did not like going so fast and running so long. I was afraid of burning her motor. Santa brought the Juki and it loves to go fast will run and run. I do all my quilting on the frame and love not having to take the machine off to do piecing. For a hundred bucks it will make a nice back-up machine too. Good deal!

http://www.amazon.com/Distinctive-7-.../dp/B00343PSR0

I think it won't be too hard to find a walking foot. And because she is a mechanical machine, she can easily be fixed by anyone. I wouldn't trade my Juki for anything. I might someday get a fancier computerized machine, but Juki stays!

On the frame, with the Juki- you have between 4-6 inches of quilting space. So with a shorter arm, you will have even less.

I know that many people do not like a stitch regulator, but I really appreciate it- it allows my stitches to be uniform even if my speed is not, and that is golder for me. Maybe I'll outgrow it, who know?

She should have come with a walking foot. Did you ask the seller?

I love piecing on the Juki as well- so smooth. She's my girl. No fancy stitches, but what she does, she does very well. Just remember the magic words: Juki likes oil.