Need Long arm quilting advice
 

HELP - I have had my Nolting funquilter for only a few months. The machine seems to have a mind of its own. When I want to do swirls it will sometimes only go straight. Its not suppose to be that hard to move. The dealer has helped me with different ideas and have solved some problems I thought. My question is he calls this drag. Could my quilt be too tights or too loose - could the height of my quilt be the problem? Any thoughts from all of you experienced long arm quilters? Thanks for helping

First off, is the quilt dragging on your longarm? Don't you have a handle that will raise the level of the quilt up? My old Nolting did so i would have to turn it to lift the base of the quilt up off the longarm. Second, it would seem odd that it wants to go in its own direction, so have you cleaned your wheels and rollers? The tracks are clean? Those are my first questions. then are you getting a quality stitch? Is the bobbin case clean? Do you have any lint caught under the throat plate? From there, will need photos of set up to evaluate anymore. I am not a tech, I just love the Nolting even though I have a gammill now I owned mine for 7 years till traded in. I just outgrew my old one.

another thought... is your frame level?

I was going to ask about the level too. Are you on the Yahoo Nolting group?

Make sure there's no thread or lint around the wheels or in the tracks, and that the tracks are level.

I have a Gammill and occasionally the cord in the back will get wedged in and cause the machine to go only in a straight line. I now know instantly when this happens and can correct it. Might be something for you to check.