Replaced my Grace frame's plastic tracks with metal.
 

I have a Little Gracie II frame with a Juki machine. I bought it used 3 years ago. I've quilted quilt a few quilts on it. I was having a problem with the plastic tracks cracking. When that happens it creates a drag in that area and makes quilting difficult. I had bought new tracks 2 times and the last time I bought new tracks they cracked within weeks. But, the Grace Company did sent me a new set free of charge. So, I've replace the plastic tracks 3 times in 3 years!! I had read on this board & a Grace frame Yahoo group about replacing the plastic with 1/4" metal rods. My husband stopped by a metal cutting shop and they cut us two to size (99 1/2" each) for a grand total of $12! The carriage moves very smoothly. I'll be loading a quilt on tonight & starting to quilt it sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping that it moves just as smoothly when quilting.

glad you found a solution. everyone will want to know how smoothly it glides.

I could not wait after loading my quilt onto the frame. It's quilting smoothly and with no drag. I did get a message from another person that had done the same thing. She suggests putting electrical cord (like lamp cord) in the groove and then putting the steel bars on top of that. She has done this to keep the bars from settling into the groove over time. I will do that after I get this quilt finished. Sure hope that this is the answer to the problem that has been driving me crazy!

I don't remember which Grace frame I have but I first tried replacing my tracks with aluminum rods, it felt smooth till I staerted quilting then it felt draggy, replaced them with stainless steel and it's better than it's ever been but I can't imagine putting anything underneath it, they fit the groove perfectly.

Kathy, My rods are steel, too. And they fit perfectly. But, the person said that after a while her rods started to "settle" into the grooves. So, I'm going to use mine and if I notice a difference then I will try her suggestion. How long has been that you replaced your rods? Debbie

Hi Guys,

Can you post a picture so I know what you mean. I am in the UK and we don't have the same types of stores that you do in the USA.

Hugs

Caroline

For Caroline
 

What type of frame do you have? I have the Little Gracie II frame from the Grace Company. The frame comes with black plastic tracks that fit into a groove on both sides of the frame. The carriage wheels roll on these. Here is a picture, but I don't think you will be able to see it very well, because the groove & the steel rod are pretty much the same color. There is a site or blog called Quilting Tizzy (I think it's www.quiltingtizzy.com) and they talk about doing this & there are a couple pictures. If you feel the picture is not clear enough let me know & I will take a couple more. Debbie

Hi Guys,


Thanks for the picture, it really helps....... I have the Little Gracie II also, and thanks to you all I am going to see if we can do this for my frame, although I don't know where I will get metal rods here in the UK..... guess I will be Googling!!!!!


hugs


Caroline

Hi. I am anxious to try this myself. I have a Grace Pinnacle frame. Will the size rods be the same? Thanks! Kathy

can you tell me what the metal rods are called that you brought or take a picture. I have looked forever for these.

can you tell me what the metal rods are called that you brought or take a picture. I have looked forever for these.

I have a Grace frame also and want to get steel rods. We can't locate a place to purchase them and the shipping rate is ridiculously expensive.

The Yahoo group called GraceMachine Frame has had a lot of discussion on the rods. They recommend 1/4" stainless steel welding rods available from machine and welding shops, where they will apparently cut them to size.

We bought 1/4" diameter rods steel rods. I don't know if there was a specific name for them. For my Little Gracie II frame they had to be 99 1/2" long to fit into the hole where the track goes into the wooden side of the frame. It's been over a year since I did this & I've quilted at least 6-7 quilts, plus a few wall hangings & table topper/runners with no problems. Find a metal shop or metal cutting shop in your area, and go talk with them.

Here's a picture. Notice how we put the rod into the hole that the track goes into on the frame. We put it exactly as the original plastic tracks laid. If you lay the rods to just the edge of the side without going into that hole then the weight of the carriage may cause the rods to move as you move the carriage.
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I know this is an old post, but for any one searching I thought I would add what I am doing. I have the grace frame and it has the wooden tracks. I did go to a machine shop that cut the 1/4 inch steel rods for me. There are two kinds of steel heat rolled and cold rolled. I purchased the cold rolled steel and it is a lot more expensive than what others have posted they purchased theirs for. It ended up costing me $30 for 2 rods for the track and 2 for the carriage.
They fit my carriage fine. But my wooden track the 1/4 in rods slide to deep down. I will purchase some type of cord, nylon rope or something to set below the rod. That way my carriage wheels will not hit the wooden track.

How is this working for you?
 

RebeccaG: Did you end up having to make other adjustments? Did you have to take the frame apart to fit the rods into the holes? Thanks for considering an update to your post. I'm looking at doing this as my carriage keeps jumping off the plastic tracks.

I'm interested too. This will be my next improvement to my original little Gracie frame. I haven't had any problem with my plastic track get, but I anticipate that i will eventually.

I started out with their Grace Pro frame and changed out the tracks with a "t' shape metal track. Worked like a charm for me. Also added conduit over the aluminum poles to keep them from bowing on me. You can drill a hole into the conduit to place a screw into the original poles to keep them from turning on you. Had that frame for quite some time till I upgraded with the present machine system.

Can't you post a picture of the conduits on the poles? I would love to see it. Thanks.

Thank you for your post. I was quilting last week and noticed my plastic tracks were shredding as i quilted. I was near the end of the quilt so I finished. Then came to quilting board to find my answer about the tracks. I had looked online to buy them but shipping cost was more than the tracks. After reading your post I called our local machine shop and took them pictures of my frame and took my IPad with me to read them these posts. They mostly do oilfield welding but were willing to help me. They ordered the 1/4” stainless steel rods for me, got them in and cut them to 99 1/2” and I set them on the Gracie II frame tracks and it works so smoothly. I appreciate all of the posts from everyone.

I'm glad it helped. I'm still using it on my frame and doing great.

When I had my Grace Pro frame I also replaced with metal tracking. I replaced or actually covered my poles with galvanized poles as they would bow when I tightened the quilt. The galvanized poles are fairly soft metal so I screwed them into the original aluminium poles. Worked great for me. No more bowing. Never had issues with the metal tracking either. You'd think after all these years Grace Frame Co. would change their parts to something that would last and work better.

I agree with you. I'm very surprised about the quality of their product. I don't see how they can be happy with it. Especially for the price they charge.

My frame has worked wonderful since the modifications of the steel rods and the nylon chord underneath. Very happy with those changes.

My 1st quilt frame was their Grace Pro frame and I also replaced the tracking with the metal rods. Looks like a "T" right? Worked great for me. I also added conduit or galvanized pipes over the rollers as they tend to bow. The conduit piping is soft enough metal that you can screw it to the original rollers. I had to go to our local metal shop to have them cut to fit the 10ft frame but it was a godsend.

What a great thread! Thank you all for the information. I was wondering how to upgrade my grace frame. You are so clever.

Hello. I am new to this blog, and found this thread because I am having to replace my tracks due to divets that have developed, causing great difficulty. I really like the idea of the metal tracks; however, my Grace Inspira frame carriage rides on one flat track and one "A" shaped track where the rollers rest at 45degrees on the track. When I replace all, it is 3 tracks rather than 2 because of this feature. This, I think , would prevent me from using the metal rods unless I could get ones that were only half-circle shaped. Id be interested to know if anyone has used this method with an Inspira frame and carriage. Thanks.

My 1st quilt frame was the Grace Pro 10ft. Had issues with the poles bowing and the tracks cracking. Added conduit over the original poles and screwed them together and they worked great. The track I changed out to a metal "T" shape tracking I think I found at Home Depot or some place like that. Also worked great. I've since given the frame away and I also had a stretched Juki 98Q on that frame that worked great with it.

I did this several years ago and it has been well worth the investment. I have the OGF and it is going on 15+ year old. Till recently it was working great. It started having trouble a year or so ago. It is not level anymore and the machine is jumping the tracks. I have been able to rig it to work, then the machine started having trouble and I took it in for repair. Now the darn thing (frame) is giving me trouble so for now it is time to take it down and built a good solid base for the legs so they cannot come of of level and not have any slack or movement. Once I get all this done I will put the machine back up but until then I must save my sanity and take it down. Glad you decided on the metal rods you will really like how smooth the ride will be.

Debbie:
I have the same problem .. I am continuously replacing the plastic tracks. My distributor told me no one else seems to be having that problem - they obviously lied! I am interested in getting metal tracks. Please share the name and source of the product. Thanks in advance. Paula

Replace wooden tracks with metal on Original GQM
 

I was recently gifted what I think is the original GQM. It came with a video cassette dated 2002 on the case. The video essentially was kind of an ad for the machine. There was no other documentation. The Grace Company was only moderately helpful in figuring anything out. They no longer support the original frame and they were most interested in selling me a new frame. They did finally direct me to the resource section of their website and told me they thought I likely had the Original based on the date on the video. I downloaded instructions and they seem to correspond to the frame I've acquired.

This frame has a wooden tracking system. The tracks are an inch wide. They have three little bumps, one on each edge and one in the middle. The carriage wheels roll on the middle "bumps". The track is in several sections of differing lengths so they can be configured for queen or twin serup. The track sits in a one inch wide groves on each side of the table.

There is at least on section of track that is missing. I would like to replace the tracks with metal as many of you have done, but I'm wondering how this could be done in my case. There are no grooves I can see to put the steel rods. Any help is appreciated. I will try to attach a photo is I can figure out how to do it.

Photo upload keeps failing.

Grace frames replacement tracks
 

So happy I found this thread! My carriage tracks cracked in less than 2 years. I have hardly used the quilt frame! I saw that Debbie B. replaced hers with 1/4 metal rod on someone else's suggestion. I'm going to try that too! Luckily I work in a machine shop and have easy access to bar stock. I will also try the clothesline under the rod to keep it from settling too far in on my Pinnacle frame. Sew, sew happy!!!!

Pinnacle frame replacement track
 

Try McMaster Carr they have them

I have a Pfaff Next Generation frame... has anyone replaced the plastic track with the metal rods?

I replaced my Grace Pro frame with metal tracks years ago but of course I can't remember what the stuff is called. I also had to bump up the poles as they would bow. Replaced them with galvanized poles put over the original poles with screws. Worked like a charm. I sold this setup years ago but it served me well with the updated track and poles.

Trying to vsualize
 

I have the SR2 frame..only had it a few months as I bought it and the Block Rockit 14+ used. I’ve been having skipped stitches horizontally and have ordered new encoders but I’m also curious about replacing the plastic track with metal. But I can’t visualize what this metal would look like. The plastic track slides down over the metal rails so how would another piece of metal work? Also, do any of you know if you can upgrade the track and carriage on the SR2 to the dual track? Does the frame track need to be a dual track or just the carriage that holds my machine? Thanks in advance.