Would like an answer
 

My friend is selling her long arm machine and table separately. (She has buyers for each). The question is, does the carriage typically go with the machine or the table?

What a good question! Usually the carriage is meant to hold that specific machine, on that specific table. It may be of no use to either buyer, or of great value to one or both. Do either of the buyers expect to receive the carriage? How did your friend acquire the carriage? Maybe it could even be sold separately.

I think it goes with the actual machine. I only say that because when I take my longarm in for service, I have to give them the machine and the carriage. then they put it on their frame for the testing and such. there are wires that connect carriage and machine, but the carriage free floats on the frame.

I would think the carriage goes with the table. What good is the table without a carriage? Does the person buying the machine have somewhere to put it so it can sew independently? When I bought my table from Grace, the carriage came with it. When I bought my machine it did not come with a seperate carriage.

Call your local dealer and find out fo sure.

From what I know, the carriage goes with the frame. That is how I purchased it. It will have the correct wheels for the tracks of that particular frame. At the moment I am updating my system, and no way can the machine be used on the old carriage or frame, as the wheels and carriage width are totally different, neither can the old machine be used with the new carriage and frame. Just my thoughts.

Interesting question
I purchased mine as a unit - frame and machine together
When I take mine in, I take only the machine. The dealer has a set up ready for all the machines he sells, and, I guess he has carriages too. Well, sure...he sells them....so...
maybe it depends on brand?
IDK
maybe option 3? sell separately?
but then, what if it doesn't sell that way?
and
does it make a difference if there is a computer option in the mix? It too has to be compatible with the frame and carriage
I'm going to go to longarm university and research a bit...
:)

Thank you all for your answers! My friend put her long arm (Machine and frame) up for sale. One person wanted just the machine, and another person wanted just the frame. My friend didn't know who should get the carriage. It turns out that the person who wanted the machine already has a carriage, and the person who wants the frame does not have a carriage. So, I think my friend is very lucky to have it turn out so well splitting them up like that. Thanks again for your answers!

I'm glad it worked out so well for you, crcindy!
:)
I've been thinking...
When I bought my set up, they charged individually for each of the frame parts...I had to choose how long of a table I wanted, wheels or not, how many bars, lights-yes or no, and all the other features I wanted. The rails are standard size, so the carriage (bought as a separate component) had to fit the machine I chose....it's wheels are also standard size with a different size frame on the wheels to fit different machines.

All right.
For the future, or for anyone else with this dilemma, here is another opinion:
So I sent an email to Longarm University to ask the experts. They responded really quickly...even tho it's Saturday.
This is a quote from their (Cindy's) response:

Quote: "Hi,

Thanks for visiting the Longarm U website and for your question.

You ask a great question, one which I hadn't really thought about.

This is what I would do - I would look online as if you were going to purchase a new table and a new machine as if they were separate purchases and see where the carriage is included. If it is included with the (new) machine, include it in the sale price of the machine. If it is included with the (new) table, include it in the table price.

If you have a local dealer of your machine, I would call them and ask them about the carriage.

It is possible that different machine manufacturers have different thoughts on the carriage.

One more thought - some machines are made to work on specific tables. I know that Gammill machines can ONLY go on Gammill tables. You can get different lengths of tables (12 foot, 14 foot, etc.) but I can't put an APQS or HandiQuilter machine on my Gammill table.

FWIW - in my experience, it is better to sell the machine and table as a "complete set" which makes it more "valuable" when selling. Most stand up machines, without a table, won't work. And most tables, without a machine are just big pieces of metal.

I hope this helps.

PS - thanks for the kind words about Longarm U!

Stay healthy, stay busy, keep quilting!


Cindy Roth
Longarm University
www.LongarmUniversity.com
Longarm Classroom
www.LongarmClassroom.com
"End Quote