lindaschipper

Started out with my Janome 1600P on a Grace SR2 small frame. The second year I bought the Grace Company Sure Stitch Regulator for it and was in heaven. Stitches were darn near perfect and I quilted so many quilts for myself, family and charity. This year I'm getting large stitches here and there.... to the point of having to rip out whole rows, The machine has been in the shop twice for tune-ups thinking that was the problem. Nope! Today my first row was good enough to call perfect. The second row I'm ripping out for the 6th time!! Do stitch regulators wear out and have to be replaced? Or am I moving the machine too slow? To fast? I'm ready to put a for sale sign on it and get rid of the frustration altogether. HELP!

sewingpup

I don't know if might be more of a problem with the frame or the carriage. I am unfamiliar with the machine and the frame but on my APQS, I need to make sure that I keep the tracks clean of dust and lint and the occasional thread and also where the carriage rids on the tracks, it is possible to get lint and dust in the wheels etc. this would perhaps cause a sort of machine "skidding" check your manual on how to clean these parts.
oh...and you could be moving too fast also as it is possible to move faster than the machine can go...have you tried slowing down? Does it happen in a certain place on the frame? in a certain direction? coming in or out of points curves ect.

Gay

I don't think it is your machine, so check your encoders. They may need new 'tyres' if they have stretched, from your hardware store, or the screws may have loosened and need tightening up. I had issues for many years with my encoders, (the dealer was not helping at all) until I realized they had to sit firmly on the track to work. Also my techie son found a couple of broken wires on mine and once fixed everything is going well. Yours is a 'young' set-up so I wouldn't imagine you would have anything broken.

mkc

Definitely sounds like an encoder/rail issue. The way the stitch regulator works, you need uniform rolling of encoder wheels on the carriage and the frame tracks (no spots where they slide instead of roll).

Large stitches indicates the carriage or machine is sliding instead of rolling in spots - if the wheels aren't turning, the encoder doesn't think the machine moved. That could be issues with the rails on the frame or carriage or it could be the encoder wheels.

Jo Belmont

Yep. It sure sounds like an encoder/rail issue. The best I have found is scraps of batting on all rail and wheel surfaces. You might be surprised the amount of dust, etc. that will show up on the batting. It only takes a bit to interrupt the signal between all the points that regulate those stitches. I try to do mine between every quilt and after the machine has set unused for a while, even if covered. Sure does make a difference.

juliasb

My Sure Stitch regulator wore out. I bought replacement parts and it ran well for years until both the regulator and the machine went out just about the same time. So now it is time to consider something else. I am happy with the frame and am thinking about upgrading to a Baily.