Can't Machine Quilt...Why Does Machine Skip?

[SuperK]

Well, three lines of thought from me on this one.
First, buy the best you can afford, and
Second, why are they getting rid of a 'good' machine that has only been turned on once {in their hands}.
Third, remember that even brand new out of the box machines can have issues- Our new Juki had serious tension issues. Took a fw hours to get them right.

I personally only like to buy used from those people I know, and thus roughly know how they treat their equipment. It sure seems to be a reasonable deal, This machine retails new for $499.00-$800.00 so now my question is why are they selling it so inexpensively. Perhaps these questions and those you think of could be answered first before you lay down the paltry sum they are asking for this machine. You may want to check out the reviews on the machine itself by other buyers. Here is a link to those on Amazon- http ://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B003C29EL4/ref=acr_offerlistingpage_text?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 (there is a space you need to remove between the http and the colon for it to work correctly) I didn't want to post an active link to this site in here.

This is our newest baby
I know, not a quilter, but who knows, now that JoAnn and I are both really retiring in October, perhaps a new quilter may be in our future!

 

[speckledhen]

Well, three lines of thought from me on this one.
First, buy the best you can afford, and
Second, why are they getting rid of a 'good' machine that has only been turned on once {in their hands}.
Third, remember that even brand new out of the box machines can have issues- Our new Juki had serious tension issues. Took a fw hours to get them right.

I personally only like to buy used from those people I know, and thus roughly know how they treat their equipment. It sure seems to be a reasonable deal, This machine retails new for $499.00-$800.00 so now my question is why are they selling it so inexpensively. Perhaps these questions and those you think of could be answered first before you lay down the paltry sum they are asking for this machine. You may want to check out the reviews on the machine itself by other buyers. Here is a link to those on Amazon- http ://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B003C29EL4/ref=acr_offerlistingpage_text?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 (there is a space you need to remove between the http and the colon for it to work correctly) I didn't want to post an active link to this site in here.

This is our newest baby
I know, not a quilter, but who knows, now that JoAnn and I are both really retiring in October, perhaps a new quilter may be in our future!

Thanks for the advice, Ken. I really am leery of buying off Ebay, especially an admittedly untested customer return. The Brother 1500 machine does have great reviews, read them all on quilting forums and on Amazon and other sites, and is the best for the price of the semi-industrial straight stitch machines. I am considering the Brother 1500 and it's lookalikes, the Juki 2010, the Babylock Jane and the Janome 1600, though with the Janome, you cannot even lower the feed dogs on a $1000 machine. Doesn't make sense to me, however, the only dealers around here are Janome and Babylock (the latter priced even higher than the Janome and Juki). I'd much prefer Juki over Janome. At least the Juki has speed control, something the Brother 1500 lacks.

I'd love the have a table for mine as well so I can get my L-shaped work station using the dining table my machine is on now as the other part of the L. Which model is that in the photo?

 

[SuperK]

Speckled Hen,
This model is the Juki 8700. I was looking at the 8700-7 but the extra 1000$ for a lock stitch and thread cutting function was a bit too steep for me. I would rather have an endless bobbin function- I'd spend an extra grand for that! I swear I change bobbins every 10 minutes!
This is machine 6 or maybe 7 for us now. 2 Juki's- a 555 DL, the new 8700, two overlocks, one three thread one four thread, two home type sewing machines with the built in stitches we never use (we keep them for their zigzags), and one Singer futura quartet.

BTW- I like the Servo motor in the 8700 so much I am replacing the 555's clutch motor with a newer model servo motor! Awesomely quiet and the speed control is amazing.

 

[speckledhen]

Speckled Hen,
This model is the Juki 8700. I was looking at the 8700-7 but the extra 1000$ for a lock stitch and thread cutting function was a bit too steep for me. I would rather have an endless bobbin function- I'd spend an extra grand for that! I swear I change bobbins every 10 minutes!
This is machine 6 or maybe 7 for us now. 2 Juki's- a 555 DL, the new 8700, two overlocks, one three thread one four thread, two home type sewing machines with the built in stitches we never use (we keep them for their zigzags), and one Singer futura quartet.

BTW- I like the Servo motor in the 8700 so much I am replacing the 555's clutch motor with a newer model servo motor! Awesomely quiet and the speed control is amazing.

Wow, that Juki 8700 does 5500 stitches per minute!

I'm scared of the 1500 spm machines, LOL. My little home machine does only 850 or so per minute at top speed and I just now became accustomed to using it at the highest speed it can do. I had machine phobia for many, many years, but I am getting over it quickly when I see how fast I can free motion quilt a small project. Just did a table topper in about 5 minutes.

 

[SuperK]

Wow, that Juki 8700 does 5500 stitches per minute!

I'm scared of the 1500 spm machines, LOL. My little home machine does only 850 or so per minute at top speed and I just now became accustomed to using it at the highest speed it can do. I had machine phobia for many, many years, but I am getting over it quickly when I see how fast I can free motion quilt a small project. Just did a table topper in about 5 minutes.

LOL, yes, but this does two stitches- forward and backward. And I was afraid of the 550DL (4000 spm) too until I got the Servo motor- it has steps, basically a speed limiter. It has 10 preset "top" speeds, the last being 5500. Even with the stitch rate set it can still be a variable speed . So if I set it on 350, it will go 0-350 but no faster and so on. At 5500 spm It can literally pull the material out of my hands, but if you have a lot of straight stitching that can be guided well, this will get it done fast. The older 555 DL with the clutch motor is 1 horsepower and it runs constantly. The foot treadle activates a clutch to engage the needle and bobbin mechanism. It's not to loud, but it is constant.
The new servo motor will solve that.

 

[speckledhen]

LOL, yes, but this does two stitches- forward and backward. And I was afraid of the 550DL (4000 spm) too until I got the Servo motor- it has steps, basically a speed limiter. It has 10 preset "top" speeds, the last being 5500. Even with the stitch rate set it can still be a variable speed . So if I set it on 350, it will go 0-350 but no faster and so on. At 5500 spm It can literally pull the material out of my hands, but if you have a lot of straight stitching that can be guided well, this will get it done fast. The older 555 DL with the clutch motor is 1 horsepower and it runs constantly. The foot treadle activates a clutch to engage the needle and bobbin mechanism. It's not to loud, but it is constant.
The new servo motor will solve that.

That's all I want, one straight forward stitch and the ability to go in reverse, no zigzag, nothing else. I don't sew clothing at all, only piece quilts and want to free motion quilt them so I don't have to hand quilt everything as I've done for almost 30 years (which could mean I quit quilting entirely).

 

[speckledhen]

Newest machine quilting project and a new thing, prairie points. I've never done those before.

 

[SuperK]

This is awesome. I've always had a respect for the people that quilt. I grew up in a small town where the ladies would get together and finish hand stitching their quilts in the community hall. Didn't take long when there was good friends, happy hands and four or five needles going on the same piece. They met once or twice a week, I was dragged along though I was allowed to run amok outside. I was just at 13 at the time, and had been sewing for 3 years but quilting wasn't my thing. It may be in my retirement future however- I have seen a few island quilts that I liked a lot.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, I did have some trouble getting the corners to come out right, but maybe I'll improve next time. Other than that, prairie points were pretty easy to do. The backing is pinned and I'll be stitching that on by hand today, but here it is. I think it turned out pretty well, actually. With the points it measures 16 x 45.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Well, I did have some trouble getting the corners to come out right, but maybe I'll improve next time. Other than that, prairie points were pretty easy to do. The backing is pinned and I'll be stitching that on by hand today, but here it is. I think it turned out pretty well, actually. With the points it measures 16 x 45.

Good job speckledhen!! I've never tried prairie point either, but I do love the look! Very nice!