Buying a Longarm Machine
Are you ready to take the plunge and purchase a longarm for yourself? I'll tell you about my journey and my opinions on what is important for a longarm.
Perhaps you've had some quilts finished by a longarm quilter and think "Heck, I could do that!" Or maybe you've gotten tired of trying to shove the quilt through the arm of your domestic machine. In any case, you're starting to look at / think about / contemplate getting your own longarm. Where to start? What's important? Here are some of my thoughts.
1. Figure out a budget. Buying a longarm can be as expensive as buying a car, so it's important to know how much you are willing to spend. Once you have that, you can limit your search to new or used machines within that price range. You want to buy the best machine that you can afford.
2. How much space do you have? You can get longarm frames anywhere from 6 - 14 feet; shorter frames limit the size of the quilt you can do, but longer frames take up a lot of space. I have a 12-foot frame; you really need 2 feet on either side to get around the frame. Also, width is an issue. How big of a machine are you going to buy? A frame for an 18" machine is less-wide than a 26" machine.
3. What do you want to do? Freehand? Pantographs? Computer-driven designs? If you're looking to do computer-driven designs, do you want a company that sells the computer system and the longarm together, or can you risk going with one of the less-expensive third party solutions? (My personal opinion is for computer systems to get the integrated system -- this drops your choices down to the Statler Stitcher by Gammill or the Innova AutoPilot -- more below).
4. What features do you want? Remember, a longarm machine is really just a very basic sewing machine that's huge in size. There's not many features that you have to have, but here's what I think is imperative:
a. A good stitch regulator. So important. Not all stitch regulators are created equal. On the less-expensive machines, the stitch regulator can only handle up to 1500 stitches per minute. This sounds like a lot, but on open meander designs, you can rapidly out-speed the stitch regulator, which means that all of a sudden, your stitch length increases. Bad deal. Aim for stitch regulators that can handle up to 3000 stitches per minute. If the manufacturer does not advertise this point, it's generally a bad sign. Make sure and ask.
b. Channel locks. You want to be able to keep the machine in a straight line on the x-axis or y-axis.
c. Smooth feel. Here, you just have to go drive the machines. Everyone likes the feel of machines differently; this is an important aspect.
d. Hopping foot. Important for keeping consistent stitch quality over seams and batting.
e. Minimal oiling requirements. Newer designs have limited the amount of oil you have to keep feeding your machines -- I think that if you have to keep a "diaper" under your machine to catch the excess oil as it drips down the machine, there's something wrong in the design. If there is a risk that oil will drip onto your quilt or your client's quilt, that's also a sign of bad engineering design.
f. A solid frame. Wood / plastic frames, while they look good, cannot support a quilt especially at the longer 10-12 foot dimensions. These materials are just a little too flexible to rigidly handle the weight. I highly recommend a completely metal frame.
g. Good technical support. Hopefully, good technical support that you do not need.
5. What features are really, really cool? Here are things that I like:
a. Powered take-up roller. Oh my word, what luxury. This is a motor that rolls up the quilt for you inside the arm of the machine. This has saved me soooo much time.
b. The bypass roller or bed roller. This is an additional roller that effectively serves as a pivot for the quilt inside the machine arm so you don't have to keep adjusting the height of the takeup roller. As far as I know, only HQ16 (selected frames) and Innova have this (and I wouldn't recommend an HQ16 due to their stitch regulator limitations).
c. A light bar. This is a series of lights that are suspended above the quilt bed. No matter how good you think your lighting is, a light bar will improve it.
d. Innova's crosshatch ruler system. If you do crosshatching, this is a great way to ensure consistent angles and distances.
e. A computerized robotic system! Yay! Press the "go" button and watch it sew! More about computerized systems in another article.
Okay, so why did I pick the Innova? Back a few years ago, I started with a 9" Juki on a Hinterberg frame with a PCQuilter and MaxThroat. It's not a very effective system. I knew I needed a "real" longarm. But, my budget was limited. So I purchased an 18" Tin Lizzie, the best deal at the time. However, the Tin Lizzie is on a wooden frame and has that stitch regulator issue. So, I started looking at "commercial" quality machines. Because I wanted the computer system to be integral to the longarm, I only seriously looked at the Statler Stitcher and the ABM Innova. I went with the Innova because of (a) price, (b) superior engineering design, (c) real 24/7 support (I called on Easter Sunday and got an immediate answer!) and (d) the fantastic features that Innova has that no other system does. Oh, and I might mention price again.
Let me tell you more about the Innova and provide some help in your search for a longarm. Contact me and I'll give you the whole scoop! You can come play with my machine and the AutoPilot if you're in the Wyoming / Colorado region as well!