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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 10, 2008, 9:22 AM
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Hi! My business partner and I are looking into either the new HQ16 or the Tin Lizzy for our shop. We would like to have our customers rent the use of the machine when we're not quilting our own quilts for the store. It's a big investment for a small business and we want a machine that is user friendly and low maintenance. We realize every machine will have some problems and we want to hear both the positive and the negitive. We're very excited about bringing this new addition to the store. We will be trying the Tin Lizzy out for a couple of hours next week and will be talking more with an HQ dealer. We would love to hear what you all love or not love about your machine and how it compares to the Tin Lizzy, although we are leaning toward the HQ16. Thanks from, Doing our homework. |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 10, 2008, 12:41 PM
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| If you read the old forum questions and answers you will hear a lot about tension problems. What you don't hear aabout are all the HQ16 owners that don't have problems with tension. I researched for too long and finally got my HQ16. It comes with a DVD and customer service is great with helping. I would try to get in touch with some of the dealers listed on this site. I used And Sew It Goes in Savage MD. They rent out their machine to customers so maybe they would be willing to talk. Good Luck. |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 10, 2008, 12:42 PM
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| An afterthought, get the heavy duty table unless you think you will be moving it around a lot. With multiple persons using it I think it would hold up better. |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 10, 2008, 3:28 PM
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| A point to remember. The HQ16 is not a commercial machine. I love my HQ16 but think there are other machines that would hold up better being used commercially. Just a thought. The HQ16 isn't an inexpensive machine but by adding some more money, you might be better off going for a stronger machine (not the Tin Lizzie). |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 10, 2008, 6:21 PM
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| I did a lot of research before buying my HQ Sixteen. It is the best out there for the price. I live in N.C. and there is a quilt shop that sells the HQ in Greensboro. They have one set up and allow you to try it out. The only other long arm that I liked was the Gammill but it is quite expensive. I haven't had any problems with my machine and my husband set it up for me. We watched the DVD several times and took notes before we put on a practice quilt. I used this scrap to get the feel of the machine and learn how to adjust the tension. Tension needs to be checked every time you put in a new bobbin. I'm told this is not unusual for long arm machines. My very first quilt is on this web site in the gallery. I was very pleased with the results especially for my first one. I can say that I am well pleased with my HQ and I'm glad I purchased the model with the stitch regulator. It makes you look like a pro from the beginning! |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 12, 2008, 7:24 AM
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| I was talking to a friend that does long arm quilting as a business. She couldn't remember the name but there are long arm quilting forums on yahoo and other places. Maybe this is where you should be looking for information. Just a thought. Just Google long arm quilters and have a go. Good Luck. |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 12, 2008, 8:24 AM
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I highly recommend the following site for people who are going into the business end of longarm quilting. http://mqresource.com/forum/index.php Even though I am not in the business, I have learned a lot from reading some of the threads from that forum but for the most part, the participants are in the business end of longarm quilting. On the other hand, if you are just going to use the machine to quilt for the shop and an occasional customer, I can see the merit of HQ Sixteen for economic reasons. One of the issues of rental is customers changing tension et cetera and the machine getting out of adjustment. I would think you would have to do a lot of "babysitting" of customers to protect your equipment and be very saavy in adjusting the machine. That is just my 2 cents. As Monk would say "I may be wrong, but I don't think so" . |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 13, 2008, 6:18 PM
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I just went to my "local" dealer who also quilts for customers and rents out time on her HQ16s-she has 2. She is very happy with her business and with her HQ16s. Her husband is the technician and sets the machine up for you when you buy one. My friend and I were just there yesterday to gather some info on the machine. If you do want to rent ($10/hr) you have to take a 3 hour lesson to learn to use the machines. If you don't quilt within 90days her brochure says you are required to take a refresher course before renting again. I would love to buy the set up but have other pressing needs first(they come before wants). As my friend & I do charity quilts, some of which are donated tops(that can be larger than we care to do on our machines), I am sure that we will be doing this. Just thought you'd like to know that there are others doing this with the HQ16. KC |
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Feed Back Request
Posted: Aug. 14, 2008, 7:32 AM
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Hi Ladies!!! All of us at Quiltopia thank you for your comments! The Forum has been very educational. We will let you all know what we decide to do. We would love to hear any more comments/advice you are willing to share. Thank You all again for taking the time to respond!!! We greatly appreciate it! |
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