If there is one thing in this modern world that has saved us more money than I can add up...well it is the internet. With very little effort, in the warmth and comfort of my own home, with a cup of coffee and the dogs at my feet I can shop, compare, bid, ask questions and buy...Amazon loves me. Although this is somewhat brand specific as it relates to our Innova Longarm it could easily apply to those that use another manufacturer's machine. There is a combination that has quite a bit to do with my purchasing decisions...one is the competitive market, and two is standardization. One...standardization guides the other. One reason I do not own an Apple product. Proprietary is not only hard to spell but hard to swallow. It is standardization within the sewing machine industry that solved our little problem and saved us a bundle...I'm hoping our experience will help others do the same. Caution...even standardization has it's limits...in this case size, not design or the method used by manufacturers to engineer the mounting requirements of the bobbin case in their machine...There are different M Size Bobbin Cases...for us our research lead us to the Haya Brand Case.
Once again I have to lay out the disclaimer...This has been
our experience and in no way relates to the quality of the product, the
experiences of others or our satisfaction or dissatisfaction with what was
delivered. If we didn't have trust and confidence in ABM the Innova product we
would be longarming with a Gammill.
We experienced a very loud and annoying 'bobbin noise' from
the beginning. ABM responded to our concern with the recommendation of
using more oil. We were first instructed to place a 'drop' in the mechanism
where the case and bobbin are loaded. ABM found this was not an efficient amount and changed its recommendations. Using more oil helped, changing to a
synthetic oil helped even more. But the noise and frustration continued. At the
same time we were dealing with thread tension issues and were watching numerous
videos relating to these issues. One of the Innova dealers was doing a video demonstration
and it was observed they were using the steel bobbin case, the one with all the
holes drilled in it, you know the one Gammill uses...there I said it. Well I
went to their web site...found the Haya Bobbin Case for $15 and the black steel
bobbins or the chrome steel bobbins for $.50. Have I mentioned I am always
looking for a deal. If it's good enough for a dealer it's good enough for me. (You can find M size bobbin cases online via any search engine...I have found them for $12.50 to $50...we settled on the $15 price tag because of the vendor we put the most faith in.) To purchase from our distributor or the manufacturer our cost was $49.
 |
| Haya/Steel Left ABM Supplied Brand/Aluminum Right |
The only difference we noticed was the 'throat' opening The Haya on the right has a slightly different opening where the one edge is beveled.
The cost was not. Elaine has a saying...shop till you drop...we're talking about someone retired from Nordstrom...well when it comes to accessories, whether clothing, sewing, tools, golf, motorcycles or longarm machines...it's good advice. Side note to other Panto Vision users, this would apply to tablet/computer mounting brackets also. We use the one that came with the machine. I had to modify it so as to fit our tablet, it has a 12" base...had we shopped we could have saved at least half. But I must admit the quality of the one supplied is very good. If ABM/Innova did only one thing right it would be their homework...but they do much more than that; and that is why we longarm on an Innova.
Quilt till you wilt...
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