Kn693

I'm in the market for a semi industrial type machine, straight stitch only that I can also use on a frame. I've narrowed it down to a Viking Mega Quilter, Juki 2010Q, Pfaff Grand Quilter, and BabyLock Accomplish. Does anyone have any knowledge of these machines to offer? The needle down, knee lift, and high speed features are what I'm looking for which they all have. Also would like something that's relatively quiet. I'd be using it for piecing, quilting free motion quilting, and some upholstery projects like pillows etc.

toverly

Since you are looking at several brands, I would first find out what dealers are in your area. Check them out and don't let them upsale you for fancy stitches ect. If you want to be sort of anonymous, plan on going to a large quilt show. It's a great place to try them out. I love my Juki 2010Q especially the cutter in the foot and the knee lift. But I wouldn't call it a quiet machine. Test drive a few and I'm sure one will stand out either in price or features.

Stitchnripper

Consider a Brother PQ 1500 or 1600. I think the 1600 is a new model very similar to the other one. High speed and good for FMQ and sewing through layers.

cashs_mom

I have the Juki 2200 QVP MIni which is the same as the 2010. It's great for FMQ. I leave it set up to FMQ all the time and piece on other machines. I have pieced on it and it was really good for that, too. The harp space is nice and large. I even quilted a king size quilt on it with no problem. I agree with checking what dealers are in your area and testing some of the machines you are interested in.

Onebyone

I have the Juki 2010. I do free motion quilting and all my piecing on it. I would buy another. It's very reasonable in price. If you don't have a Juki dealer nearby I would suggest buying from Juki Junkies. They have excellent customer service after the sale and they test every machine before they ship it out. You don't get a boxed machine straight from the manufacturer.

Peckish

I second this. Knee lift, needle down, 1500 spm. It also has a pin feed which you may find very useful for your thicker upholstery projects.

I bought one used from another quilter and fell in love with it. It's a workhorse. I've had it 15+ years, use it daily, and it's never needed anything other than regular oiling. I love it so much I sold all my other machines (Singer, Pfaff, and Janome) and bought a second 1500 for when friends or my mom come to sew, and as a backup in case my first one ever needed servicing.

Three Dog Night

I have my Juki TL2010 as the dedicated machine on my Cutie frame. It's straight stitch only, 1500 spm, needle up/down, speed control and it's a great machine and at 26 lbs I can lift on/off frame when I want to use for piecing. The Viking, Pfaff, Brother, Babylock and now Bernette 08 are all basically the same machine with some minor differences. As someone else mentioned I would see who in your area sells and services these machines, although since they are mechanical and not computerized they are pretty easy to do basic maintance yourself.

Onebyone

Speed control is a must have for me.

retired2pa

I've had my Brother Nouvelle 1500 for over 14 years and love it. It's a workhorse and I've never had a problem with it. I keep it oiled and cleaned. I had a Juki 2010 recently, but I returned it. The lighting was terrible. I just didn't "bond" with it.

Gay

I tested the Juki 2010 & 2200 and thought they were too noisy. Ended up with a portable Janome HD, great machine and quiet. Then fell in love with a VMA machine with table, so quiet, needle stays down if you don't use the thread cutter (on the pedal). Has a knee lift. I did have to move the foot pedal as the dealer set the hole for machine too far to the left and I couldn't sit centre to the machine. My daughter liked it so much she bought one too. Also it was less expensive than the 'brand' names.

VMA from Echidna