Moving your modular Frame? Take it apart or risk damage...

A common quilting machine question is what is needed to move a longarm machine, and its 8, 10, 12, or 14 ft Frame. If you have a multi-section modular Frame like those produced by Handi Quilter, Grace, Babylock, Janome, and others, if you try to move it as a package you likely will be sorry.

The picture below from a recent experience shows the results of a "move" - the leg caught on a threshold and was bent badly enough the Frame could not be leveled and the leg had to be replaced. It is pictured with the top support aligned with a vertical leg and you can see the angular variance. Zoom in and the digital level provide numerical data.

The frames don't' have to be completely disassembled - the brackets the pole supports attach to and side assemblies can remain intact but Frame tops, carriage tracks, angle braces, legs, and side splices need to be removed. A 2 foot or so leg has enormous leverage to bend its attachment point it hits something in the move process, and the Frame tops despite feeling beefy can be warped without a lot of effort.

The "unibody" frames such as APQS, Innova, Bernina, and Gammill are a contain linear structures across the width of the Frame and provide more support, but disassemble as much as readily possible to limit the possibility of damage from the move.