I realize that this is suppose to be a quilting blog but bear with me. A torque wrench is more like a gauge for how tight your bolts are. It measures how hard you are pulling on the wrench to move the bolt and this allows you to set a bolt to a certain tightness. This can be critical especially when putting an engine back together, but many mechanics don't use them because they have been doing it for years and think they can tell by "feel".
A torque a simple but vital tool. |
What does this have to do with quilting? Bobbin tension. Most long and mid arm quilters do the bobbin "drop test" to calibrate their bobbins. While many quilters will swear by it efficacy I am starting to think it is similar to those mechanics that torque be feel. If you go to Superior Threads website you can find this nifty Tension Guide for Mid/Long Arm Machines. Notice how those numbers change depending on your top thread and I am not sure how much a change of 20 mili-newtons would effect the drop test.
I use to be a drop tester, but I had a run of "tension issues" on my machine and I realized that my bobbin tension was inconsistent. This can be caused by your bobbin winder or often just wear on the bobbins. They usually drop tested fine, but my bobbins would vary in tension by as much as 100 mN. Not a huge difference to be sure, but enough to cause slight eye lashing in the points and a less than perfect stitch.
A gauge every longarmer should own |
By using a TOWA gauge to check and set the bobbin tension I remove on more variable from the equation making it easier for a consistent stitch. Sure I could get by without a gauge, but I am smart enough to know I am not that good. A TOWA gauge is a $100 well spent for anybody with a quilting machine even if you are one of the 5%.
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