Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The 750 and Horn Cabinet

I was cleaning off my sewing table this morning, when I was able to grab a strong back to move the 750 from the dining room table to the Horn cabinet. 

I held my breath when I put the insert in because I hadn't even opened the box, but it fit perfectly.

Excuse the mess behind the machine.  That's almost clean now.  But I wanted to show the problem I'm having.


The knee lift falls almost middle of the area where I sit.  In other words, it's between my legs instead of to the right. 

I know you're going to say just to scoot to the left a bit.  Well, I have a drawered cabinet that fits under the Horn, and I like pulling out the top drawer and adding the top extension to make that space bigger there.  If you don't have this kind of cabinet, you probably don't understand.

I snagged this picture from the Horn website.  It's not the exact configuration I have.  That under cabinet is shoved back under my table, and just the drawer is open to support that top extension.  But see what I mean about that "wing" not allowing me to scoot left.  Arrggh........

For now I'll just have to not use the knee lift.  Arrggh.........

19 comments:

Laura said...

Boo hiss! I don't have a sewing cabinet - I use two different types of repurposed dining tables for my sewing and cutting tables. But I've always had that fear, that if I got some really nice sewing furniture it might not work out as well as I planned. Don't have any innovative ideas to possibly fix the problem, but hope someone out there does ...

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

Contact Bernina, maybe the knee lift arm can be bent to accommodate you and your cabinet~? She looks like a real beauty! :-)

Anonymous said...

I believe its possible to have the knee lift adjusted so that it doesn't go to the left so far I'm not sure if its done at the insertion hole or the lever is bent but it can be done!


antique quilter said...

oh thats interesting, looks like I have the same cabinet as you do and if I get that machine it would mean I would have the same problem!
OH NO! I really have been thinking of that machine
guess you need to contact horn or bernina
OR buy a new table, when you move this table can be for your old machine as a backup or set up for machine quilting OR for a friend to come sew with you :)
Kathie

Carol said...

My thoughts went with Kathie's...maybe a bigger Horn table and put your old smaller machine back in this one. You know, one thing always leads to another. Glad you're doing better!

Vivian said...

I think the Anonymous commenter may be right. I don't have the Bernina but on my Janome the knee lift lever has a little screw on the top of the arm base just after where it inserts into the machine. While I think it's meant to allow you to adjust how far into the base the lift can be positioned, you could also adjust the angle of it too.

Belinda said...

Just brought my 750 home this past weekend & ordered the 5280 Horn cabinet. I'll have to run by the shop today to see if I' going to have the same problem! I checked almost everything else about this cabinet except that.

dianne said...

i'm like Sheldon Cooper - i don't want anything coming between myself and my Spot ... sheesh!

you want your knee lift where you want it - someone's gonna hafta answer for this!!!

Miss Jean said...

I don't use the knee lift on my Bernina. That's because I can't walk and chew gum!

Sharon said...

Moving to the left isn't the solution, because then you will be bending your neck to get a good eye on the 1/4" seam allowance. You want to have a straight on vision of the presser foot. Good luck, as I have no ideas. Looks like a beauty though.

Belinda said...

Just checked with my dealer. On the cabinet I ordered,the 5280, the drawer on the left is 22" wide versus the the drawer on the 3180 which is 26" wide. Same thing applies to the optional drawer caddies that go underneath those for the 3180 are 26" wide while the ones for the 5280 are 22" wide.
So I should be good, but it is something to be aware of.
I upgraded to the 750 from a 1630 which means reinvesting in a new table as well as new feet - such a huge decision!

Vicky said...

I just sent an email to Bernina Support to see if they have any suggestions. I'm really bummed about this, but hopefully there is a solution to the problem without having to have a custom cabinet built. Stay tuned!

Quilt Monkey said...

I would not be a happy camper if I couldn't use my knee lift! It was a feature that I thought I would never use when I bought my 440QE, but now I can't live without it! Mine is placed just fine, but the problem that I have with the Horn cabinet is that I am constantly hitting my knees on the platform that the machine sits on. I guess that's what happens when you have long legs. Still love my setup anyway! I hope Bernina can help you out!

Anonymous said...

That definitely is a bigger machine than the 440QE, isn't it? Of course, you know that I have exactly the same Horn sewing cabinet with the drawer cabinet that fits under it. I would have never thought of that knee lift problem with the bigger machine. It doesn't matter much to me though because I never use the knee lift. Hope Bernina Support can come up with some suggestions. LadyBaltimore

pdudgeon said...

i don't use the knee lift for my Bernina either, and now i'm glad that i don't. as i've aged my painfull joints are telling me about it big time. I can sympathise with your problem, but in the long run it might be better to find another way to do the lifting other than applying that pressure to the outside of your knee, and moving your hip joint laterally to do it.

Marilyn said...

I use my knee lift on the 440QE all the time but I do not have a cabinet. It sits on a shelf type counter in a closet. But, my knee lift is on the far right side of the machine. The 750's is in a totally different place. It would not work for me.

Vicky said...

If I feel up to it tomorrow, I'm going to go to the place where I bought the table and see if they have a solution. I want everything in good order when I'm ready to sew again!

Shirlee said...

I had the same problem. The knee lift arm on the 440 and 200 series Berninas is shaped differently. It works much better with my older Horn quilters dream cabinet and my new 750.

Ronda K. said...

The 750 has the 'hoover' feature so I'm not even using the knee lift arm.