I use a Janome 6125QC machine which works fine although I have recently had a problem that I would like to share and ask whether anyone has had a similar problem and how to overcome.
The problem related to top tension or rather a lack of top tension which was eventually diagnosed as thread caught behind the top tension pressure plates. As we all know the top tension pressure plates are now 'buried within the machine casing on many, likely most, of new machines and are not readily accessible, at least not on my machine. Older machines had them on the outside as do some new industrial machines.
The pressure plates on the 6125QC can be viewed by sighting from the top and in this case appeared to be 'clean' and running a piece of fabric through them did not solve the problem ( loose threads on the underside of the sewn fabric). As it was not apparent how to access the pressure plates I had to take the machine to a dealer (machine one month out of warranty) who removed the case, found the problem, and all is now well.
In my case the dealer was an hours drive away and the cost to remove a piece of thread amounted to about $100 (£50 plus). Janome UK will not sell me a service manual or provide any assistance in how to remove the machine covers to clean the pressure plates as "it is against the company's policy to prevent the customer damaging their machine". I find this outrageous but not unusual, so I understand, within the UK sewing machine industry.
Two questions:
- Does anyone know if a service manual for the Janome 6125QC is available in the US and how to obtain a copy?
- Can anyone tell me how to access the top tension pressure plates on this machine. I think it is a simple matter of removing the screws on the top of the machine and the top cover plate should lift off. I know I could try this but I'd like to be sure that the screws don't hold a component that might drop inside the machine before I release them.