needles maybe

I _think_ I have a needle issue.

Once in a while my Pfaff 130 takes a fit and decides to wrap thread around the spindle that turns the bobbin.

My usual response is to take her down, clean her out, oil the open points, and change the needle. Sometimes that works, sometimes I have to do it more than once and it works.

It has occured to me that I never have a problem when I am using a specialty needle. My general use needles are just tossed into a tin box (in their little plastic cases!) and live there in a happy jumble of brands. Almost all my specialty needles are schmetz.

Am I going to have to start sorting my needles by brand? or am I going to have to call my sewing machine guy for a tune up?

NightMist ever thankful for a sewing machine guy that makes housecalls.

Reply to
NightMist
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I have no idea or suggestion on your problem. Just wanted to tell you that your signature always makes me laugh. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

It depends. All needles are not created equally.... or equal. Singer brand needles are a teeny bit longer, and have a bigger "bump" under the scarf on the back of the needle below the eye. They do not work well in "better brand" machines. Even low end Whites will jam with Singer needles. Dritz makes wonderful notions, but terrible machine needles. Their machine needles are molded, not machined, and have a much higher failure rate than Schmetz. When your problem happens, do you skip stitches?? If so, it may well be the needle. It may be a dull needle, or the wrong type of needle. Could be any sort of thing actually. Personally, I only buy Schmetz or Organ or the needles sold at the machine dealership on occasion. The hassles with the others aren't worth it.

Pati, > I _think_ I have a needle issue.

Reply to
Pati C.

You might be putting the bobbin in the wrong way. The thread should pull from the bobbin in a downward direction not upward

OR.... the bobbin if too full

OR the bobbin is not pushed in the bobbin case all the way.

Kate T. South Mississippi

Reply to
Kate T.

My Pfaff 7570 does the same thing. It's a new to me machine and I have no idea how to deal with it. Doesn't seem the needle would have any effect because the needle mechanism is disengaged while winding bobbins. I haven't a clue what makes this happen but it's caused a good bit of wasted thread (otherwise known as gold) and frustration.

Sunny

Reply to
Sunny

Since I never buy anything but Schmetz for my Pfaff, no idea. But machines are sensitive about needles. Sorting by brand wouldn't take long, and it's cheaper than a tune-up. Roberta in D

"NightMist" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@news.madbbs.com...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

I think keeping them from being a jumble might help. All in a pile they can bend the thinner parts and dull the points. Also, do you ever toss a used needle back into the mix? Those could be your downfall too. Debra in VA See my quilts at:

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Reply to
Debra

My abuse of punctuation may be coming back to bite me on the bum here. This is the second time I have had to clarify the same point.

See the bit I pointyed in the original?

What is in that tin box is new needles in their little plastic boxy packet things. The little plastic boxy packet things are all a jumble. A bunch of different brands, though a lot are singer because that is mostly what you find in stores here, all plain sewing needles of various sizes. I just root through til I find one the size I want and stick it in the machine. My wonder is if the Pfaff is a needle snob and prefers one brand, or just cannot abide another.

I generally chuck used universals, even if I just put them in 20 minutes ago. Life is too short to fuss with such a bitty thing. I may be over-frugal, but not so as to mess about with trying to save a $1 needle when it may be what is giving me trouble and eating up my time.

I think I am going to get me some schmetz needles for plain sewing and see if using those consistantly solves the problem. Seems odd to have a machine that is fine with leather or silk, but won't sew cotton half the time. That and the problem itself just screamed needle or threading to me.

NightMist

Reply to
NightMist

Pfaffs as a rule, and Viking, Bernina, Janome/New Home, Elna, and such machines, do not like Singer needles. Place a Singer needle and a Schmetz needle of the same size next to each other. You can visibly see the difference. Really. I had to research this when I was doing the basic servicing on machines in the shop when I was manager of the sewing machine department. Had someone bring in a White machine that she had taken to several other shops and no one could fix the problem. It would sew fine for about 6" then jam with the needle in the down position. She had in a Singer needle, because she got them on sale. The needle would heat up from friction and expand just enough to get "caught" in the hook mechanism. When it cooled down, it would work again for a bit and repeat the jam. As soon as we put in a Schmetz needle it worked wonderfully well. Took me less than a minute to diagnose and solve the problem. Singer needles are manufactured for Singer machines. Singer machines, for years, have been manufactured to "looser" tolerances than the "higher end" brands. So the needles have been made to fit those looser tolerances-- a tiny bit longer, and with more of a "bump" below the eye of the needle on the back (not sure what this does, but you can really see it when comparing the 2 brands of needles. This is also the part that expands and jams in the machine. Could also be part of Nightmist's problem, by "loosening" the thread enough to allow it to wrap around the bobbin shaft or whatever.......??????)

Good luck with solving the problem. I really think that getting away from using the Singer needles will help a lot.

Pati, in Phx

NightMist wrote:

Reply to
Pati C.

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