Oiling your machine

How on earth do you guys oil your machines? This NewHome has most of the head parts set in such a way the oil-can can't reach them! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply to
Marie Dodge
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Yours probably is one that should NOT be oiled. People are real quick to suggest oiling, without knowing if this should be done or not. Some machines need oiling by the user, others will gum up and not work if one tries to oil. Remember ----NOT ALL MACHINES SHOULD BE OILED!!!!!!!!!!!! You should check with a Janome (used to be New Home) dealer to see if yours should even be oiled. If you don't have access to such a dealer, send me the model of your machine and I'll call the dealer here. She knows these machines inside and out. Do not try to find a place to oil until you check. Gen

Reply to
Gen

OK, thanks.... I have the NewHome Excel 15S. We bought it in 1991 or 1992. The manual doesn't mention oiling the top or greasing the bottom gears.

Reply to
Marie Dodge

On Feb 17, 2:58 pm, "Marie Dodge" wrote:

A lot of the new Janome machines, don't use oil in the bearings. They have what are the equivalent of sealed bearings. Therefore, they probably shouldn't be oiled. They are meant to be used up and then replaced as in planned obsolescence. One of the dead giveaways is if it uses a plastic bobbin. There would be no purpose to oiling a plastic bobbin race as the plastic is somewhat self lubricating. Any machine that uses a metal bobbin case in a CB hook should be oiled, as metal on metal creates friction and will heat and wear out sooner than it should. As to the inner workings of the sewing head; again if it has a plastic bobbin, then it is a good guess that the bearings in the machine head are probably sealed units, also. There, of course, are probably exception to this premiss, but the greater majority of machines that fall into the above categories, are likely to follow the generalization. I am sure we now will hear from any number of people who have machines that fall outside of the generalization, but that proves the point, unless they are in the majority, which I doubt. Most of the domestic machine manufacturers have gone to sealed bearings, as they last a long time and when they fail, they can sell you a new machine instead of fixing the bearing with a replacement bearing, unless you insist. They will last the length of the warranty, under most circumstances. Most of the sewing done on these machine is occasional, and not as intense usage, as we here on RCTQ use our machines. That is my take on it, anyway.

John

Reply to
John

have what are the equivalent of sealed bearings.

This machine was bought in 1991 or 92. Where they made oil free then? The owner's manual doesn't mention it.

probably shouldn't be oiled. They are meant to be used up and then replaced as in planned obsolescence.

Just "replace" a $600 machine like it's a $10 toy? ????????

it uses a plastic bobbin.

This machine uses either a plastic or metal bobbin. Mine are plastic.

plastic bobbin race as the plastic is somewhat self lubricating. Any machine that uses a metal bobbin case in a CB hook should be oiled,....

What is a CB hook? Is the race the part around the bobbin?

metal on metal creates friction and will heat and wear out sooner than it should.

What about metal on metal in the head where those arms are moving up and down?

has a plastic bobbin, then it is a good guess that the bearings in the machine head are probably sealed units, also.

Sealed how? They're metal like in the old Singer machine. I see nothing that looks like it has a seal.

probably exception to this premiss, but the greater majority of machines that fall into the above categories, are likely to follow the generalization. I am sure we now will hear from any number of people who have machines that fall outside of the generalization, but that proves the point, unless they are in the majority, which I doubt. Most of the domestic machine manufacturers have gone to sealed bearings, as they last a long time and when they fail, they can sell you a new machine instead of fixing the bearing with a replacement bearing, unless you insist.

Just were exactly are these bearings? How can you tell they're there? I see metal arms and things moving when the needle goes up and down. What would bearings look like? Where are they hidden (?).

most circumstances. Most of the sewing done on these machine is occasional, and not as intense usage, as we here on RCTQ use our machines. That is my take on it, anyway.

What machines are you refering to though?

John

Reply to
Marie Dodge

On Feb 17, 6:19=A0pm, "Marie Dodge" wrote:

What you refer to as arms moving up and down are pivoting on bearings, of some kind, that allow those arms to move either in a circular manner or back and forth. They accomplish this by the use of some kind of bearing. Either a Sleeve bushing, which is just a close fitting metal tube through which passes a rod and it either pivots or slides somehow to allow movement of the two parts which are attached. A lot of the industry standard in many manufacturing areas, not just sewing machines, is to go with sealed bearings. They are filled with synthetic grease that is meant to last the life of the bearing. Some of the surfces are coated with a high tech coating to reduce friction. In the old days they had regular bushings and bearings that used petroleum based lubrication, in the bearings, and that needed to be refreshed from time to time. I am sorry to say that manufactures are likely to build something that has a finite life to it and they would rather sell you a new one than keep a large assortment of parts to maintain, into infinity, for that rather modestly priced machine. I realize that $600 might seem like a lot of money to some, it does to me also, but when taken into account that the top of the line machines cost upwards of $8000, the $600 machine is not nearly as costly as it might seem at first. That doesn't mean that the $600 machine is junk, it just means that it doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles that the top of the line one does. Lets face it, the manufactures cut costs everywhere they can to bring the machine to market at a price point that will sell the machine. I know people who have old singer Featherweights who keep them going forever and use them daily. But, they were manufactured to a standard that was meant to last a lot longer than todays average middle cost machine. That is the way they did it then. That is not the way they do it now, though. The C/B system describes the motion of the bobbin as it performs it's function. C/B stands for counterbalanced. It swings back and forth to do its job. They use a Metal Bobbin Case to hold the Metal Bobbin. The Janome machines that I have owned, have used a drop in plastic bobbin that is just dropped in from the top. It sits in a plastic mechanism that spins back and forth to accomplish the sewing function. I like the C/B system, as I believe it produces a better stitch. I will say though, that Janome is famous for the quality of their stitches that they produce with their system. So I guess it is a case of you pays your money, and takes your choice. I think the C/B system is more costly to produce, for what it is worth. In closing, I think that if the manual doesn't say specifically, to oil something, you can assume that it is not recommended. I think you are trying to be diligent where it is not called for by the nature of manufacturing as it stands today. I can remember having to oil lots of parts on the older Singer's and Elna's that I owned, but that is just not the case today. My manual tells me exactly where to oil those parts that need oiling and I do it with regularity. If you don't see directions to do so with the machine you have, then it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try it. You can actually do harm by combining synthetic and petroleum oils in some bearings. Just follow the manual and you will be fine.

John

Reply to
John

On Feb 17, 3:34 pm, John wrote: ...portion snipped

Both the Janome MC6500P and the MC10001 need to be oiled -- they have an oil wick under the bobbin case (you have to remove the case -- not just the bobbin -- to see it. That wick is very long and goes way back into the machine's innards.

Their manuals don't say anything at all about oiling those machines, but they do say to have them serviced at least once a year (I don't have my manual here, so I'm not 100% certain as to how often it actually says it should be). Normally, the oiling would take place during that servicing. When I purchased my machines, I took their associated machine classes at the LQS at which I purchased them. That LQS tells owners to oil the wick and how to do it. They had seen a number of cases in which people used their machines a lot and the oiling did not last until the next maintenance period and machines were damaged. They also saw some ignorant owners pull the wick out, because they thought that it did not belong there.

I no longer have the Janome 6500, but when I did have it, I belonged to the Yahoo Janome6500 group, on which I posted a file describing how to do that. I no longer belong to that group, so I don't know whether that file is still there or not.

Bev in TX

Reply to
countryone77

Just in case you decide that your SM does need a bit of oil in places that can not be reached by the limited ability of an ordinary oil can - there is help. Dritz produces a super-cool sewing machine oil in the form of a plastic bottle with a long, flexible tube/spout. You can control and direct where and how much oil you apply. Their container is called 'Zoom-Spout' and beats the heck out of fumbling with klutzy oil cans. In desperation before I discovered the zoom-spout, I had even tried running a bead of oil from the oil can down a cake-testing straw to guide the oil application. And what warmed my heart - Last night, a friend of DH's who is an instrumentation superintendent for a large chemical plant came through my sewing room. He stopped, listened and said, "How I love to hear a fine sewing machine run like that". Can't beat that level of praise. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

It's got to go to the shop tomorrow anyway. I'm going to ask the man there if it needs lubrication and to show us (hubby is going with me) how it's done. The bottom brake fell down into the machine lasy night when I was loading bobbins. There's also something wrong with the thing (racer) the bobbin rides in. It clickety clacks and dances and hops around making a racket when I sew. Something isn't right with it.

Reply to
Marie Dodge

(brevity snips)

What you refer to as arms moving up and down are pivoting on bearings, of some kind, that allow those arms to move either in a circular manner or back and forth. They accomplish this by the use of some kind of bearing. Either a Sleeve bushing, which is just a close fitting metal tube through which passes a rod and it either pivots or slides somehow to allow movement of the two parts which are attached. A lot of the industry standard in many manufacturing areas, not just sewing machines, is to go with sealed bearings. They are filled with synthetic grease that is meant to last the life of the bearing. Some of the surfces are coated with a high tech coating to reduce friction. In the old days they had regular bushings and bearings that used petroleum based lubrication, in the bearings, and that needed to be refreshed from time to time. I am sorry to say that manufactures are likely to build something that has a finite life to it and they would rather sell you a new one than keep a large assortment of parts to maintain, into infinity, for that rather modestly priced machine. I realize that $600 might seem like a lot of money to some,

- And that was 16 years ago! It must be a lot more for a similar machine now.

it does to me also, but when taken into account that the top of the line machines cost upwards of $8000, the $600 machine is not nearly as costly as it might seem at first. That doesn't mean that the $600 machine is junk, it just means that it doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles that the top of the line one does. Lets face it, the manufactures cut costs everywhere they can to bring the machine to market at a price point that will sell the machine. I know people who have old singer Featherweights who keep them going forever and use them daily. But, they were manufactured to a standard that was meant to last a lot longer than todays average middle cost machine. That is the way they did it then. That is not the way they do it now, though. The C/B system describes the motion of the bobbin as it performs it's function. C/B stands for counterbalanced. It swings back and forth to do its job. They use a Metal Bobbin Case to hold the Metal Bobbin. The Janome machines that I have owned, have used a drop in plastic bobbin that is just dropped in from the top.

- Yes, that's how mine works. But the bobbin case thing it rides in clickety clacks and dances and jumps around now to the point it'll make you nutso after awhile.

It sits in a plastic mechanism that spins back and forth to accomplish the sewing function. I like the C/B system, as I believe it produces a better stitch. I will say though, that Janome is famous for the quality of their stitches that they produce with their system. So I guess it is a case of you pays your money, and takes your choice. I think the C/B system is more costly to produce, for what it is worth. In closing, I think that if the manual doesn't say specifically, to oil something, you can assume that it is not recommended. I think you are trying to be diligent where it is not called for by the nature of manufacturing as it stands today. I can remember having to oil lots of parts on the older Singer's and Elna's that I owned, but that is just not the case today. My manual tells me exactly where to oil those parts that need oiling and I do it with regularity. If you don't see directions to do so with the machine you have, then it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try it. You can actually do harm by combining synthetic and petroleum oils in some bearings. Just follow the manual and you will be fine.

- The manual says nothing at all about maintenance. If the shop is open tomorrow I'll find out if this is one of the machines that don't need oil. It has to go there anyway. (see my posts above.)

John

Reply to
Marie Dodge

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