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HELP!! Thread nest inside hook assembly!


barbm

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I have a customer who has bobbin thread nested inside her hook assembly and it's wound in there so tight that she can't even move the hook assembly with the flywheel.  Any suggestions for how to attack this problem?  Any magic "solutions" for dissolving that thread????  She is already soaking it with WD40 and picking out what she can reach, but she's not making a lot of progress.  Help!!!

 

On a related topic, this is bobbin thread wrapped inside - any ideas why this happened?

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Okay, she was able to get the hook assembly off, by removing the hook retaining finger.  Then, with phone assistance - and much trepidation - she disassembled her hook assembly and was able to get to the "nest."  She's sending me a photo of what she found - will post it when I get it.  Still, the question remains: why did this happen in the first place???

 

Here's what she found between the pieces of her hook assembly - weird!!!

post-2534-0-94558800-1375317804_thumb.jpg

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It's just so strange that it's a circular nest!  It looks like a prewound bobbin full of thread (without the core) just slid in there, but she's using her own home-wound bobbins.  And right up until the time it seized up, it was stitching just fine.....

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I agree with Lyn about an overwound bobbin. I've had pre-wounds make a mess. I take off the outside cardboard and sometimes the thread will slip off the "shoulder" and snag itself around the center core until I have a mess. But she must be using regular bobbins so the only way the thread could escape is if it's outside the rim of the bobbin and catches on something. Is she experienced enough to make sure the thread is coming out of the bobbin correctly--spinning clockwise and through the proper pathway?

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I think she's experienced enough, Linda, to get the bobbin in the right way.  And she'd been quilting for quite some time before this happened.  I'll check with her to see if she'd just recently put in a new bobbin - that's the only way overfilling could have done this.  It's truly a mystery!!! :mellow:

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After some contemplation over my morning coffee, I'm not sure that an overwound bobbin could produce the thread nest in the photo above - it couldn't have retained that round, bobbin-like shape.  It would have peeled off as a long thread, or if it came off as a bunch, it would have wound around the post in the middle of the inner basket, right?

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No, it was not overwound; in fact I had been quilting with this same bobbin for a while before this happened, it was about 1/4 of the way used up.  I DO think the thread slipped out of the bobbin case somehow, but I can't figure out how.  It was a nearly new bobbin case, not worn at all.  This nest was between the inner and outer baskets, not would around the inner one.  Yea darlin's, I have been sewing for 60+ years, I know which way the bobbin spins!  

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Here's a photo from the continuing saga - the machine is stitching nicely, "much better than before" according to Catherine.  But it's doing this weird "bobbin thread around the inner basket" trick, and we're baffled!!!  Any more suggestions?

post-2534-0-92817500-1375422320_thumb.jpg

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Ok...more questions...when exactly does she notice this has happened....is she just stitching along and then all of a sudden...boom...it all goes wacky?  or is there a slow build-up?  Seems to me it must just sort of happen all of a sudden....but I don't know.....what size bobbin is she using?  At what speed does this happen?  Does it only happen when really speeding along?  when changing directions?  How long can she stitch along before it happens?    seems to me that something must happen to cause the bobbin thread to "jump" out of the right path....what direction is the thread wound around in the knot?  Could it be an extremem example of backlash...I am a newbie...but this is intriging how so much gets wound around there....Lin

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Hi Everyone,

 

Barb also emailed me with Catherine's photos and dilemma. I'm pasting in some additional things here I've asked Barb (and Catherine) to check, so that we can try to get down to the bottom of the mystery! After they have a look at those things we'll keep digging to find the answer.

 

Hi Barb,

 

That is a mystery! Catherine mentions that she feels like the bobbin thread is escaping the bobbin case tension finger itself. If that’s happening, then the bobbin thread could indeed get caught in all sorts of places since it won’t follow the correct thread path along the inner bobbin basket. What type of thread is she using? If it’s coarse or fuzzy it won’t take long for the tension spring on the case to get enough lint build up to prevent it from keeping the thread trapped underneath. She mentions it’s practically a new bobbin case, but it is still something to investigate.

 

Second, it’s possible that if the bobbin isn’t latching firmly into the hook assembly (where you hear a definite “click” when you snap it in) then again the bobbin thread can escape and fly all over (not to mention the bobbin case itself!) J Have her check to see that there is not one speck of thread wrapped around the tip of the bobbin basket post, inside the groove that is just inside the tip of the post. The bobbin latch catches in that groove; if thread wraps around the post (even one or two loops) then the case won’t latch firmly. It might stay in from friction or pressure, but once the centrifugal force of the hook spinning starts working, the bobbin case wiggles enough to let the thread escape. Have her use something tiny and sharp to dig around the ridge of that post and make sure it’s completely clean.

 

Third, check for hook shaft collar play just to be sure the shaft isn’t floating in and out.  Also verify the hook retaining finger depth (only 1/3 of the way into the opening. It’s hard to tell from the photo but it looks like it might be farther in than that, which could mean it started out too far in, or that there’s play in the hook shaft which is allowing the hook to move closer to the retaining finger as the machine runs).

 

Short of simply replacing the hook assembly, replacing the bobbin case again and making sure the hook shaft collar is tight, there isn’t much else that could possibly contribute to that problem. If Catherine's actually had to tear the hook assembly itself apart trying to get the thread out, it can also be hard to get that put back together in an “original condition” to make it sew correctly. By that I mean that sometimes there's so much pressure on the curved portions of the hook parts that they don't quite align the same once it's reassembled.

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Dawn, I just have to thank you for posting all the tips. They are good to have around to make sure our machines are running like they should and it is very easy, I think, to forget to check that the hook assembly and the hook shaft collar are in their proper places.

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