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HELP!!! George misbehaving


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I am sewing along on my new George, pressed the need up/down button to bring up the bobbin thread, the needle goes down far enough to pierce the fabric then freezes up while the motor is still running. I turned it off so that the motor wouldn't continue to run. After a minute or two, I turned it back on and moved the flywheel which brought the tip of the needle back up and out of the fabric. I pushed the needle up/down button again and it froze a second time. I finally was able to get the needle to go down and pull the bobbin thread up to the top, but it is moving slowly. I'm not sure what has happened, because I have only had George since the middle of June. My husband checked the bobbin area to make sure nothing was wrong there and it checked out fine.

 

After working with George for about 30 minutes, he started working fine again for about an hour or so then he did it again. I have him working again now, but this is frustrating guys. I am in the middle of quilting my first quilt on George after having so many tension issues (most of them my fault along with trial and error) so I really don't want to stop quilting, but I definitely don't want to do anything that could potentially harm my George. Any thoughts or assistance would be so very much appreciated.

 

God Bless & Happy Quilting,

 

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SC:

 

You wrote; "the needle goes down far enough to pierce the fabric then freezes up while the motor is still running.

 

​I believe all you need to do is remove the belt cover on the end of the machine opposite the needle.   Six cross point screws as I remember.  Then take an alien wrench and tighten the belt pulley's two allen screws.  I do not remember the size, but they are American standard; not metric.  

 

If it sound like the "transmission" is slipping that is to say the motor is running, but the needle is not going up and down.  See if you can make the needle punch through the fabric without any problem using the flywheel.  If so, I believe that tightening the two screws will fix your problem.  The motor shaft is simply slipping or rotating inside the belt pulley, so the motor runs but the needle does not move or has little to no power to punch through the fabric.  I had the exact same problem when I brought home my George from ice station zebra.http://forum.apqs.com/index.php?/topic/37056-ice-station-zebra-george-moves-south/?hl=%2Bstation+%2Bzebra  I hope this fixes your problem and gets you up and running.  Let us know if it fixes your George.  

 

Concerning your tension, might I suggest only running the thread through two of the hole on the thread guide above the tension spring.  Once I did that after speaking to Amy, I have to only tweak the tension knob to balance the thread.  I wish you the best of luck.  http://forum.apqs.com/index.php?/topic/37840-tension-issues-again/?hl=cagey#entry515221

 

Cagey

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Hi Carmen,

Cagey may be right about that. I have had it happen on a rare occasion  on my George, but has not been a consistant problem- I just turn the fly wheel and he continues on. As a new owner of George, doing your own repairs can be intimidating. (It was for me at least) I would call- Amy or Dawn will walk you through it if you have any concerns while on the phone (have your allen wrench and screw drivers at the ready :) ). I also think they appreciate feedback if they have this happening with any amount of regularity.

Good Luck! Hang in there- you'll love George once you get to know each other !

Debbie

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've experience this problem numerous times, and have been able to move the flywheel and it get it going again.  

The first time I turned it on it made a horrible sound and the needle was frozen in place and wouldn't move.  I was told to make an adjustment under a black grommet on the back and that helped get it going.  

 

Could this affect the timing?   One of my most frequent problems has been breaking bobbin threads, particularly after stopping and repositioning my hands to quilt another section.   Most of the time the stitches look good.   I've used Superior Omni & So Fine and Filtec Glide threads.   Bobbin case it clean, oiled,  and the tension looks good as I pull the tread and it releases from the bobbin.  

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Sorry everyone for not posting a reply sooner, it has been so busy around here. I did speak with Amy at APQS and told her what had happened, and that George seemed to have corrected himself. I have had no issues since talking with Amy, so I'm hoping it was just a temporary glitch. I did complete my quilt, but I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures to the forum. As soon as I do, I will post them and tell you the story about this quilt. I will post them where everyone posts pictures of their quilts. Thanks again everyone for all your help with George. It is so wonderful to have not only the wonderful customer service with APQS, but this forum and all the talented and knowledgeable quilters to help all of us newbies through our issues. You guys are the best.

 

Thanks again and Happy quilting,

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SC:

 

Having been there done that, I believe you may have troubles in the future just as I did.  My drive motor shaft was spinning in the pulley when I first got George.  It stopped after adjusting the needle up-down setting, and I though all was grand.  A few quilts later I had the exact same thing occur, which made me rather concerned as I was quilting away, and the needle just stopped with sound coming from the motor area.  I had to remove the rear cover, and and tighten the allen screws.  I tightened every single allen screw while I was in there, just to be certain everything was nice and tight.  Since then, I have had no problems.  Just put this tidbit of information in the back of your mind if the problem should suddenly pop up in the future.  Hopefully it won't, but it is better to be prepared.  

 

Posting photos, is easy.  Just export your photo from computer photo program to a file or your desktop where you can easily find it.  Then when you  reply or post, click on the "More Reply Options" button just next to the "Post" button.  An attach file screen will appear.  Click "Choose File", and locate the picture you saved to a file or your desktop.  Then click the "Attach This File".  It will take a moment for the website to save/upload the photo to your post.  You can upload multiple pictures/files, though they cannot exceed 15.66MB of total data.  

 

Best of luck with George, and your quilting.

 

Cagey

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