Leida Glez Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Hello I'm looking to buy needles in the bobbincentral page, and read that there are needles coated chrome or titanium, APQS type: " Longarm steel needles. These needles are not titanium coated." Do I have to buy the chrome coating (needle finish)? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Yes. Only get the silver, chrome, needles for your machine. Zeke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zora Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 APQS recommends needles that are not titanium coated. I have, however, used them with no problem when I ordered titanium by mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 The bad thing about the titanium needles is that if they snap while quilting they will leave a much bigger hole in the fabric then the chrome needles. Zeke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkey1030 Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 according to the tech that services my DSM, titanium is much harder and doesn't break as easily. This sounds good, but it might not be. In a way, a needle breaking on a DSM is a safety measure--something is wrong and if the needle stays stiff it can stress the motor and cause damage to the machine instead of the release of a broken needle. Titanium, as I understand it, is also more brittle, which means when it breaks it "shatters" and the possibility of small flying metal pieces is higher, which means you might not get them all, and a shard could end up in the works. This could all be just hearsay and balderdash, but these are the reasons I have stayed away from titanium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I was told that any needle remnants also do more damage to your machine due to the hardness of the metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srichardson Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I stopped using the titanium coated needles in my DSM after one damaged the hook and I had to replace it. Instead of breaking the way a regular needle does it had bent. The distortion was so slight that I hadn't noticed it and had continued to sew. Of course I then had problems with my machine and took it in to the dealer and he found the problem. No more titanium for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cagey Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Diamond Needle is the largest US importer of Organ needles in the US. When I visited with them, they explained that chrome and titanium needles are somewhat made the same. The needles are not actually made of titanium, they only have a titanium coating placed on them during the final machine processing. The titanium makes the needle tip retain its point longer as the titanium finish is harder than the chrome finish. The titanium will last about 7 to 10 times longer than the chrome. He said the titanium was really for high speed machine manufacturing, where they change the needles at the beginning of the shift and they run all day making hundreds of thousands of needle revolutions. Stopping the assembly line half way through the shift to change 100s of needles cuts down on the production numbers, reducing profits. They went on to explain that in normal sewing or quilting the titanium was probably not needed. He said sewers normally change their needles after about 8 to 10 hours of stitching. They said that was not a good gauge as some sew faster than others. For a newbie, it is fine. As you learn your machine and your art, you should be able to tell when the needle tip is growing dull. You can hear the sound change and/or you will see your stitch quality change. Do not shot the messenger, just sharing what I was told during my visit and needle purchase excursion while in town there. Have a great day, and balanced threads. Cagey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I think Cagey has it right. On my Ult 2 I use titanium almost exclusively. I haven't found them to perform any differently than the chrome ones, except they stay sharp a lot longer. The chrome are purported to bend rather than break like titaniums, but I haven't found that to be the case. They both bend and break about the same. Now I might be fooling myself about the durability because I mostly replace needles due to point damage from needle flex causing the needle to hit the hook. It could be the needle doesn't have enough "miles" on it to wear the chrome ones out. Whatever the case might be, I use the titanium thinking I won't have to replace one until I damage it's point. I think the chrome ones are a bit less expensive, so as far as cost goes, the chrome win. A visual comparison of a chrome Singer (which we all know is a Groz-Beckert) with a titanium Groz-Beckert, both 3.5 MR, show almost no difference in configuration except the titanium point appears to be sharper. The eyes appear to be the same size and shape, but the titanium point looks to be more slender. I don't know whether that is actually the case or an illusion caused by the difference in color or not, but if they are different, the added durability of the titanium finish might just be the reason. Bottom line, pick which ever one you like. In my opinion they both do the job. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zora Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I have broken both titanium and chrome needles. I see virtually no difference in fabric damage or machine damage. My titanium needles seem to do a better job on batiks as far as skipped stitches. I also don't have to change them mid way of a large heavily quilted batik quilt like I have had to do with the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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