meohandley Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Hi, George and I are happily quilting. I'ts now time to change the bobbin and do all that spray clean and oil for the bobbin case. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this without getting down on my hands and knees and crawling under the table? I think secretly George really likes it when I do this. However I'm trying to envision this when I get really old. Happy Quilting everybody Mary Handley Kennewick WA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.A Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hi Mary: When I first started out with George (about 4 years ago) I would climb underneath every time I had to change a bobbin or oil the bobbin area. I held a little flashlight in my mouth so that both hands could be free. It was quite silly and I too wondered what I would do if my knees got any creakier. Now when it is time to change a bobbin, I hardly have to look. I remove the case (and bobbin), give it a burst of canned air, then reach underneath and insert the new bobbin. About every other bobbin (depending on sewing hours) I also put a drop of oil underneath where the bobbin case goes. I have a bottle of oil with a long nozzle so I don't have to get too close. When I need to give him a spa treatment with WD40, I put a towel on the floor to catch any drips and another in my lap. By sitting in the chair but bending over to see what I'm doing, I can spray the WD40 at the bobbin and run the machine at medium speed to spread things around. Then I wipe out any excess with a paper towel, use canned air to blow out any remaining extra residue, give it a drop of oil and pop in the bobbin. We're good to go. About 3x a year, I also remove the throat plate so I can really blow the canned air in there too. Does that help you with your maintenance program? Happy Quilting, Nancy in Tucson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meohandley Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thanks Nancy. I also have a super slider on the top so I could probably just take that off and I could see most of what I'm doing through the plexiglass. Your tips were helpful thanks. I also thought I'd try and find one of those stick on LED lights that people put in closets and stick that under the table. OK next Question: I have a queen size quilt waiting in line to be quilted. I had planned to go rent a longarm to do it on. So I got this extra thick warm and natural Made for Alaska or something. Do you think it will be a problem to do that heavy batting with my George? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbear Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hi Mary, Queen size should be no problem. It is easier if you do some stabilizing quilting first. As for the thickness, you may have to take one set of the washers from under your throat plate to accommodate the extra bulk. You will be able to tell by doing a sample using the same materials. If it sounds like the hopping foot is thumping or the quilt swatch is more difficult to move around you will want to then try taking out one layer of the washers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I have quilted very thick Thinsulate with my George. I haven't had a problem with him working well. Nancy, thanks, too, for the tips on the maintenance. I, also, oil and clean from the chair (just don't want to crawl down underneath although I have). I tuck a towel scrap under the bobbin area and hold it up with my hand to catch the drips and use the plexiglass table area to watch what I am doing. Bobbin changes are done by "blindman feel". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltsalot1962 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I also did the climb underneath to clean/oil George, with a flashlight in my mouth. Then, I remembered I had a headlamp for exploring caves, so I started wearing the light on my head and crawling underneath. I still feel best about doing a good job when I do that. However, it finally occurred to me that you can pull the plexiglass up a little and get in there from the top!!! Duh!! How many of us is that a breakthrough for? Anyway, it's working pretty well that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcquilter1 Posted July 24, 2013 Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 Gee, I am so glad I read this because I wondered how on earth as my bones creak and groan, how much longer I am going to be able to climb under George to do maintenance. The space between George and the wall behind my chair is tight and I am not a pencil so it is a laugh a minute as I do this. I'm going to try from the chair next time and see how that works! Great tips! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Hey kids, zeke here. Remember that an compressor is better then canned air. There no water in the compressor. And don't forget the other two stops to oil on the hook, behind the bucket and in front of the bucket in the center axis. A half drop each. Zeke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.A Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Thanks, Zeke. It's probably time to do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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