apylinski Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Well I have my new Mellinnium set up...after a few corrections. Now I have some practice fabric backing and top on the machine with batting. I'm hoping I have it loaded correctly. I watched the CD that was sent and Dawn showing how to load everything. When I push the needed down and up to get the bobbin fabric its very, very slow and acts like its pulling on the motor. Doesn't sound right. And then it locked up and I couldn't get it to do anything. What am I doing wrong? I turned the machine off and then tried it again. I finally got it to come up and then turned on the SR and then the motor on button. It sewed but doesn't seem right. The bobbin thread is showing on top only in some places? I am so frustrated. I have not had my one day lesson yet so am flying solo there. Any help would be appreciated or it will sit until I can call APQS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamarack Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Oh something similar happened to me when I first got my new Millie. The problem turned out to be in the belt drive, a tiny set screw was not tighten and the wheel that holds the belt moved causing the belt to shift and drag against a metal edge in the back. This might not be your issue but if you want to check your belt drive you can take off the top cover and the back cover and look at how the belt drive is aligned. Don't worry about your thread showing on the top yet, that is just a tension issue that can be solved with playing with the tension dial, you need to figure out what is causing the drag. Take the thread off your machine (top and bottom) and try your needle up down again it to make sure it isn't a thread issue causing the drag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Mine also does that when I first start her up...try letting her warm up a little without thread in the bobbin and needle and then see if it gets better. If not you can also adjust the speed of the needle up/down with that tiny #8 screw on the mother board under the hood on top. Check your manual to see which way to turn it to speed it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 All good advice. Sounds like it might need a little tweaking. Do what Vicki suggests and see if it runs better. If it doesn't call APQS and they will help you figure it out. I have had to adjust my #8 screw many times, very simple to do. As for the tension that can change base on the thread, fabric and tension you have on the sandwish. If the bobbin is showing on top then you have to loosen the upper tension a bit, start with 1/4 turn counter clockwise. Remember to breath! There is definitely a learning curve but APQS is only a phone call away and they are fantastic at working out any problems. By the way your class will help hugely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenie123 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 I always turn my machine on at least 30 minutes to warm up ,it seems to do the trick ever time ,at least let it warm up before doing any adjustments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Just a thought, but make sure you have the bobbin in the case so that when you pull the thread it is turning in the clockwise direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apylinski Posted October 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Will try these suggestions. Didn't know I should warm it up awhile. And since this is new I thought everything should have been tested before it came so I would not have to do any adjustments. Am a little afraid to try "tweaking" it yet. Will let you all know. Thanks so much for helping. I actually went outside on this beautiful northern tier PA day and put my flower beds and gardens to bed for the winter. Now I don't feel so guilty being inside playing with my new Millie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Ann, By all means, tweak as needed! We do thoroughly test every single machine before it leaves the factory. It goes through a rigorous sew off procedure where we push buttons, adjust tension, calibrate stitch length, etc. That said, once the machine is in its home environment subtle differences in incoming electricity is one variable that can affect things like the needle positioning speed. Indeed each machine is a little different as well since they are hand made one by one. Therefore they each take on a personality:). It is a good idea to allow the machine to go through a warm up cycle before quilting. Typically 10-15 minutes is sufficient. Take the thread out of the needle and take up lever and remove the bobbin. Then turn the machine on in manual mode with a motor speed somewhere in the middle. Allow the machine to "sew thin air" for that time. This allows the circuit boards and mechanical parts to warm up appropriately. Once things are warmed up, then make any necessary adjustments. You'll find that when the machine is warm, the needle up/down will be faster than when you first start. In fact, after a typical "break in period" for the machine, the needle up/down speed will need adjustment (this is true for all machines.). That's why we built access to that "#8" screw in to the cover on new machines....everyone at some point will need to tweak that setting. The ideal delay from needle up to needle down (and vice versa) is one full second (measured when the machine is fully warmed up). If a quilter makes an adjustment to the #8 screw (refer to your CD manual appendix called "adjusting the needle positioner" as well as this video: Needle positioner adjustment) before the machine is thoroughly warmed up, then you'll find you'll be making it again real soon since you won't have adjusted it far enough to accommodate the temp change in the circuits and moving parts. With the bobbin thread showing on top, if all is threaded correctly as Tamarack suggests, the first thing to decipher is whether you actually do have inconsistent tension or whether you're seeing bobbin thread peeking out at you inside the big needle hole left behind by the needle. Scratch your finger along the thread path on top. If the bobbin thread made it all the way to the quilt's surface your nail will catch on all the little nubbies of bobbin thread (much like dragging your fingernail along the wire edge of a spiral notebook). If your nail doesn't catch on the thread, then your tension may actually be good, but you're being fooled by the color of the bobbin thread inside the hole. However, if you do catch on the thread knobs, then it means either your top tension is a bit too tight or your bobbin is a bit too loose. Don't hesitate to change either one (and especially conquer any fear of adjusting the bobbin...because you now have permission to adjust it and will HAVE to adjust it on occasion.) Let us know how you're doing, and if I can help, just call! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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