CyndiC Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 I have a Millie and it seems to hate bobbins that I wind myself. I always use Bottom Line 60 wt but it doesn't seem to help. I just started a new quilt tonight and my thread broke four times. When I took the bobbin out the thread wouldn't be threaded through the bobbin case. I switched to pre-wound and never had another breakage. Does anyone have any ideas WHY this keeps happening? It isn't the first time and it is very frustrating. My machine is only 4 months old. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 What size bobbin case do you have L or M? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 Give APQS a call and they will make suggestions for you. I wind my own and never have a problem. I did have to make a modification to my winder many years ago to get it to wind evenly. I will bet the APQS team will make some good suggetions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cagey Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 CindiC: When you say the thread broke, which thread top or bottom? What are you using to wind the bobbin? If it has an adjustable tension, how is the tension on the winder; tight or loose? Lastly, is the bobbin being wound too full? I do not believe you can wind the bobbin too tightly. Those pre-wounds you buy are loaded so tightly you can remove the cardboard sides, and they still run fine in the machine. Thus I hazard to guess that less tension is worse than too much, as is inconsistent tension. I would suggest you tighten down your tension setting on your winder, and then load a three-quarter full bobbin. Load the bobbin into the bobbin case, and check the tension using a Towa gauge or your preferred method of setting tension, and try quilting on a practice sandwich. If it works well, it may be you need to tweak you full setting on your bobbin winder to shut it off a tad sooner. If the thread is outside the actual bobbin, it can catch or rub on the bobbin case causing issues. It did that on my old DSM until I adjusted the bobbin winder. I know some may say that my machine only likes X thread or Y bobbins. In a recent class with Gina Perkes, she said you have to be the master of your machine. She stressed you can use any and all threads you want in your or any machine. You just have to make the machine want to run it. You are the master, so kick its butt and make it work. She went on to say you may have to route one thread differently, or adjust your tension, use a smaller/larger needle, but any and all thread should work in your machine. Keep notes on what works, and what does not so you can easily use that thread in the future. Thread is hight tech now days with many different shapes, so you have to be willing to make adjustments to your standard setup to run those threads. Best of luck to you, let us know how things work out for you. Cagey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 Like Cagey, bobbin thread is Very important. If you are using a little cheap bobbin wider, TRY to find a way to tighten the thread as you wind it onto the bobbin. If you push your fingernail against a bobbin and it indents the thread it is not tight enough. I would gladly pay another $350. if some one stole this one. It is a Turbo winder from APQS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Like Cagey, bobbin thread is Very important. If you are using a little cheap bobbin wider, TRY to find a way to tighten the thread as you wind it onto the bobbin. If you push your fingernail against a bobbin and it indents the thread it is not tight enough. I would gladly pay another $350. if some one stole this one. It is a Turbo winder from APQS Hey Rita, I have the Turbo winder that came with my Millie. Maybe it isn't tight enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 What size bobbin case do you have L or M? I have the L bobbin. Does it make a difference? I had the M bobbin in my last long arm but they seemed to recommend the L bobbin with these machines so I went with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 CindiC: When you say the thread broke, which thread top or bottom? What are you using to wind the bobbin? If it has an adjustable tension, how is the tension on the winder; tight or loose? Lastly, is the bobbin being wound too full? I do not believe you can wind the bobbin too tightly. Those pre-wounds you buy are loaded so tightly you can remove the cardboard sides, and they still run fine in the machine. Thus I hazard to guess that less tension is worse than too much, as is inconsistent tension. I would suggest you tighten down your tension setting on your winder, and then load a three-quarter full bobbin. Load the bobbin into the bobbin case, and check the tension using a Towa gauge or your preferred method of setting tension, and try quilting on a practice sandwich. If it works well, it may be you need to tweak you full setting on your bobbin winder to shut it off a tad sooner. If the thread is outside the actual bobbin, it can catch or rub on the bobbin case causing issues. It did that on my old DSM until I adjusted the bobbin winder. I know some may say that my machine only likes X thread or Y bobbins. In a recent class with Gina Perkes, she said you have to be the master of your machine. She stressed you can use any and all threads you want in your or any machine. You just have to make the machine want to run it. You are the master, so kick its butt and make it work. She went on to say you may have to route one thread differently, or adjust your tension, use a smaller/larger needle, but any and all thread should work in your machine. Keep notes on what works, and what does not so you can easily use that thread in the future. Thread is hight tech now days with many different shapes, so you have to be willing to make adjustments to your standard setup to run those threads. Best of luck to you, let us know how things work out for you. Cagey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 CindiC: When you say the thread broke, which thread top or bottom? What are you using to wind the bobbin? If it has an adjustable tension, how is the tension on the winder; tight or loose? Lastly, is the bobbin being wound too full? I do not believe you can wind the bobbin too tightly. Those pre-wounds you buy are loaded so tightly you can remove the cardboard sides, and they still run fine in the machine. Thus I hazard to guess that less tension is worse than too much, as is inconsistent tension. I would suggest you tighten down your tension setting on your winder, and then load a three-quarter full bobbin. Load the bobbin into the bobbin case, and check the tension using a Towa gauge or your preferred method of setting tension, and try quilting on a practice sandwich. If it works well, it may be you need to tweak you full setting on your bobbin winder to shut it off a tad sooner. If the thread is outside the actual bobbin, it can catch or rub on the bobbin case causing issues. It did that on my old DSM until I adjusted the bobbin winder. I know some may say that my machine only likes X thread or Y bobbins. In a recent class with Gina Perkes, she said you have to be the master of your machine. She stressed you can use any and all threads you want in your or any machine. You just have to make the machine want to run it. You are the master, so kick its butt and make it work. She went on to say you may have to route one thread differently, or adjust your tension, use a smaller/larger needle, but any and all thread should work in your machine. Keep notes on what works, and what does not so you can easily use that thread in the future. Thread is hight tech now days with many different shapes, so you have to be willing to make adjustments to your standard setup to run those threads. Best of luck to you, let us know how things work out for you. Cagey Hey Cagey, It is the bobbin thread that is breaking. I am using the turbo winder that came with my Mille. I have been winding it very full so that could definitely be part of the problem. I really hate to sound stupid but what is a Towa gauge and where can I get one? I have only had my machine four months and I am still learning alot! I did read last night where I can adjust the bobbin winder to shut off before it gets so full so I will give that a shot. I am so glad to hear you say that we are the master! I hate to think I can only use certain threads and I have limited myself to So Fine in the top and Bottom Line in the bottom. I definitely don't want to have to always use pre-wound bobbins. I like them but I don't like having to order and wait on them to come in when I have what I need on a spool. Thanks so much for your advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Give APQS a call and they will make suggestions for you. I wind my own and never have a problem. I did have to make a modification to my winder many years ago to get it to wind evenly. I will bet the APQS team will make some good suggetions. I will adjust my bobbin winder to where it isn't getting so full and if that doesn't work, I will definitely call. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Thanks everyone for the advice. I will try again this week and hopefully all the info I have from you all will solve my issue! Everyone on this website is very helpful and I really appreciate it! I am fairly new to long arm quilting. I love it but have so much to learn. It is great to have the support of such a wonderful community! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cagey Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 CyndiC: This is what a TOWA gauge is, and how to use it; http://www.superiorthreads.com/videos/towa-bobbin-tension-gauge/ It is not a must, and you can set your tension with the drop test. The TOWA gauge only makes things a little easier to set the bobbin tension when you are starting out. I use it on every bobbin change now. Here is a good video to watch to do the standup test to set you bobbin tension, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM I follow Jamie's instructions, and pull out a rather long thread tail when first loading the bobbin to make sure the tension feels constant as I pull it out. I used the be thread stingy/cheap and did not want to waste an inch, but have found thread is rather cheap and its better to make sure things are working well before quilting. Un-sewing takes so long, and is a pain in the rear end. At around the 1 minute 50 second mark, Jamie addresses the tension setting on your bobbin winder. He says not to wind it too tight, as it stretches the thread so when it unwinds it can cause tension issues. Thus all the great advise we experts have provided may all be for naught. Thinking back on it, since George has no sensor for an empty bobbin I stitch until it is empty and I see the top thread going in and out of the sandwich and just empty holes remaining. The tension is between the upper and lower thread is balanced right up until the thread runs out. So as Jamie says winding the bobbin not supper tight is probably fine. At the 5 minute 20 second mark, he shows you how to do a tug test on your bobbin thread. Best of luck to you. If you have problems, call APQS and let them listen to your machine while it is running. They will get you all set up, as they truly want you to succeed at quilting on their machines. Cagey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 CindiC remember, you can adjust the bobbin thread tension on the bobbin case. I would try that too. You can always contact APQS to ask about situations Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiC Posted March 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 Thank you Everyone for the great advice! Thanks for the video links Cagey! Everyone here is always very helpful and it makes me feel much better about spending so much money on a long-arm knowing there is this great a support group available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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