Can new needle cause thread shredding?

[Smweinbeck 5]

I’ve seen some of the posts about thread breaking/shredding, but my question  Is a bit different ....can a new needle actually cause thread shredding? After many issues with tension — which I finally resolved— things were humming along somewhat smoothly. I decided it was probably time for a new needle. After I changed it, I started having issues with the thread breakage and shredding. I hadn’t changed anything else — the thread, thread path, tension, etc. is the same. The new needle is one that came with my Lenni. Any ideas what I can check?

[srichardson 241]

It is possible to get a bad needle.  Try changing to another new one and see if that helps.  I have never had an entire pack be a problem but I suppose it could happen.

 

 

[Gail O 203]

Make sure the hole in your needle plate doesn't have a burr.

[Smweinbeck 5]

User error! In double-checking everything, it seems the problem may have been in the thread path afterall. I re-threaded and all seems to be okay now. 

But thanks for your suggestions!

For future reference, you mentioned “needle plate.” Did you mean  the hole in the actual needle, or the hole the needle goes into? Either way, not  sure I’d know how to tell if there’s a burr there.

[RunningThreads 259]

I believe it was Amy who told us of a customer with shredding problems after changing a needle.  Turns out they had been using the same needle for years and the eye was well polished from all that use.  The new needle was quite rough in comparison.  After Amy got the customer to loosen the tension back to factory setting all was good.

 

Nigel

[Gail O 203]

21 hours ago, Smweinbeck said:

User error! In double-checking everything, it seems the problem may have been in the thread path afterall. I re-threaded and all seems to be okay now. 

But thanks for your suggestions!

For future reference, you mentioned “needle plate.” Did you mean  the hole in the actual needle, or the hole the needle goes into? Either way, not  sure I’d know how to tell if there’s a burr there.

The hole that the needle goes into.  If you've ever hit a ruler or broken a needle, the deflection can cause the needle to slightly score the hole in the needle plate.  Remove the needle plate (you'll need one of those screwdrivers that has an offset) and pull a small piece of pantyhose through the hold.  Run it along the edges on both sides.  You'll hear it catch, if there are any nicks.  Also a good time to clean the lint out from under the needle plate.