Millie 30 Needle stuck up.

[Rebekah Schrepfer]

Hello, 

The needle on my Millie 30 is stuck in the up position.  It was running fine and I was getting set up to quilt a new row/zone on this quilt.  The needle just stopped after my basting stitch and I can't move it.  The flywheel will shift just a tiny bit.  The needle-down button just hums with no movement. The needle is not broken.  Just changed it before this quilt.  I did pull out a thread from the throat plate.  I suspect there is another thread blocking the hook assembly, but I can't see it anywhere.  I brushed it out with a little sewing machine brush. I used compressed air to blow out what I could.  I doused it with WD-40, re-oiled it, wiggled the flywheel just that little bit, but it just won't budge.  I took the needle out so that it wouldn't break by chance while I was trying to figure this out.  The fuse is not out, I'm still getting power.  (At the moment, I can't take the throat plate off, because the screws are too tight. I'll have to get help for that.)

Any suggestions on what else to try?  I hate to take the hook assembly out, because then I'd have to re-do the timing.

[Rebekah Schrepfer]

I finally got the hook assembly to move.  I kept wiggling the flywheel and it began to move.  A drop more oil, and it began spinning normally.  Now I can see a thread all the way in the back of my hook assembly (the bobbin is removed).  Some tweezers helped me get that out.  I will need to sew on some scraps to let the oil drips run through before continuing my quilt.  Whew!

[dbams]

Great job finding the problem!  Thanks for posting the result so others can learn, too.