Georgene Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I need help with using this fancy device. I just purchased the Towa Bobbin Guage. But the instructions don't say which number is tight or loose. The gauge has 0 to 40 on it. When I put in the bobbin and wound it through the pulleys and pulled on the thread, the needle went to the number 20, right in the middle. Is that where I should aim for? I ended up having to tighten the top tension much tighter than I had expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 There have been several posts on this subject in the past. The majority like the metal/aluminum bobbins set at 20 and the prewound bobbins set at 25. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I do pre-wound BL at 17 and cotton at 20. Tweak until you get good tension and then ***WRITE IT DOWN***. Keep a chart with each combination of top and bobbin thread that you use. That chart will be invaluable in leading you through the maze to good-tension-land!!!! You will probably find that certain combos work really well and those will be the ones you will use all the time. I love the Towa gauge--it really lets you learn what good tension feels like (meaning, when the tension is right, pulling the thread through the needle will feel a certain way and you will recognize how that feels quickly.) But first you have to get the good tension, which you can with the gauge. Advertisement over!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgene Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 Thanks Linda and Joann. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 I found the setting on the side or end of the box. It through me for a loop trying to figure out what to gauge my bobbins at because I don't read Japanese or Chinese, My box said 15 to 18 for metal and 20 - 22 for prewounds. I wrote the settings on the side of the TOWA in permanent marker...I need to rewrite them as they have faded. Love my TOWA:D Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgene Posted September 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 Thank you Cheryl, this info will help greatly. My box has no settings written on it, I checked after reading a previous post. I will write these on it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwpeterson11 Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 16 has been a good setting for me with bottom line in the bobbin and king tut on top. It sounds like I am running my bobbin tension really loose? Should I tighten it and see what it does? I've only had my machine for a week so I'm very new to this. Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltjunkie Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 I use only BL in the bobbin and I have it set about 17-18 and it seems to be working great, I use mostly King Tut in the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynne Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 Sure wish the top tension had some kind of guide on it. I painted a tic on it at the top of the dial when I had it threaded with Sew Fine on top and BL in bottom, thinking I could at least get it back to where I started, but then when I tried to find my way back after having cotton threaded, I didn't know if I had gone around too many or too few times. Does anyone know if APQS will have some kind of visible scale to calibrate the top tension to...if that makes any sense? Lynne in Ann Arbor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 Because you sometimes need to adjust the tension knob a full turn (or maybe more!!) there isn't an easy way to mark the knob. There is a TOP TENSION gauge out there--shaped like a large pen--and it is not expensive. I haven't used one so I can't say if it works. I think Columbia River Quilting carries them so check their site. Hints for top tension--- thread the machine correctly and thread the needle. With the thread in your left hand, pull the thread through the needle and towards the back of the machine. Feel how tight the pull is and see how much the needle flexes. Now pull again and watch the tension spring (the U-shaped end of the spring that sticks out from the tension mechanism) My spring at rest is about at 10 o'clock as you look at it from the right side. Pull the thread and adjust the tension knob until the spring deflects to about 8 o'clock when the thread is pulled. That is my sweet spot for top tension. Yours may be different, but that is a place to start. Then adjusting the bobbin is easier because you have the top where it should be. With BL in the bobbin and King Tut on top, I set my bobbin at 17 (Towa Gauge) A lot of questions here are about tension--our machines are SO GREAT that an easily-remedied (?) problem like tension just shows how lucky we are to have the APQS products. (No affiliation except as a happy stitcher!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keown Posted September 6, 2007 Report Share Posted September 6, 2007 I always thought it was best to use the same weight thread on top as in the bobbin? Sounds like I'm wrong. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 Nancy, You aren't wrong. Sometimes it is easier to get a better tension. But I find I do not have tension problems running two different thread weights. It just depends on what you want to do and the look that you like. A lot of quilters like to run So-Fine or Bottom-line in the bobbins because you can get more thread on a bobbin. This means you change thread less often which I like. Also, if I have a backing that doesn't match the front thread color and the top thread color looks awful on the back the thinner thread doesn't show as much. This is assuming that I can't run two totally different thread colors with out worrying about tension issues (dark purple top and a white backing) and pokies on the front. Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.