quiltermidwife Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 HELP! My machine was fine last time I used it. Gave it a good clean afterwards. Went to MQS. Today loaded a qult and practice piece for tension and the machine jammed in the down position. When I eventually got the machine to co-operate and the needle came up, I changed the needle and tried again. I could hear a clicking sound as the needle went down. Removed the needle and ran the machine. No noise. Replaced with another needle but removed the bobbin case. Clicking sound returned. Inspected the hook assembly whilst turning the flywheel and can see a slight deflection of the needle when it is in its lowest point which coincides with when I hear the clicking sound. APQS are closed until tomorrow. Does anyone have any suggestions I could try. I so hope I don\'t have to re-time the machine. Can\'t think what has caused it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Chris, Make sure that your needle is all the way up in the needle bar. If not, that can throw off the timing a little as the needle would be too low. The hook point should just deflect off the needle slightly as the needle is coming back up from the lowest point. Hope that helps!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenMcManus Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hi Chris, Mine clicks as it deflects, also. I think this is normal. Are your stitches ok? Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Thanks Mark & Jen for posting The needle is as far up as it will go. It is a loud click as it comes into contact with the hook assembly and definitely was not there before. Doesn\'t sound or feel normal to me. I would be anxious about running the motor again for fear of doing any damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 When you look at the needle in its down position in the bobbin area(with no bobbin or shuttle case in it)you should only see the eye and no more of the needle in that area, if you can see oart of the shaft then the needle bar has moved, (when it jammed), it is a fairly simple adjustment to make assuming its similar to the Milli. Its such a miserable day here in England(3" rain in the last 24 hours) I\'m sure all you want to do today is quilt. I\'ve quilted one quilt today and am now putting on the binding. For all ofyou in the USA, today is a public holiday here in England-hence the horrible weather! 0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnmach Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Chris -- Also make sure you don\'t have the needle in backwards. You WILL get a loud tick if it is. Johnmach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Yvette Have checked and adjusted and readjusted the needle bar setting and that seems to be okay.. Only chanmge was when I raised the needle too high, the noise disappeared. John, the needle is in as usual with the protrusion at the back (towards the throat of the machine). Have now noticed that when I run the machine using the flywheel and the machine threaded, I\'m not getting any stitches!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Chris, are you sure your needle isn\'t in backwards? The large concave part of the needle should be facing toward the BACK. To aid me in inserting the needle, I use a flat flowerhead pin and insert this into the eye of the needle. This holds the pin in place as I screw the needle screw in very tightly. I use a long screwdriver to get more leverage. And after I have screwed it in, I also (while the flowerhead pin is still in there) let it lay there so it is pointing in the 6:35 ish position. If it isn\'t in the 6:35 ish position, unscrew a wee bit and adjust accordingly. You should not have any clicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Thanks Shana No, my needle is not in backwards and is fully inserted. I also use the long screwdriver for good leverage. Have been at this all afternoon to no avail. So frustrating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudiaPfeil Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Don´t you think that you should re-time the machine???? Take a deep breath ....and do it! Wish I could help...... Claudia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Claudia That\'s precisely what I thought someone might suggest. I was rather hoping it might be something simpler. What I can\'t understand is why it should have gone out of time? I think I will leave it for today and try again tomorow. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydids Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Chris... you said this below in an earlier post. "John, the needle is in as usual with the protrusion at the back (towards the throat of the machine)." If this is the case then you r needle IS in backwards! The protrusion (or bump in the needle) should be facing the front side of the machine. Tthe hook hits the needle in the concave or indented section on the back of the needle. If it is hitting the part that sticks out it is going to deflect more and cause a much louder click. This will also cause it to not pick up the thread. Check your needle again before you go into retiming the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Patty OMG you are absolutely right. How could I have missed it??? Why is it you can do something so many times before and then suddenly have a mental blank about it? I put it down to jet lag, brain not in gear yet. thank you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Chris, It is so easy to miss something like that. I just went through the steps today of timing my machine. My needle bar has slipped down just a tad and it was causing me to get one funky little stitch. It is so frustrating when you can\'t find the problem. I hope this solves your problem and you can get back to it!! Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 How frustrating for you, it just shows that sometimes you need to walk away from something and come back to it another time as you tend to repeat mistakes without realising it. I have now finished quilting my customer quilt (for the second time).I bleated about it last week ,6 hours quilting, 8 hours unpicking. I now have millions of ends to finish off. I will post pictures in due course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Chris, I thought so!!! Yes, as Patty said (and I mentioned too) the concave part goes toward the back. So glad you fixed this. It\'s easy to put these in backwards...ask me how I know!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liz2075 Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 I sat down as my machine was so messed up. Clunk clunk clunk BLAH blah blah! Read this and went and looked!...guess what no more clunkity! And what\'s worse I really didn\'t know for sure how that needle went! I thought it was right. I read all your posts and copied and pasted this! Bet I don\'t mix this up again for awhile anyways! Thanks again! Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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