Towa gauge

[Chocoholic]

After reading so much discussion on this list about the Towa gauge, Iand after spending much time trying to get the bobbin tension right and not succeeding when I changed from King Tut to So Fine in the bobbin, I decided to buy a Towa gauge. WOW!! I love it. It takes me just a minute to test the bobbin with it, adjust the tension if necessary and retest and sew. It is great.

Also, another tip. The weekend of Portland Market, I was at a quilting retreat when I wasn\'t at Market. Anyway, someone at the retreat had some magnetic \'pin holders\'. They are little metal dishes with a strong magnet on the bottom. When she found out that I have a longarm, she gave me one. Turns out she bought them at an auto parts store. It sets right on top of the rollers (the magnet holds it on) and the pins stay in with the magnet. Anyway, she said they were lots cheaper than buying them at the quilt store.

[Stagecl]

I bought my towa about 1 1/2 years ago...I love it too. It just saves me time and guessing.

Cheryl

[MarieBrewer]

I bought mine at NAPA auto parts store. I think they were $4.95 on sale. Yesterday I rigged up the tray "thing" that sits across the bars and holds anything I need. Really liked getting everything off the table. There were some pix a few weeks ago by someone who came up w/this idea. Used Liquid Nails to glue the trays to two flat curtain rods that rest on the leveler and quilt top bars.

[QuiltFaerie]

I purchased my Towa Gauge at MQX in 2007. I really didn\'t use it that often as my tension is normally just fine. But this weekend.... It was a life saver. My tension on the back was all wonky and when I checked with the Towa Gauge, I could see immediately what the problem was.

This a wonderful tool to have in your box.

[PamelaA]

I have two of the magnetic dishes. I bought a small on because the store didn\'t have the larger one. Then my Secret Santa gave me a large one (Thank-you, thank-you!). They are great. I also like my Towa guage. It makes life with JJ (my milli) a little easier.

Pamela

[moonwoman]

After reading many posts on the greatness of the gauge I bought one and it seems that my tension is always much looser than the other LA\'ers that posted their tension readings for various threads. I do like that I can tell if a pre-wound is going to be one of those too tight ones right away instead of breaking thread until it dawns on me.

[Mary Beth]

I have a Towa gage and use it all the time. The drop test only makes me mad :mad: I end up chasing my bobbin across the room

Just for hoots...what setting do you all use? I know we have cpvered this before, but I always use the same setting...that has to be wrong. My tension looks fine, but I want to try what others do and see if my tenison will look beautiful!!

[Lsilver]

I, too, am interested in what settings others use. I am not an expert with this device yet.

Answers? Thanks in advance!

[Quilting Heidi]

I find that mine works best at about 18 for SoFine, which is the one I use the most.

[The Crafty Unicorn]

OK, dumb question...

With the Towa gauge, do you make the tension always the same (say 18) regardless of thread, or do you have different settings for each type of thread? Does King Tut run at 18 and Bottom line at 22 (numbers are just from thin air).

I use the drop test now and sometimes have to adjust my tension from bobbin to bobbin of the same thread, wound at the same time... Learned that the hard way!

[Quilting Heidi]

Leslie,

I think you have to change with the type of thread. I almost always use So-Fine or BottomLine in the bobbin. When using Bottom-line I go to about 20. If I use Signature cotton I go to about 15.

[Chocoholic]

The instructions from Mark and also that were on the Towa when I got it say to use 15-18 for metal bobbins and 20-22 for pre-wound cardboard. Since there was no guidelines for aluminum which is the type of bobbins that I have, I use between 18-20 for those and it seems to work great. There were no instructions to change the tension based on thread so I do not change for different threads, but rather adjust the top tension to get the overall to look great.

I am very pleased with the results. It takes me so much less time to get the overall tension right.

I have tried Bottom Line, King Tut and So Fine in the bobbins that I have adjusted with the Towa, so far. I have only done 5 quilts since I got the Towa, so I hope I continue to be as satisfied.

[DebsQuiltArt]

Hello. I set mine at 15 for all bobbin threads that I use, whether it is superbob\'s, so fine, or Aurifil.

Then I adjust my top tension only, and usually do not have to touch it much.

I wind my own bobbins also. Pre-wounds are an inconsistent reading for me. They seem to stick sometimes.

[quiltjunkie]

I too use about 17-20 on the gauge and only use Botton Line in the bobbin.. I have almost every color of BL so I don\'t see any reason to use King Tut or any other top thread (which is much more expensive and thicker) in the bobbin. I don\'t have good luck with prewounds and so much cheaper to wind your own..

[Mary Beth]

My instructions that were in the Towa gauge box were in Chinese....I don\'t read Chinese...only Ozarkian I use mostly perwounds and keep it at 18, but once I thought about it, even if I wind my own bobbin I use 18. Got me thinking maybe I should be using other numbers for different types of thread. I don\'t use King Tut or Rainbows in the bobbin, so I\'m not worried about numbers on those. But sometimes I wind a So Fine.

[TracyeQ]

I use aluminum bobbins and keep it at 10-12 (it says 110-120 on my newer gage). I keep it at the same setting for all threads.

[roberta]

Originally posted by TracyeQ

I use aluminum bobbins and keep it at 10-12 (it says 110-120 on my newer gage). I keep it at the same setting for all threads.

Thank you for the clarification of the numbers. I just got one and was so confused because my numbers go from 0 to 400. When everyone was quoting 2 digit numbers I didn\'t know how to convert.

It sounds like if I want 17 - 20 I would be shooting for 170 to 200 then right?

I can\'t wait to give it a try now that I know how it works.

I really appreciate this thread

[ramona-quilter]

There was a class at MQS that I heard about afterward and the instructor said that for cotton we should be running 22-25. WHAT??? That would break, wouldn\'t it?

Well, no, as it turns out. And it looks great with cotton top and bobbin. Now, I\'m talking about Signature cotton. King Tut is something entirely different. I think that I would still run KT sloppy loose.

PermaCore I run about 18-20. It is not fussy.

I run So Fine about 18-20.

Rheingold and some of the specialty threads, I run 16-18.

[juliagraves]

I set mine at 14 when I\'m using Bottom Line and Rainbow in top. If I make the bobbin any tighter, then the Rainbow starts to break.

If I\'m using So Fine in the top, I set it around 17.

Julia

[Deann]

A question about reading the gauge...do you pull the thread taut and then read it or are you pulling as you read it???

[barbm]

I just got my Towa in the mail yesterday - Prodigy had them on sale at the Shopping Frenzy at MQS and they only brought 30 of them, what were they thinking? - and I think you slowly and gently pull the thread and sorta average the reading. I don\'t think you can pull it taut - it just feeds out of the bobbin. I\'m soooo glad I had mine - went to a customer\'s home today and used it to show her how to change the bobbin tension. She\'s got a Towa gauge but hadn\'t ever taken it out of the box......

[moonwoman]

Linda, I run my King Tut sloppy loose, too, do you use all the upper thread guides when you run King Tut? or Rainbows? I haven\'t been and am wondering if maybe not using all the holes on the thread guide above the tension is leaving kinks in the thread that could be causing breakage. hmmmmmmmm

Trayce, most of the prewounds, which is really all I\'ve used lately, seem to work best at the settings you are using. It\'s nice to see someone else with low settings

I tried the 170-220 that others said they were using and all that happened is break break break break

[t257daf]

The newer Towa gauges have a scale running from 0-400. The readings on these are 10 time higher than on the older gauges. I saw on a post somewhere that a good tension for metal bobbins is 15-18, for prewound 20-22 - on the older gauge. These convert to 150-180 and 200-220 for the newer gauge. I use these reading and the tension lis perfect. I check the bobbin on the gauge each time I change a bobbin. It takes less than 30 seconds and helps ensure that the thread is pulling nice and that there is not a wrap on the inside of the case too. Works great.

[TerriVB]

I am glad that I saw Tracye\'s settings--because I was starting to think that I was way off target--I too run my bobbins at 10 - 13. And for anybody struggling with tension--the guage is well worth the money. I have only been LAing for just about a year--and was having trouble with the drop test--and fearing that I had made a mistake in purchasing the machine--I ordered the Towa--and never looked back!! I LOVE it!!

[jmyhogan]

I bought my Towa early last year from APQS So it has the older settings. I use mostly Bottom Line pre-wounds (Super Bobs) and I usually run the Towa between 10 to 19 depending on the top thread. I always check the bobbin with the Towa each time I put in a new bobbin. Just because they are the same color and from the same box it does not mean each one is exactly the same and especially when I switch to a different color. So glad I spent the money.