Quote Originally Posted by J Miller View Post
You know what I've noticed, lots of thread we buy seems to be extremely linty and dirty. I start with a cleaned machine, and when I'm done the bobbin area is just full of lint and fuzz. I have tons of thread to use and most of it is Coats & Clarks. It's the newer stuff though that's so dirty.

Joe
The sewing teacher I learned from said to never use the Coats thread. (I suspect that it might have been because the Coats thread that the local fabricland carries - which is where all new sew-ers seem to shop - is the bottom of the barrel for quality. I have no doubt that they have several lines as well.) So when I (re)started sewing, I bought Gutermann exclusively, but I'm finding even the Gutermann is very linty these days. I like the Robison Anton thread, and I have a spool of the Aurofil here that looks pretty good too (haven't had time to use it yet) and it's dirt cheap as far as cotton threads go here.

Those threads don't seem to be delinting themselves and messing up the spring tension as much as the others, but I also clean my machines more often than is strictly needed.

The quilt batting on the other hand, holy COW the mess that makes in the hook area.

Quote Originally Posted by miriam View Post
Tammi, I have found a lot of packed up bobbin areas - in fact just today - I bought a Singer Fashion Mate for the cabinet - the machine was not suppose to work. How can it work when it is so impacted by lint and dried up oil?
1) Bobbin area/feed dogs solidly packed up with lint - looked like insulation
2) Dried on oil everywhere - nothing moved at all even with out lint
3) wiring not functional - machine does not power up at all
Good: the plastic gears are in tact - no cracks
What I did:
The lint is cleaned out - everything moves when I hand turn it thanks to Tri-flow
I think some fabrics shed more than others but I agree thread isn't what it once was
There will be a day for cleaning up hardened oil and very dirty linty grease
Another time for checking the wiring.
Machine should work just fine eventually...
I've often thought of reusing those felts that the machine makes... like for the race wicks on a 66 / 99 for instance. They're thick enough and often big enough....

Because of the mess I keep finding, I've taken to disassembling all bobbin cases and cleaning under the springs. I just turn the screw in until it stops, make note of the number of turns, then remove both screws and clean like crazy. Then I reassemble to the same spec and test from there. More often than not, the case doesn't need any more adjustment, and the tension problems magically disappear.

One of the bobbin cases was so packed up that there was a "chunk" of lint under the spring that I had to "chip" off with a small blade screwdriver. DH caught me muttering "THERE's your problem...."

Another one was so full of lint in the hook area, I took an air compressor to it.... there was fluff floating all over my sewing room (in my eye lashes, my hair, all over my clothes...) for a good 15 mins at least.

I bought a little Genie for parts this weekend. I hate to do it, but I needed the pedal, and the machine was missing the slide plate and the hand wheel was cracked in 2 pieces. It was surprisingly clean in the hook area, but maybe that's the lack of a slide plate. The lint could escape.