Originally Posted by
Caroline S
If I ever find a Bernette, I will pass. Sometimes one just needs to end the repair frustration and chalk it up to a learning experience.
This is my 2nd Bernette to work on, the first was a serger. The serger was frustrating, but I got it. This nylon track just makes me sad. There's no reason for it. The Berninas have been better quality parts, but they seem unnecessarily complex. Though people say the same about Pfaff, and I "get" the Pfaffs I've worked on (maybe with the exception of the Upper tension on the 362. That was a character building experience. )
Originally Posted by
Candace
Bernettes are not highly regarded for quality. I worked on a cheapie WalMart Brother that had a very similar nylon bar mechanism. It similarly wouldn't stay on track. I do think there's something amiss with it. Like you said, a piece missing, broken or ? The Brother I worked on eventually got chucked. There ARE machines that simply can't be repaired and are disposable. This is why they're sold and made so cheaply. This is one of the main problems with these kinds of machines. The other is bent needle bars. Typically, in well made machines the needle will break if there's a major snag or problem. With these machines, the needle bar metal is weaker than the metal in the needle and the bar will actually bend rather than the needle breaking!
I knew they were poorly regarded, I just thought they
should be better than a Walmart Singer / Brother, for instance. I figured that the machine was a little older, and hopefully a little better made. This disposable society makes me crazy.
I checked the needlebar pretty carefully for this reason. I have heard of needlebars bending, but haven't personally come across one. This needlebar looked pretty good against a straight ruler at several angles, but I wasn't about to disassemble that much too.