Originally Posted by
miriam
Maybe use floss on a new machine but these old ones seem to collect some serious junk and taking them apart is the best way to clean them up. <snip> Tammi has a info about putting the tension in. Dig around her web pages
http://www.archaicarcane.com/fragile...ess/#more-1669 there is
very well written and great video info on tensions!!!
I sometimes wonder if I talk too much about tension on my blog.
I guess there's a lot of stress in my life! I used to recommend flossing but stopped that when a friend did it and it shoved the broken thread further in and compounded the problem. I rebuild every vintage tensioner that hits my bench these days. It's just not worth fighting with them until you know that it's not a grunge problem.
Originally Posted by
Wunder-Mar
Rather than taking apart your tension disks, he suggests flossing them with waxeddental floss. Skipping stitches heattributes often to either the needle’s being dull OR its being incorrectly installedwith the hole facing front – the flat part of the needle should be on the leftwhen you insert it, and you thread from the right to the left. If, after doing these two things, he suggestsre-threading the bobbin in the bobbin case before adjusting the tension.
Wunder-Mar - he suggested waxed floss? Not unwaxed specifically? The reason we don't use hand quilting thread on our machines is the wax that helps it through the layers messes our machines up. Same reason we wouldn't try to resolve a problem using a similar product...
I just learned something! I had no idea you could insert the needle with the flat to the back in a featherweight. I've never tried before! I know you can't do this with a 301 for sure! Backwards - ie. flat to the right - is very common though and will cause skipped stitches guaranteed.