How often do you oil your machine?
 

Just curious

Thanks

I have two old metal machines from the 1950's. I try to oil them when I've sewn 6 hours, I read that somewhere. I have a rough idea how long I work at a time. I think it boils down to about every week or week and a half. Love to know what others do!!

All machines are different and you should refer to your owner's manual. Some of the newer machines need very little oil and the older machines need much more.

My machine needs 1 drop of oil in the bobbin area every 8-10 hours of sewing. I add the drop about every 3-5 bobbins.

I can always tell when my Bernina wants oil, it gets a little noisy in the bobbin race area.

I've heard that some of the old style machines like the Singer 15s for instance will use a lot of oil

The reason I'm asking is there is some controversy in our house regarding oiling of sewing machines.

I explained that if all you do is a rare occasion of mending sure you don't need to oil that often

But if you're sewing hard for hours at a time for days on end of course you'll need to oil your machine more often!

And I do understand just a drop because too much can throw off timing or seep where it shouldn't

I have an old Kenmore, 158.13041, I think from the 60's, it still has a little sticker on the motor that says 1-3 drops of oil every 6 months (at the red dots) which are 1 on each side of motor, so 2 places. I would think it matters though how much you sew, but I do it at least that often. It is in a cabinet, very very heavy, but I also lean it back and dab oil on some of the moving parts underneath. Had it serviced when we lived in Florida, and believe it or not, this company made house calls, so I watched everything he did, so I know pretty much the most important areas.

I just had my Bernina service. I am NOT quilting as much as my best friend may think so he told me I should oil it once every morning that I sew. I am going to try to do it once a week.

I do think it varies a lot by brand. Follow your manual. I was told to oil my Juki every day I use it.

I think machines that are not used very often should at least be "agitated" every few months so that the oil does not "clot".

By "agitated" - turn the big wheel on the right a few turns so that everything moves a bit inside.

I have three DSM now and I'm trying to use them regularly to keep them in form

My singer built in the 1950's ... I oil about every two weeks. My newer Viking.... I can't oil.

My mechanical machines I keep doused in clear new machine oil. I have a Brother 1500 and oil it every few hours of sewing.

Each machine is different. I have a BabyLock & an Elna. Neither gets oiled until they are serviced. That's what the tech told me.

I have 3 different brands of machines, all 3 have different oiling requirements. I oil them as often as their manual says to.

It depends on the machine!!

My Huskvarna ... NEVER.
My Janome ... I put one drop of oil in the wick under the bobbin, one drop on the needle bar, and one drop on the edge of the bobbin race - every time I clean the bobbin area, which is about every two bobbins.
My vintage Singer machines ... I don't use them very often, so I oil them with each use.

My sewing and sergers are all electronic so self oiling................at least I hope they are. My quilt machine after every bobbin change and then after I'm done with a quilt, I clean and oil it as it may sit for a day or even a week/month.

I have been told that if a machine that needs oil sets long times, it should be oiled before use as the oil runs down and leaves dry spots.

I try to follow the direction in manuals or when I forget, I oil when the machine sounds a bit loud.

Follow the manual. I have older machines that I oil as suggested in the manual. I also have three new machines and they do not need oil at all. And I never use can air on the enclosed machines. Big no no. I do have a long arm, APQS and it gets oiled every other quilt. I do put oil on it when I do not use it for longer than a week. Then I clean in completely before using it. Good luck

I oil any of mine when the mood strikes; but don't use that as a guide you should follow. DH and DS can both service machines, so I let them have that little worry--one less grey hair for me--but I can tell when my FW needs oiling; it gets noisy in the bobbin area, and so does my Elna (1985 model) and those are mostly the only machines that I use with any kind of regularity. My LA gets cleaned and oiled before every use.

The featherweight I add a drop of oil about every time I sew for very long. The rest of the working parts about every 2 months.
The Stradivaro I am not as good about remembering but try to oil about every 3 months. When sewing a lot, I am better about doing it regularly.
Mariah

It's actually a misconception that most new machines don't need oil. The manuals are poorly written when they say that they don't need oil. The assumption in the manual is that the machine will be going in for regular service where a technician will oil what needs to be oiled during the service. Unfortunately, when people read that it doesn't need to be oiled, they often think "Yay! My machine doesn't need to go in for service!" This is NOT true. If you're not oiling it, and I can bet many people don't want to get into the places where some of those oil spots are on their own, it NEEDS to go in for service.

Now, as to noise being the indicator of when a machine needs oil. We oil machines to reduce friction on metal to metal parts. This reduces wear and damage. When your machine is getting noisy, it's past the point of wanting oil and parts are wearing on each other. Don't wait for your machine to scream for help. Give it some preventative maintenance (oil) and clean out the lint while you're there! The lint wicks oil and to a certain degree grease away from where it belongs and causes premature wear that may not be covered by warranty.

I read in the manual every 8 hours. Realized that meant 8 hours of sewing. In some spots, that seems to be too much.

Oiling the bobbin area, Juki 2101, after 10 hours of sewing, there was a slight puddle of oil in the base.

I had a PQ 1500 and had to do my own repairs after a Brother Dealer cleaned it, and there were oil drips in the chassis.
These machines need a dipstick.

The Pfaff 2170 is sealed, but we were told by the dealer to put a drop of oil on the needlebar and takeup lever, and around the bobbin spindle.

My Brother sewing machine says not to oil. But, my Nolting Pro requires 4 drops on the red dots once every 8 hours of sewing and 2 drops in the bobbin case.

Since I have a newer machine (Babylock Crecendo) I do not oil mine.

My Computer Bernina tells me when it needs to be oiled and my other machines get oiled after each project.

I have two Bernina machines, same model numbers. The one in New Mexico needs oil sooner than the one in Florida. I am not sure if it is the lack of humidity that causes this or not. They do have an oil light to tell you when to oil but I do before the light comes on, usually after 6-8 house of sewing. They tend to get louder when the bobbin area is needing oil.

My repair guy has me oiling it every day that I use it. Now, do I??? I do when I am going thru at least a bobbin. If I just sit down and sew a tiny bit on that day, I don't. When I am doing some marathon quilting, I will oil every 5-6 bobbins. ( I just quilted 4 quilts with a total of 26 bobbins in 4 days) Many times it is just a bobbin or two and I clean and oil. I have a Bernina 630

I don't have to oil my Viking, but I do oil my 401A after I finish a project, and sooner if it begins to sound a little noisy.