Jack F4 sewing machine problems
 

Hello to all you happy quilters

I recently purchased a new Jack F4 sewing machine. It hates me.......

I have problems with all kinds of threads (good quality). If it's not skipping stitches, it's shredding thread, poly and cotton alike, especially hates the Glide thread that is not supposed to break as much.

I quilted on it for a week with no problems. I removed the feed dogs and am using an adapted/free motion foot. The feed dogs don't drop.

I am using the Juki 14/90 needles that came with it. Seems that the get dull very quickly.

it does seem to be a needle problem. Is there a better needle out there for quilting on this machine? If so could you give me the proper numbers for them, I looked on the Organ site and there are so many to choose from, it's confusing.

I just want to quilt, I am spending way too much time troubleshooting, my head is going to explode.

Thank you for any advice.
Linda

Sorry for your frustrations. I tried googling for you but every youtube or information I can find is not in English. Hope you can sort your problem soon.

Looks a lot like my Juki8700. I'm going to assume it's taking round shank needles so you have to be very careful that you are getting the needle in with the hole centered correctly. It's one of the things I dislike but understand why it's done that way. My husband has no trouble, but with my stigmatism I don't see real "straight" to start with so it gets harder for me to do (if I look down a straight 2x4, it will appear to have a curve in it)

I have not tried to do any FMQ on mine as I own an LA. However if it was working until you removed the feed dogs, you may need to lower the presser foot bar so the foot is riding slightly lower and putting a bit more tension on the fabric. However that issue normally shows up as skipped stitches and less often as thread shredding.

This sounds more like a timing issue, and it's possible you will have to tweak that after the other changes as now the fabric tension is different. I don't remember which way to do it, but you can alight the needle hole up slightly off center and see if that does it. That effectively changes the timing slightly.

I FMQ with a hopping foot and the feed dogs UP...it gives me a lot more control and the stitches are better(for me)...try putting your feed dogs back and use your hopping foot. If it sewed correctly before you removed the feed dogs, this may be the problem for some reason.

I have a Janome. It FMQ better with the feed dogs up. I use a supreme slider mat on my machine so the feed dogs are covered. I makes no sense to me but it works. Try putting the feed dogs back in and quilting that way. Also if that doesn't work try taping an index card over the feed dogs. Good luck.

I don't cover my feed dogs at all! Guess we all do it our own way. Leah Day had a video out about FMQ-ing with the feed dogs up..that's where I learned it. I find that with the feed dogs uncovered, they move the fabric when the hopping foot goes down..you can get into a rhythm that way and the stitches are much more consistent. Leaving them up and uncovered still allows you to move the quilt sandwich freely, as the hopping foot doesn't pin the fabric down like a regular foot.

Ah, it's an industrial machine. It couldn't hurt to try FMQ with the feed dogs on, and the presser foot tension lowered. You might want to check if there's a burr on the hook --which can be polished off with a very fine sandpaper (400-600 grit). On my longarm, if the thread is shredding, I turn the needle slightly to the right. If it skips stitches, I turn it slightly to the left. The hook on your machine is sideways to most domestic machines, but I think the same could apply.

Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I remember reading an article that said free motion quilting with the feed dogs up will damage the machine over time. I don't know why I didn't read that far because I wan't interested then. It has stayed with me not to do this. I have asked several techs about it and some say it's okay and some say no don't do it. I thought techs all learn the same thing. Ugh.

Probably not the problem in this case, but your needles could have had a quality control issue in manufacturing that left burrs where the thread slides thru.

There is absolutely no reason that leaving your feed dogs up can damage your machine! Think about how it works...the feed dogs move the fabric..the hopping foot "hops" up to allow you to move the fabric...believe me, you aren't strong enough to damage them!

You don't need to lower the tension on your presser foot..that's what the hopping foot is for, when it is raised there is zero tension on your fabric, even with the feed dogs up..it hops upward every stitch..

Quilting on a Jack F4
 

I also quilt on a Jack F4. I purchased my machine in May 2020. I have had no problems really with FMQ on this industrial sewing machine. I use Glide, Aurilux, and Guttenberg poly threads with no issues. I have also pieced using cotton threads with no problems. I am currently using Juki 90/14 DBx1 needles but have ordered some Groz-Beckert needles to try as the Juki needles seem to dull quickly. I tried Organ needles but they made a "clicking" noise so I quit using them. I keep the feed dogs up, set to the stitch length to 0, cover the feed dogs with a Supreme Slider. I use a ruler foot always for quilting on this machine, even if I'm FMQing without using rulers. As others have mentioned try adjusting you needle, twisting it ever so slightly left or right and making sure the scarf is to the right. Remember to thread left to right. I hope that you have solved your problems with your Jack. It is a great machine to quilt with and produces fabulous stitches with no birds nest, skipped stitches or eyelases! And the throat space is awesome!

I think the misunderstanding here is noting that you have to use a hopping foot with the feed dogs up. It probably would put a lot of wear and tear on a machine if you use a regular foot with the feed dogs up and try to push and pull fabric through...with a hopping foot, the foot raises up between stitches, so it is very easy to move the fabric.

I could not get the jest of quilting with glide it seemed to shred for me. I use 50wt thread and it works for me. I read somewhere if you use glide to move the eye of the needle a little offset from center.

Fussy machines.
 

Sometimes I think that some sewing machines are just finicky. I have a Janome 6600p that HATES Isocord thread. Just shreds it, coughs, and makes giant nests on the back. That Janome loves Glide, Aurilux, and Gutterman. My Jack F4 doesn't seem like any thread. Now that I have said that, I probably jinxed it and it will likely shred any thread I use. LOL