Janome harmony
 

my manual says janome does not need to be oiled; however, it is squeeking. should i oil or not and where. thank you!

I have a janome 11000 and my dealer said to put a drop of oil under the bobbin case once a month, but you should check with you dealer
gale

Check your manual to see why it may be squeaking. See if it has a trouble shooter section.

it says check feed dogs, and hook race. machine was just cleaned so there "shouldn't" be any thread there. squeek seems to be coming from under the casing where the whole needle assembly is by the needle thread thing that goes up and down. i know very scientific.

just wipe that needle bar with a piece of fabric with a drop of oil on it to clean it may just have some lint fuzzy on it. Also my dealer repair guy also said a drop of oil under where the bobbin drops in you will see a hole with what looks like fuzz in it, it is a wick to accept and hold the oil.

yep, today's machines don't need to be "oiled" as they did before. only under the bobbin on the dot of felt you can see. that's it.

I understand you very well. That's where my Janome MC4000 squeaks too.

Your sewing machine is a machine. It needs to be oiled where metal rubs on metal. They tell you that it doesn't need to be oiled, so you'll have to take it in to be serviced. It's a marketing ploy. You can oil the take-up area yourself. Only use clear "sewing machine oil," not 3-in-1 oil or WD-40. On some Janome machines, you can't open the machine to get into the take-up -- there's no service panels. However, you can oil through the slot. Shine a flashlight from the top, and put a drop of oil on each joint, and on the needle bar. If that doesn't take care of the squeak, it may be in a different spot. Or the squeak is happening because there's old oil that needs to be removed. In either of those cases, it's best to take it to the shop. Janomes aren't made to be easily opened and serviced.

Well, this isn't exactly true.... some machines are permanently lubricated and sealed, so they really don't need to be oiled. My Brother SE270 is one such machine. However, I wonder if these machines are the "disposable" ones. When the LED light on my Brother went dim, I tried to figure out how to replace it and could not. Finally took it in and asked the technician, who told me that that they're not replaceable - Brother considers that machine disposable, and when the light goes out it's time to get a new machine. Well, nuts to that, the machine still runs great! I picked up a gooseneck lamp from IKEA (Jansko) and kept right on sewing.

I hate that kind of thing SO MUCH. And we wonder why our landfills are so clogged. Shame on Brother! Good for you for finding a work-around!

(And those Jansjo lights...I love them but I don't think their bulbs are replaceable either. More landfill filler. I didn't realize that until I'd bought three of them!! It's inescapable these days...nothing is built to last anymore and it frustrates me to no end. Who ever heard of a lamp where you can't replace the bulb!?!?)