Janome Jem Platinum 720
 

Today I lifted the stitch plate off my Janome Jem to clean underneath and woah! Lotsa lint in there after two years. While I was in there, I wondered if I should have oiled it also. I didn't find anything in the manual about oiling. Does anyone know if this needs to be done on this machine? If so, where would I find info about where and what to oil?

It's a drop-in bobbin/horizontal rotary hook. Under the needle plate, you can oil in the center hole under the bobbin basket and the feed dog joints. You can also oil the take-up linkages, through the slot in the front of the machine. There aren't any service panels on that machine, so when it wears out, throw it away and get a new one. I've got pictures on my blog, but I'm not allowed to post my blog links.

I did a search for how to oil a drop in bobbin sewing machine and found http://shesasewingmachinemechanic.bl...-feed-dog.html It is the second type shown titled "How to Clean and Oil the Bobbin and Feed Dog Area on a Drop-in Bobbin System:"

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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I sew everyday if I waited two years to clean and oil my machines, lint would be oozing out everywhere.

I bought the service manual for my Jem (instant download $7 US) which showed how to open the machine, clean and oil the innards. I also bought the service manual for my Janome 4900. Again, it showed where and how to dismantle the cover(s) and where to clean and oil. Definitely worth the money considering a basic service is $80+ for either machine in my area.

Remember to use good quality sewing machine oil not 3 in 1 or WD40.

Thank you to all who replied. This is very helpful information!

I got the service manual for all my machines and bought the housing removal tools needed. A repairman ordered them for me. Most repair depts at dealers won't order them for anyone but the independent ones don't mind especially if compensated generously for their time.

I don't always want to do it but I try really hard to clean out the bobbin case area particularly every time I change a bobbin. My old vintage mechanical machine had a couple of oil points but it was very easy to reach them. My current modern machine only wants me to give a precise drop when and where it tells me (mostly at the bobbin case).

I've found keeping a pack of chenille stems (pipe cleaners) with my stuff to be one of the best/easiest tools to use, you can poke it and swipe and get into little crooks and crevices and then pull the lint off it.

As the others have said, I buy oil from the notions wall at the sewing store, there are a couple of brands, a couple of sizes. It's just a drop here and there but the right type is important in multiple ways,

I fill 4 bobbins at one time, when the last one is done, I clean out the bobbin area and oil the wick in the center.