Keeping your machine running nicely
 

I have an Activa Bernina and I usually love my machine. Well when I was FMQ I was getting thread nesting on the back. After trying everything under the sun with no success and tried just piecing and the nesting was even happening with a straight stitch, I brought it to my friend who services machines. Well after she did a good cleaning of the machine, she realized the bobbin hook had a scratch and that was causing the thread to catch on the back. Fortunately she buffed it out and all is well. This happened from breaking a needle and the eye may have lingered in there. Bernina now makes this piece in metal rather than plastic also. However, replacing this piece is costly and will eventually be necessary. So word of advice when you break a needle, be certain you find all of the pieces. Do a close inspection in the bobbin area. Any other tips on keeping a sewing machine running smoothly would be a good post. We all are very fond of our sewing machines and keeping them in good working order is something I want to pay good attention to. Grace

Great suggestion. Thanks.

I had been remiss on my routine maintenance on my embroidery machine (oiling). The other day the bobbin case was emitting a horrible noise sounding like the case was loose and the bobbin sounded like it would pop out. I cleaned the dust out and tightened everything up and it still made the noise--awful! Then I thought to myself--"When's the last time you oiled it?". Well long story short, a little oil and now it sounds like the day I got it! So that's what I'd like to contribute to this post--remember proper maintenance.

Thanks for the great advice!

Thanks for reminders!!

Regarding oiling the bobbin case--Even with sealed no-oiling machines, the operator must oil the bobbin case, as there is no other way for oil to get there. The general recommendation is lint cleaning and one drop of oil with every bobbin change, for all machines, whether dsm or longarm. It's the simplest, most effective way to keep your machine healthy for a long time. :thumbup:

I oil all moving parts with oil on a long Q tip. It will also catch lint that you don't see when you go a little deeper with the q-tip. I bought the long q-tip from a medical supplier on ebay.

Tips are great. Keep them coming. We have invested our hard earned money in our machines and we all want them to run smoothly. Grace

thanks! bookmarking this, i think that may be the problem with 2 of my machines. :) they are both Brothers cs6000i a friend gave me and they both behave the same way.

Thanks for the cleaning tips.