So Frustrated!
#1
So Frustrated!
Last year I bought a Juki TL2010Q from a local dealer. It is doing a very weird thing - I will describe as best I can.
I'll be sewing right along and the upper thread gets momentarily "caught" on something under the throat plate. I can feel a little hitch when it happens, I can hear it ping when it releases, like it's caught on something metal. I am able to continue to sew. When I examine the bobbin side of the pieced block, there are lengths of top thread caught in the bottom stitches. The stitching also puckers slightly at that point, like the tension goes off for just a couple of stitches. I can actually pull the pieces of top thread free from underneath the bottom stitches; usually the piece of thread is about two-three inches long. I have no idea how this can even happen, because the top thread is not broken (the seam is intact). I can't wrap my head around this! Obviously the top thread is breaking and getting caught up under the bobbin thread, but there is no evidence that the top thread has broken when you look at the stitching of the seam.
I have taken the machine into the dealer three times for this problem in the last year, the first time about a month after I bought it. The repair person was unable to find anything wrong with it. He said perhaps I was sewing too fast (I don't, but even if I did...) or I had the tension set wrong. I know it's not, because I put different colored threads in the top and bottom to check the tension (which is how I know it's the top thread getting caught underneath) and when testing the tension it looks fine to me.
Thanks for reading. If anyone has experienced this type of problem, please let me know.
Loving a cool summer day in California!
I'll be sewing right along and the upper thread gets momentarily "caught" on something under the throat plate. I can feel a little hitch when it happens, I can hear it ping when it releases, like it's caught on something metal. I am able to continue to sew. When I examine the bobbin side of the pieced block, there are lengths of top thread caught in the bottom stitches. The stitching also puckers slightly at that point, like the tension goes off for just a couple of stitches. I can actually pull the pieces of top thread free from underneath the bottom stitches; usually the piece of thread is about two-three inches long. I have no idea how this can even happen, because the top thread is not broken (the seam is intact). I can't wrap my head around this! Obviously the top thread is breaking and getting caught up under the bobbin thread, but there is no evidence that the top thread has broken when you look at the stitching of the seam.
I have taken the machine into the dealer three times for this problem in the last year, the first time about a month after I bought it. The repair person was unable to find anything wrong with it. He said perhaps I was sewing too fast (I don't, but even if I did...) or I had the tension set wrong. I know it's not, because I put different colored threads in the top and bottom to check the tension (which is how I know it's the top thread getting caught underneath) and when testing the tension it looks fine to me.
Thanks for reading. If anyone has experienced this type of problem, please let me know.
Loving a cool summer day in California!
#2
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,538
I have had the bottom thread get caught up in the seam if I don't hold the thread tails out of the way when I start to sew. As for something catching in the bobbin area, I would put a nylon on my fingers and go fishing under the bobbin area for a snag. If you have a snag, show your repairman and have him use an emery cloth to fix it.
#3
I get the same thing. I've no idea what causes it. I catch it fairly quickly and pull the fabric at the back, hear the "ping," and carry on. I thought maybe there was a burr on my presser foot, but I can't find one. It doesn't happen with my walking foot, but I use the other feet so rarely, that I don't know if it happens with them. If you should ever find out what causes it, I'd love to know.
#5
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,966
I have had the top thread get caught on something in the bobbin area too. But usually when I am pulling up the bobbin thread before I start to sew. The bobbin thread runs free but the top is hooked on something. I took off the throat plate and cleared out a few short threads. I think they were from "cutting twice" using the foot pedal. (Just a guess, they were short) I also took a clean paint brush and brushed out the lint from the bobbin chase area. For some reason, it doesn't catch anymore. But I do agree with you, it sounds like there is a metal hang up when it happens.
#7
It sounds like it may be a burr on your hook. As it catches the thread on the down stroke the burr is holding onto the thread on the upstroke of the needle causing a loop of thread, as the hook comes around it tightens the loop causing the thread to remain on the hook. On the next pass, as the needle is on the downstroke, it allows enough slack for the thread to slip off the hook causing your 'ping' sound and creating a length of thread caught up in your stitches. If you have a piece of fine Emory cloth you can maybe smooth it out. The easiest way to find out if you have a burr is get a piece of a pair of pantyhose and run it over the hook. If there is a burr you'll know it.
Last edited by Mitch's mom; 06-25-2014 at 05:28 PM.
#8
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,093
When the top thread is looping on the bottom, it's usually a problem with the top thread. If your dealer isn't having the same problem, it may be user error. Looping usually means the top thread has jumped out of the upper tension. It could be making a "ping" noise underneath, but the problem could still be on the top. What thread are you using? Does it have a slit in the spool that the thread could get caught in? Are you using the thread extender?, and is the thread extender pulling thread straight up, not slightly to one side? Make sure the upper thread path doesn't have anything that the thread will tangle on -- like an attached pincushion or light. Sounds like it would be a good idea to do a "sit-down" with your repair tech. The 2010 is a great machine, and you shouldn't have that kind of problem with it. It's made to go fast, so no, it's not likely that the problem is going too fast. If it is catching on the bottom, it could be a burr on the hook, or the thread cutter gets bent or tangled with thread (both of which the repair tech should have caught). Good Luck!
#10
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Central NJ
Posts: 5,571
Don't know anything about Juki's but is it possible there is some miniscule piece of thread stuck in the bobbin area somewhere? Have had that problem create issues on other machines mimicking a tension issue. Finding that itty bitty piece of thread solved the problems.
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