Okay all you longarm experts....I need help. I am quilting on my Gammill Premier Plus, break a needle. I replace the needle and start having thread breaks. Replace needle again...this one did seem to have a rough point. All goes well as long as I go r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w!!! And I do mean slow. Any speed at all it keeps breaking. Adjusted the needle bar & hopping foot. Rethreaded, changed bobbin....still breaks....HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you completely rethread your whole machine not just the needle? Sometimes if I break a thread I might get a loop over a post that isn't supposed to be looped, or my tension gauge thread gets out of the groove. I would try totally re-threading the whole machine from the cone out to the needle. Plus the one area that seems to come out of the thread path is the guide right above the first tension gauge. I have a Gammill Optimum so I am not sure how many guides you have.

Good luck,
Sherryl
Candlequilter

Maybe the needle isn't perfectly straight. If not it would hit the hook and break the thread. I take the old needle and put it in the eye to hold it up and also so that I can better see that it is in straight.

When you have the new needle in, how is the tension when you pull on the thread? Could it not be threaded right? I haven't had needles break like what you have, but so many little things can happen and you not notice it. I would try completely re-threading it. We had issues with our machine when we first got it and had to re-time the machine a few times to get it just right. I hope you can get it figured out. Do they have a number you can call for help?

I once found a tiny, tiny bit of fuzz behind my tension spring in my bobbin case that caused thread breaks for me. It drove me nuts because I didn't see it at first because it was so small. You might also check the bobbin case where the thread comes off the bobbin through and up through the hole in the bobbin case. That little area that looks like its metal on metal can get a little iota of fuzz packed in it and that will cause thread breaks as well. I know this all started for you with a broken needle, but it may have been something in the bobbin case that caused your thread to bind, flex the needle and cause it to snap.

If you broke the needle while quilting, it's possible you've knocked the timing out, or created a burr in the throat plate. The burr you can buff out with emory. If you've knocked the timing out, you'll have to retime the machine.

Is the needle inserted all the way up into the shaft? Is it the same brand and size as the one you took out?

Most machines have forums specific to them. Have you checked the Gammill forum? It could be a timing issue. When you broke the needle, it may have knocked your machine out of time.

Well I hope a new day brings you better luck and that all is well with your Gammill. I too have a Gammill and I can tell you that I have had quirky things happen and then some just go away and others I have had to call "the guy" to come out to the house. Good luck.
Rose

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! A couple of things...there was some lint buildup behind the tension spring in the bobbin case and it was out of time. After watching my Rick Taylor maintenance cd several times and a lot of pause, rewind,pause, rewind. I finally tackled the retiming of the machine...I was scared to death I would screw up something. BUT...(knock on wood)..I think I fixed the problem. Thank you all so much for your help..your the best.