Bobbin winder won’t turn
 

I have an older model Tin Lizzie Eighteen. I purchased it a couple months ago and once I figured out the tension, I have quilted three quilts on it with no major issues. Today, however, the spindle that my bobbin fits down on is not turning properly. It wound fine yesterday. When I first started winding a bobbin today, it turned, but not consistently. Now it isn’t turning at all. I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions?

You can try to find a Tin Lizzie dealer nearby and ask them what to do
 

You can try to find a dealer nearby and ask them what to do.

Sometimes those spindles require a little drop of oil now and then. Try a drop of oil. There may also be an
"O" ring that needs replaced. (Sorry, I don't have your brand of machine.) And there may be other adjustments which can be made, like the distance of the spindle to the side of the machine, etc. Do you have an operator manual?

Also, it could be that the gear inside that meshes with another gear to wind the bobbin is worn. When my husband had my machine apart to do some deep greasing, he found a fine powder in the area of the bobbin winder gear and it just happened to be the exact colour of that gear....

Welcome to this board. I hope you find out what's wrong.

My suggestion is to not use the Bobbie winder. I had many problems with my Tin Lizzy 18 and my poor stitch quality was improved when I stopped using the built in winder. All the starting and stopping causes uneven winding. Good luck, this was the only problem I really solved with my machine. Someone told me the company is out of business. No surprise to me.

They are still in business but under a new name. The son has taken over and renamed the company to
http://www.locksmithlizzie.com/

I have a Janome Artistic SD 18 model which I'm told is the very same thing as a Tin Lizzie. This happened to me as well. I hope I can save you some time and get back to quilting. This was quite an experience but ultimately, fixed. You'll need to remove the screws at the top of the bobbin winder (mine has three). Remove the winder from machine and you will see a "rubber tire" or call it a thick washer that has probably been worn away. This is what caused my bobbin winder to quit working. I took it to my sewing repairman who simply turned the rubber tire over and I got more quilting done. In the meantime, he helped me identify and locate additional washers. Amazon! They are called Bobbin Winder Rubber Tire Ring Standard #15287. A pack of 2 was approximately $6. I ordered a bunch of those. Ultimately, I decided the filings from the tire might cause a problem down the road so I purchased a stand alone Bobbin Winder from fancyquilt.com which is an amazing bobbin winder. I sure hope this helps you as I was down for more time than I ever wanted to be!

I sometimes have bobbins basically get sprung--the hole wallows out and it won't spin on the winder--I pitch them.