Tate, I was just wondering if you're sewing with cross wound thread mounted on the vertical spool pin. I've found that cross wound thread massively twists if I don't use a thread stand (where thread is fed vertically) and this is bound to contribute to tangled thread. If I use a cross wound thread on a vertical spool pin the thread twists a lot.
As a simple thread stand, I use a paper spike angled toward the normal spool pin, which it turns around and goes on its normal merry way.
Thought it better if I illustrated my solution with a picture of it.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]518313[/ATTACH]
1 is the weight the spike sits on to make the angle. It's pointing almost directly at the spool pin so there's no chance of it being pulled over. If it falls over, the angle is wrong.
2 shows the thread path around the existing spool pin.

OK, it's incredibly simple but I'm a simple man :-)
It works well with smaller spools too, but seeing as I don't like running out of thread I chose this one.

The difference this makes is obvious after winding a bobbin with and without.
The reason I started doing this was that I'd wind a bobbin and when I cut the end, the thread untwisted itself (and I mean a lot of untwisting). Poor thing had almost tied itself in knots just winding a bobbin. When using a 'stand' this doesn't happen at all.
Twisted thread in the bobbin must be a bad thing, and yes I'm too tight to buy a proper thread stand.

All of my 'period' spools of thread are wound straight, rather than cross wound, cross winding thread seems to be a more recent thing and today is the norm, which I imagine is why you only see newer machines with the spools that lie down and have those little caps to hold them on.
There's a simple explanation of this at http://www.heirloomcreations.net/sew...tacked-thread/

Just my two cents, but worked for me: I look at the thread I'm using and use the appropriate delivery method.

and now we come back to thread... labels are crappy. in order to really get what you want and know what you have you nearly have to go to a manufacturer or a commercial ( industrial) supplier and ask the questions directly. I had a particular project that I was trying to do "period" correct and the finish and dye required linen or cotton thread.... try to find out ... at a typical "sewing" center you have all purpose , improved, super zoomy extra improved....but nothing about actual construction, tensile strength ,material..... from an engineering perspective common sewing stores are nearly useless.

I had some trouble with my 401A when I was using Cone thread. BUT I put a bobbin on the normal thread holder and feed the thread through that and a bent red paper clip. No more thread nests underneath. This solved my problem and Gilda has been running great ever since. She was my mother's and had not been taken good care of over the years. Hopefully you can see the setup I'm using. I have the cabinet but it needs some stabilizing parts to be safe.

Manicmike, I have noticed a bit of a curl or twist to my thread, that's why I tried confining it more by putting it through the thread guide an extra time. But to answer your question, no, I use plain old C&C thread, not cross wound.

Tate

Oh, I LIKE that hook for the scissors that was stuck onto the front of the machine.

Darn. Would have been an easy fix

I talked about cross wound thread vs stack wound a year or two ago on my blog too. I find it can make a really big difference. In particular on machines that are very sensitive about tension - sergers, embroidery machines, long arms, etc.

I believe that humidity does make a difference but I think it's possibly "relative". The machine is usually serviced in the area that it's used. I think if it's set so it works "good" with threads at the time of service then of course sees the appropriate adjustments with a change of thickness or slipperiness of the thread, most machines will soldier on just fine until there's a major change in humidity. Some may be a little grumpier.

Here's something to think about though - thread when it's drier is may be a little less slippery (or maybe more slippery, depending on what it's made of) and possibly even a tiny bit smaller than if it's holding more moisture. If you put thread in a bowl of water, I'd assume it would swell a little. This change in its characteristics might be just enough to affect some machines. It was an Elna owner's manual that first made me think about any of this. It mentioned that if you had thread breakage to put the spool in an open window over night. It would collect some moisture and regain its strength. Of course too much moisture could also cause issues as well, possibly even what's being mentioned in this thread. :)

I do know that Lucey (my long arm) has an absolute hissy fit which sometimes results in arguments between the two of us and one of us sometimes flounces off in a huff. I won't name names, that would be unkind. I can completely service her and change needles, tear apart the tensions, etc and still she'll be snapping threads like crazy. Stuff she was fine with the day before or even earlier in the day. The only thing that fixed it? Raising the humidity from 19% (no wonder I had a sore throat when I was working on her!) to 40%. Then she was a new girl and I felt like I needed to apologize to her for the nasty things,... uh,...someone... said about her.

Yes, the problem that is being discussed here usually occurs well into a stitch line, not just when beginning the stitch line. But, tension may have something to do with it even though I think the problem has to do with humidity and the thread.

At our shop, we use a multitude of threads, both layer-wound spools and cross-wound cones. We’re doing mending and alterations, so we have a lot of thread color/type changes. The thread feeds off of the spools on one of the two machine spool pins. The thread feeds off of the cones on a multi-cone thread tower. There are times when we get twisting in the thread at the top thread guide, and I’m not sure why. We get a twist sometimes from both spool and cone threads. This is possibly where the thread humidity may figure in. Almost all thread towers change the direction of the thread path by the thread being pulled over a surface. So does the top thread guide on the machine. Could the humidity in the thread, or lack of it, cause the thread to act differently when being pulled over a surface? Could that be what’s causing the twist at times?

At some point, the twisted thread is finally pulled through the guide. So possibly, when the twist gets to the tension assembly, normal thread travel is interrupted long enough for the thread loop to not be able to release from the hook normally, and multiple loops then form on the hook. Maybe the thread clearances at the hook don’t have anything to do with the problem?

We notice times when our thread seems to have considerable static in it, and other times when it doesn’t, but we don’t know if it’s us or the thread that is causing the static. What’s causing that change?

The seemingly random times that the problem occurs makes it difficult to nail down what is happening. My service date records aren’t very useful since I don’t service the machines on a regular schedule after a thread tangle, but I’ve not found any changes in the clearances. So, my wife will start a logbook to record as much as she can about what the conditions were just prior to the event. Thread, fabric, and weather will be included, as well as static conditions and when she last re-threaded the machine.

CD in Oklahoma

Tammi,
The smoothest best stitching thread I ever used was a spool of unidentified stuff that had become soaked with machine oil in the accessories box. Apparently the cap came off the oil bottle and everything in the box was soaked.
It had happened long enough ago that nothing was really wet, just well lubed. That is the best spool of thread I've ever used.


CD,
Arizona is where I spent most of my life. Fabric, carpet, and thread can and did acquire a lot of static electricity in the really dry months. Especially in air conditioned buildings. I noticed static cling with fabrics a lot then.
I wonder if this static cling might affect thread as it passes through the metal guides?

Joe

I guess if we log in the dates and times of tangles we can rule out moon phases and sun spots....you know sun flares cause problems with electricity ....
......and then there is that change in polarity thingy. :wave::sew:<- need vintage emoticon