Wool sewing machine wicks
 

I was cleaning my recently acquired Necchi, and I ended up removing the wheel and saw that the wick had deteriorated and was causing problems. I have been wick hunting all day and finally found a place and thought I would pass it along.

Google McMaster-Carr>
Scroll down until you see raw materials>
click on felt, when that page comes up>
on left side bar click on cord, when that page comes up>
click on extra firm white F1 and then choose the diameter you need.

At 5 foot lengths it should last awhile.:)

http://www.mcmaster.com/#felt/=p7sjsa - cord on the left
Grainger discontinued it. I know sew-classic sometimes has it. I think I could go 5 foot pretty quickly if I got to all the ones that need it. http://shop.sew-classic.com/Motor-Be...nch-WICK-3.htm she shows 3/16 size.

Thanks- this is what I need to replace the pads on several cabinets.

Okay, you all have me worried now. I've just been using my own wool felt. I've made it for needle cases that I make for sewing friends. Should I not be doing that? I figured that any wool felt should work. It is just for keeping oil there to saturate whatever part is needing oil, isn't it? Do I need to buy some special wool felt for this purpose?

I think you can use what ever works. I think that wool would make nice pin/needle cushion in a needle case - I never thought of that. I was seeing that you can also use it for polishing.

You can use any wool felt or cotton packed tightly. I use it in the oil wicks of my old shuttles for oil the shuttle race. I agree with Miriam as long as it can be shaped it will work. You just need it to hold lots of oil to be released slowly.

I think synthetic fabric might be a problem if the oil breaks it down

You are very welcome, I like that they have all kinds of felt too. I also found out last night that the Necchi yahoo group I joined a few days ago recommends this sight for their wicks.

My wool is real wool, not synthetic. I really dislike that synthetic stuff. I make my own felt... just take wool fabric and wash it in the washer.... hot water, agitation.... does what your mom told you not to do. It felts. I've even spun some wool yarn and knitted it up to make wool slippers, then wash and keep washing till they are the right size for my feet. I check by putting the wet slippers in the bath tub to try them on. When they're the right size, I just rinse them, squeeze out as much water as I can, and hang them to dry. I love those warm wool slippers. And it's great to know that I haven't done anything awful by using my own wool felt for those oil wicks.

Jean, you are right it isn't hard to make wool felt. I'm thinking about trying to make a wick. I wonder if shrinking some strips and then rolling them up to dry would work. Or wet some already shrunk up strips to dry in the size I need... Some experimenting is in order.