First go at DIY=fail...4 hours later and I figured it out. Bad bobbin!

[zombieresponder]

I came home a few nights ago with a plan for a relatively easy first DIY gear project, a small pillow for my son to take camping. The machine was a nice Singer 328k that I picked up a while back. I had my mom, a former commercial seamstress, look it over and show me how to operate it. It ran some really nice stitches when we were playing with it, so I was confident that I'd have little to no trouble with it. I was wrong. As I ran the first line of stitching, I could feel some "bumps" in the operation of the machine. I turned a corner to make the second line, and the upper thread broke after an inch or so of stitching. Once I pulled the material out of the machine and flipped it over, I saw huge wads of thread instead of the nice stitches I expected. I set to work on ripping the stitches out, then rethreaded the machine per the manual(for the second time) and tried again with the same results. I was stumped at this point and started googling for troubleshooting help, all of which turned out to be wrong. I played with the upper thread tension as was indicated by several sources, but it made no difference. I adjusted the bobbin tension as well, with the same results. Finally, I pulled back the bobbin cover and spun the wheel by hand to actually see what was happening. It turned out that the bobbin thread appeared to be hanging on the bobbin case/hook instead of properly looping around to catch the upper thread. When it popped free, it wadded up and also pulled a wad of upper thread through. There weren't any burrs or noticeable roughness on either part(I am a machinist BTW), so I pulled the bobbin/bobbin case, cleaned everything, and reassembled to try again. I had the same results, so I was still stumped and pulled everything apart a second time. This time I found a couple of loose bits of thread under the bobbin case and a few more dust bunnies. I guess they worked their way out of wherever they were hiding previously.

I cleaned it out again, reassembled again, and had the same results again....so I removed the bobbin a third time. At this point, I'm running through an inexperienced checklist in my mind of what could have changed to cause this and it finally occurs to me to compare the bobbin(brand new) to the original that was in the machine and ran perfectly. My comparison ends quickly when I discover that the new(singer brand) bobbin had a bent lip, causing it to bind in the bobbin case. I tossed it in the trash, put the original back in, set the top tension back to where it was originally, and ran several perfect lines of stitches on some scraps. Unfortunately, all of this had used up my entire evening, so I put the machine away and went to bed. My wife watched(until she went to bed) with amusement as I was trying to sort this out....she doesn't sew, and couldn't offer any help.

Cliff notes version: 1. If you have severe thread wad issues on the bottom side of your work, check the bobbin before adjusting anything because it might not be a tension issue at all. 2. Carefully inspect new bobbins before using them. Hopefully this saves someone else some time and energy.

[xrayit]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Grapenut]

I could complete my projects in a fraction of the time they normally take if I could get my sewing machine to cooperate! I have memories from every project and fortunately I have learned a lot along the way. Great tip above. Haven't run across that problem yet but will definitely be on the lookout. Thanks for sharing!

G-Nut

[bkrgi]

I have had my Singer 127 wad up as such.....helps when I finally threaded the bobbin right...note to self ..read the manual..
About 400m plus of thread through it of late and it still sings along

[zombieresponder]

The first time I rethreaded the machine, I found a mistake I'd made with the upper threading. I had threaded it while looking at the book, but did not look closely enough at one of the little blown up pictures.

[Klaussinator]

I've seen a similar issue with newly purchased Singer bobbins for my 404 Slant-o-Matic. They were just slightly too large and would bind up. Back to the old original .... Oh well, live n learn!

-Klauss

[zombieresponder]

I opened up a brand new pack of Singer class 15 bobbins this evening for a different machine(class 15 clone). As I tried to wind one, it kept hanging up. I was baffled until I looked at it straight on and spun it by hand. Bent lips again! All of them in the package are bent to some degree, but the first two were terrible. The packaging wasn't damaged at all, so I guess they were just poorly made.

[gmcttr]

Original bobbins for the old machines are like gold and of high quality. A lot of the mass produced bobbins of today are garbage.

I suggest getting a ten pack of both the plastic and metal bobbins from Sew Classic. They try very hard to stock the best available products and are a great small business.... http://www.shop.sew-classic.com/Bobbins_c7.htm

I opened up a brand new pack of Singer class 15 bobbins this evening for a different machine(class 15 clone)...

Read the warning from Sew Classic in their class 15 metal bobbin listing and then try their plastic class 15 bobbins.

[zombieresponder]

Thanks for the info. I had run across something previously about the class 66 bobbins that advised using plastic, but it was more along the line of preventing/reducing wear in older machines. I looked at the class 15's again more closely and found that they aren't really bent. In manufacturing, they have been stamped together with the lips not being perpendicular to the hub. Got to wonder now if I'm going to get good quality parts when I order a replacement shuttle and bobbins for the 1890something Singer 27 treadle(grandmothers) that I haven't gotten to yet.

I need to order some stuff anyway and from reading here that is a good place to do business with.

[surveywaters]

A little wobble in the bobbin is alright, the thread is directed to center, so unless the bobbin scrubs the bobbin case it should be fine. There is a tension adjustment on the bobbin case that is often over looked or tightened by the unknowing user. The flat head screw tightens and loosens the metal tab over the thread exiting the bobbin case.