DIY thread spool stand

[Mouseskowitz]

I was reading a while ago in the thread injector thread (post 336, 339 if you're a visual learner) about the different types of spool winding. We had been using the small cone of Guttermann like a regular one, letting it spin instead of bringing it off the top. Looking back at past projects I'm wondering if that is what was causing tangle problems or if it was just our crappy plastic machine that was dieing. I just picked up a Singer 403A the other day and finally had the time to get it cleaned and lubed up. Now she's running smooth and quite. So, that's one of the possible problems solved.

I'm too cheap to buy an actual thread stand even if they're only $8-10. Then my wife mentioned that her Grandma used a Mason jar and a coat hanger. Now that more in my price range. I didn't feel like trying to steal a jar from my wife, so I went and found one at the thrift store for $0.99 or so. I think we all have some coat hangers hiding in the closet. Hindsight being what it is, I probably won't use a coated one next time. The plasticy coating cracked where I bent it and the threat can catch on it.

I took the middle of the flat part and wrapped it around the neck of the jar with a couple twists to hold it in place.

Bend the hook in and position it where needed.

The cone I have is too small to stand on its own, so I rigged it to work over the machine. A larger cone would go in the jar.

Now that we have everything up and going we can finish the last couple seams on my wife's UQ and start a new project. I think TQs will be next.

[Floridahanger]

Very nice, I like it.

I think, for cones, the thread is mounted on the cone with a twist to allow it to unwind and not tangle. If that's right, that is why it got tangled when the cone was spinning. It wasn't allowing for the twist built in to the wound cone.

[Mouseskowitz]

Very nice, I like it.

I think, for cones, the thread is mounted on the cone with a twist to allow it to unwind and not tangle. If that's right, that is why it got tangled when the cone was spinning. It wasn't allowing for the twist built in to the wound cone.

That's pretty much my understanding of it too.

[gmcttr]

I read the same posts and know the large "funnel" shaped cones are to have the thread come off the top, but I've had a different experience with the Gutermann Mara 70 on the yellow spool as in your photo.

When I used the Mara 70 on a thread stand I had twisting that caused problems and I "think" I flipped the spool over to try it both ways.

I ended up using a piece of 3/8" dowel, cut it to a length just short of the ridge inside the spool, drilled a hole down the center and placed it over the machine's existing spool pin. It works very well. I have used a 5/16" dowel as well.

IMG_3936 (Medium).JPG IMG_3937 (Medium).JPG

[Gqgeek81]

So to be clear.... will not using a dowel and allowing the spool to kind of bounce around on the thinner holder cause problems?

[The Old Boot]

So to be clear.... will not using a dowel and allowing the spool to kind of bounce around on the thinner holder cause problems?

Most likely, yes.

If you take a look at a regular spool of thread it is wound row after row, straight around the spool, just like fishing line is wound. Gutterman and the cones are wound on an angle like a skein of yarn.

The small spools of thread are meant to be pulled off the spool from the side, ie off the top of the machine, into the thread guides. The larger cones (and Gutterman Mara) are meant to be put on a cone stand.

The bent coathanger wire works great and if you use a smaller mason jar or a baby food jar you won't have a problem with the cone rattling around so much in the jar.

[gmcttr]

So to be clear.... will not using a dowel and allowing the spool to kind of bounce around on the thinner holder cause problems?

I was having problems that I attributed to the spool bouncing around causing uneven tension. You have to be running the machine fairly fast for this to be a problem. I have had no problems with this whatsoever since I started using the dowel "pin enlargers". Also notice in the above photo that I have a felt spool pin washer under the spool. This helps to keep the spool from over-spinning causing slack which allows the tread to fall off the spool and bind around the pin, as well as protecting the machines finish.

If you don't have the means to drill a wooden dowel, cut off a section of an old Bic pen or something similar.

IMG_4276 (Medium).JPG

I have not had any problems with thread twist using Mara 70 this way.

The correct method of unspooling Mara 70 comes up from time to time so I just sent an email to Gutermann asking about it. Hopefully they will get back to me.

[VictoriaGuy]

The small spools of thread are meant to be pulled off the spool from the side, ie off the top of the machine, into the thread guides. The larger cones (and Gutterman Mara) are meant to be put on a cone stand.

Even the small (fabric store) Gutermann spools are 'spiral wound' and they are definitely meant to work in domestic sewing machines which often pull from the side.
I've never had a problem with pulling thread from the side from normal or even the 'large' spools of Gutermann.
Mettler (Metrosesne) thread (also Coats, etc- though I don't buy) is'straight wound' and also works fine in my machines.

Using larger cones of 'industrial' (upholstery or sail) thread on an industrial machine, I used a thread stand.

I think this is a bit of a 'non-issue' since a lot of domestic sewing machines have the spool horizontal and pull the thread off the spool end, and they seem to work fine with ordinary thread just as well as machines with vertical spindles.

I DO agree with the 'felt under the spool' (thanks, GMCTTR) to keep the spool from 'overspinning' when stopping the machine after a 'high-speed' stretch of sewing. I'm going to try the oversize spindle adapter idea one day to stop the rattling as well.

Another caution- if using 'ratchet grip' (small Gutermann) spools, put the grip upwards on your machine's spindle to prevent the thread self-arresting itself!

[Mouseskowitz]

A while back I ended up with a tangle issue and break in the top thread with the cone stand set up. So, I'll probably be going back to the regular way and try rigging up a pin enlarger.

[gmcttr]

A while back I ended up with a tangle issue and break in the top thread with the cone stand set up...

I too had some twisting issues with the 765 yd spool of Mara 70 on a thread stand. I thought it was due to thread twist caused by it coming off the top of the spool. Yesterday, I learned this should not be the cause.

I emailed Gutermann, got a reply a few hours later asking for my phone number, followed by a 30 minute phone conversation. Great customer service!!!

I was told that Mara 70 should work well both coming off the side of the spool and off the top. In fact, this holds true for all Gutermann threads we are likely to use.

She said the "myth" that straight wound vs angled wound dictates how the thread should come off the spool is completely false.

So why did I have twisting issues? Thinking about it last night, I came to the conclusion that I had my cone stand too far away from the machine. My thinking...thread coming off the top of the roll will put one turn in the thread. Apparently this does not cause a problem with a proper setup, but in my case, too much distance between the spool and the machine (including the cone stand wire guide height) put too many turns in the thread. Conclusion...user error. It always seems to come back to user error.

To back this up, some domestic machines have vertical spool pins and some have horizontal spool pins, but they both use the same threads with a short thread path.

Again, I am very impressed with Gutermann's customer service taking the time to call a very low volume customer. She also requested HF's web address to talk a look at the kind of projects we are doing. Unfortunately, company rules do not allow them to post.