Friday, January 16, 2009

Maintain Your Sewing Machine

By David Trumble

How often do you change the oil in your car? Every three months whether it needs it or not? Every three thousand miles?

Your sewing machine is smaller than a car, and it tends to pretty much stay in the same place instead of rolling down the highway. Yet it requires much of the same kind of care you would give your luxury car.

The current recommendation is that your sewing machine should be professionally serviced at least once a year even if the machine sits in a closet all year long. The old dried up crystallized grease and oils need to be removed. The machine needs to be properly lubricated and adjusted.

Embroidery machines should be serviced at least once a year or every one million stitches.

Think about how you sew. Do you sew on linty fabrics or use linty threads? Do you clean out your bobbin area frequently? Remember, the more abuse a machine takes, the more often you will need to service it.

A recent national survey of sewing machine repair shops revealed a wide range of charges. A standard tune up in more rural areas might run as low as $79.95, but in a city shop you might find prices starting at as much as $150.00. Repairs and parts are always extra.

One partial solution is to maintain your own sewing machine. If this sounds overwhelming, relax. You can learn to maintain your own sewing machine quickly and easily. It is not extremely complicated. Yes, there are possible repairs that would best be left to the pros. But you can greatly reduce your costs for standard services and repairs by maintaining your own machine between professional tune ups.

You might really enjoy a sewing machine repair course. However, there are some things you can do right now to reduce your service costs. By properly maintaining your machine between tune ups, you can enjoy longer periods between shop visits and much less frustration.

One: Insert a new needle every time you start a new project or your sewing machine sews continuously for three to four hours. Get rid of dull needles. The needle costs so little, you can afford to sew with a good needle.

Two: Junk is for the garbage can, not your sewing machine. Linty, old, poor quality thread are junk. Avoid cotton covered polyester and spun polyester threads. You deserve better. Your sewing machine deserves better. Junk threads can really mess up your sewing machine, so use only good quality threads. Long fiber or long staple threads are preferred.

Step three: Keep your sewing machine away from direct sunlight, high moisture area, highly variable temperatures, and dust. Keep your sewing machine clean, dry, and protected from extreme temperatures. Frequently clean the surfaces of the sewing machine with moist cloth only.

Step four: After ever two hours of sewing, uncover the bobbin area. Remove the bobbin area cover. Remove the bobbin. Remove the bobbin carrier. If there is a bracket over the hook, remove it. Notice the hook moves along a groove called the race. Use canned air (upright only), sewing machine vacuum, or air compressor to remove all lint and debris from the bobbin area.

Step five: Place one drop of pure clean sewing machine oil along the hook race every two to three hours. Drop one drop of oil on to the race. The movement of the hook will spread the oil. Replace all parts previously removed.

Six: The needle bar area often catches lint and debris. After you complete the bobbin area cleaning is a good time to do the needle bar area. You can quickly and easily blow out this area like you did with the bobbin area. It is important to look for any threads that may have gotten caught and remove them with tweezers. Finally, place one drop of oil on joints between any metal to metal parts and one on the needle bar.

Step Seven: While the needle bar area is exposed, place one drop of pure clean sewing machine oil everywhere that metal parts touch. Rotate the hand wheel forward to spread the oil over the various parts.

This completes the basic consumer home service. Diligently perform this seven step home service, and you will significantly prolong the life of their sewing machine. You will also reduce your costs of professional sewing machine repair. The sewing machine will also operate more smoothly and dependably for many years. If you enjoy doing this consumer service, you might want to investigate a good sewing machine repair course and save even more. - 14915

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