chandler thread problem

[nyuphol]

We have a chandler same as consew 206rb

It gets a lot of use but lately the thread has been breaking/fraying a lot.

It seams to make a lot of crunching sounds from the bobbin case area

The bobbins appear to be out of round and I think the thread is coming out the side.

The bobbins were all good at one point is possible that something is wrong with the machine that is causing damage to bobbins?


Also I replace this bobbin case every couple of weeks...

[fragged8]

hiya

you need to check your timing, and I would also take the foot and feed dog plate
off to check for damage the tiniest bur can cause the thread to fray or break.

If you are replacing the bobbin case every few weeks it would pay you
to get a professional to look at it or do a maintenance course, doing
a course would save you weeks in downtime when things go wrong.


Rich

[Mojo]

I have the same Chandler you do. What you may want to do is this

1.) Check your needle bar height

2.) Check your timing

3.) Check the size of your needles. You very well may be using the wrong sized needles by accident.

4.) Check for needle deflection being cause by the foot. In other words see if the needle is being deflected by poor alignment in your foot as the needle goes through the hole.

All of the above issues can be addressed using your manual. I just re-timed my machine this morning
because it was doing the same thing as yours. The timing was off considerably. I screwed the timing up
when I installed a new needle bar. After going through the manual and re-timing the machine it sews perfectly again.

If the needle is the right size and is not being deflected then if you follow the list above I bet your problem will go away. You didn't mention but were you also having problems with thread pick up ?

My Chandler has been bullet proof. It is an awesome machine as long as I don't screw it up. I screwed it up when I replaced the needle bar and didn't pay close attention to the factory specs. Of course I had to replace the needle bar after I played Hulk Hogan and broke the needle set screw off in the original bar. :)

Chris

[fragged8]

when you say size needle Mojo do you mean wrong system ?

Like 134x5 instead of 135x17

[Mojo]

Yes Richard.

I was going through my needles yesterday and found a few that were oddball sized. I have no clue as
to where they came from or what they are for. I threw them out.

I am thinking I ordered them by accident a long time ago when I first started sewing. I barely knew what a needle was for back then let alone which size to get. :)

Chris

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

Check the needle system first; Correct system is 135X17, 135X16, or DPX17; toss ANY OTHER needle away, or at least separate them so you cannot mistake one for the other.

Next...put in a new, correct needle.  Make sure the needle scarf (half moon cutout near bottom of needle) is inside the arm of machine, needle eye left to right.  Remove motor drive V belt, and turn machine hand wheel by hand, while holding a finger on the needle as it cycles.  Be careful not to get your hand caught in the presser feet or under the needle.  Lift the feet and leave them up by the hand lever to gain greater access.  Remove the finger guard if present.  Check to see, while machine has good bobbin case, and good bobbin installed, to see if needle is being deflected.  Needle will most commonly be deflected while at or near it's lowest point, off to the left side as you are sitting at the machine as an operator.  Also check to see if bobbin case has needle hits on inner recess where the anti back lash spring is exposed.  Also...check to see if there are nicks in on the outside of metal bobbin.  Any deflection of the needle while machine cycles is going to give sewing related issues, and can in some cases break or prematurely wear parts.  

Now, when you find these issues, what to do?  If your Mojo, you can open the manual and make adjustments.  BUT that's him.  I have customers who can hardly change a needle, let alone time hooks, set needle bar height, and make critical, sensitive mechanical issues that usually result in a customer bringing in a machine for repair.  In many cases even, a customer can rip their machine apart, mess all the settings that were correct, when only a needle was in backwards or something crazy.  So, before ripping into your Chandler machine, do your homework first, or bring it to someone who can make proper adjustments.  Otherwise, the machine will never work correctly, and as stated you'll wind up eating thought bobbin cases.  A good quality bobbin case will often last many years, or longer.   

[Hell Bat]

I had that fraying happen,but only in spots,i had T128 in a 18 needle,put 22 needle on,it stopped for me.

[scarab29]

Broke a needle this weekend , working on my own stuff of course to frustrate me more !! Was using mr needle and replaces with same goingthrough 2 layers of vinyl one of 1/4 sew foam and one of 1/2 sew foam and kept missing stitches and shredding thread. Switched to a regular needle and was fine thank god. Seems the mr needles although work great on the sunbrella , might deflect too much as greg was saying above when running through all that foam.  :P