sewing machine: thump, thump, thump

[gene]

Hello fellow sewing afficionodos.

My sewing machine used to purrrrrr, just like Oliver and Chunkie when I scratch their heads (my cats). Yesterday it started to thump, thump, thump, just like Jesses' tale on the floor (my yellow lab) when he sees me reaching for the box of doggie treats.

It's actually a very rythmic thump. I was trying to get the speed of my sewing to match the songs on the radio.

Anyway, I am thinking that a purrrrr is better than a thump, and I will be looking into the matter first thing tomorrow morning.

Does anyone know what I might want to look at first? Is this a common problem?

Thank you for your help. (I am more concerned about this than I am letting on with this post.)

gene

[fragged8]

hiya

my singer occasionally does something like that and often is the
needle timing gone out of whack.

Without seeing yours for myself it's hard to diagnose but if you're
giving it dog biscuits i wouldn't be surprised if theres one stuck in
there somewhere heheheh  :P

Rich

[sofadoc]

I had to track down a thump, thump, thump on mine a few months ago. Turned out to be that the height adjustment for the walking foot had worked loose (usually a wing nut behind the needle bar area).
If it gets worse, you may have to switch your radio to a rap station (Lawerence Welk won't be able to keep up with the rhythm).
You sure it's not your ticker? Does your left side go numb? :D 

[Darren Henry]

I once had the thread for the bobbin winder get sucked down and wound around the motor pulley. That had it running a little weird.

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

Hello fellow sewing afficionodos.

My sewing machine used to purrrrrr, just like Oliver and Chunkie when I scratch their heads (my cats). Yesterday it started to thump, thump, thump, just like Jesses' tale on the floor (my yellow lab) when he sees me reaching for the box of doggie treats.

It's actually a very rythmic thump. I was trying to get the speed of my sewing to match the songs on the radio.

Anyway, I am thinking that a purrrrr is better than a thump, and I will be looking into the matter first thing tomorrow morning.

Does anyone know what I might want to look at first? Is this a common problem?

Thank you for your help. (I am more concerned about this than I am letting on with this post.)

gene

Don't match the sound of the radio; turn it up, and you won't hear a thing from your machine!



Aside from that, a thumping or odd sound is usually an indication that something is wrong.  Especially if you are acustomed to the correct sound of your machine operating.

First thing I would do is take the belt off, and turn the machine by hand.  See if it binds or sticks.  Aside from that, I really can't do too much without being able to see touch or feel what is going on.  It really could be on of many things.  Good luck!

[sofadoc]

Inquiring minds want to know.  What was it?

[gene]

I will let you know when I find out what the thumping is. It sews OK. Yesterday I only had time to check the belt drive to make sure a cat was not stuck in it.


gene

[Highvelocity]

My will thump if I am going through 6 pieces of Sunbrella, 1 piece vynil, and 1 piece stratoglass...lol  But seriously, if I a going through some thick stuff it will thump.  Check the legs too, make sure you are rockin the table.

[gene]

It's not the machine, (I think),thank goodness. The machine turns easily by hand.

I realized it was thumping when I was sewing 1300" of welt cord for two wingback chairs and an ottoman that all have the same fabric. I had my strips of fabric sewn together, then I sew about 60", stop, flatten out the seam, sew over that, then off to the races down the next strip of fabric.

It was these long stretches where the thumping would thump. It does not happen when I sew my usual 5" or 6" then stop, adjust the fabrics, then sew 5" ro 6", then stop, adjust...

I was sewing through basic upholstery type fabric: cotton / poly blend.

It does not seem to be the drive belt or a loose bolt on the motor.

I will check the level of the legs tomorrow. I do thank you all for your responses. I've seen others ask a similar question and it turned out to be not so simple. I hope the legs need shimmied a bit.

gene

[gene]

She had a bumb leg. A bit of shimming took care of it. I'm glad she isn't a horse.

I have a table up against the front of my sewing machine table that acts as an extension and that is where some of the thumping was coming from.

It is interesting how attached we get to our sewing machines. We feed them materials every day. They let us know if they don't like some particular 'food', or if we're feeding them to fast, or too much.

We change their bobbins when needed. We oil them up when needed.

How many of us blamed our sewing machines for a mistake, knowing full well that it was our fault, and not the machines'. And then we apologized to our sewing machine for saying is was their fault? Not me! I'm just wondering if any others have done that???

Thanks again for your help. This board is a great place to not feel all alone in the upholstery world.

gene