Skipping stitches with tenera thread

[Old sailmaker]

Hello all, noob from va here. Mike from Classic Seacraft told me about your site and i have been lurking for a while and reading lots of posts. Looks like an awesome community although from my experiance in the past most guys in the marine canvas biz around here dont want to help anyone. I guess they are afraid of new competition. A quick resume , i retired from the fed goverment after 37 years in the industry doing "related" type work , mostly with plastics, pvcs, polyurethanes etc. Since ive retired i started doing some enclosure work in my garage for a few extra bucks and not it feels like i am working full time again ....almost, lol. Now too my question, for some reason i have all of a sudden started dropping stitches on my current project and cant seem to correct it. Using tenera thread mr1000 i believe and a size 22 needle. I have been playing with my needle thread tension and have changed needles, adjusted angles etc to not much avail. This actually seemed to start when i just started a new spool of thread on this job? Materials im using are 030 ga strataglass, acrylic, with and without zippers and binding. Ill usually sew a sample of the same fabric layers prior to sewing on the real thing and it seems to sew decent but will still drop one or two every 6" or so. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. If anyone has any questions on containments, glove bags , rf sealing machines or work amd materials of that nature i can more than likely help as well as that was my forte before i retired. Thanks and happy to be a new member of the group.

[Mojo]

Since I am one of the very few in this group who sews exclusively with PTFE thread I will comment.

PTFE thread ( Tenara or Solarfix ) can be a real challenge to some to sew with. Tension issues is the norm and it takes alot of trial and error to get your machine to sew well with it.

First off let me say you selected the very hardest PTFE thread to sew with. Tenara can make a Priest swear and cuss. We have had several members here try Tenara and spent days and one even spent a week and never did get his machine to work well with Tenara. The main problem is the twist that Tenara has. This is where many tension issues come into play and some machines will sew it well after alot of trial and error and some machines seem to never accept it.

This is why I use nothing but Solarfix. It has a different twist and once you get your tensions set it sews perfectly. I cannot remember how many 1 lb spools of Solarfix I went through last year but it was a lot. I have already went through 4 spools since January and will probably burn through another 8 this year. With all the constant change outs with spools I have never re-set the tension on my machines since I originally set them up for Solarfix. I am using two Highlead twin needle's, a Juki 563 and a Chandler 406rb. I set the initial tension and have never touched them since. I am a firm believer in Solarfix because of this reason. Their quality seems consistent.

Because I am sewing all canvas I like to keep my needle holes small, especially on top stitching. The vast majority of my products have to support alot of weight ( rain water run off ) and wind so using a smaller needle helps minimize the needle hole size, preserving the integrity of the fabric. Therefore I use 18 - 20 ga needles. I never go bigger then 20 ga and Solarfix sews well with this size.

We had a member here who I worked with to help him with getting his tension right using Tenara. After a week he gave up and switched to Solarfix. I might add he is a very experienced stitcher with years of experience. He was at his wits end and said screw it and went to Solarfix. Problems solved.
Most of us on this site who use PTFE thread use Solarfix BTW.

The trick to using PTFE threads is to use alot of bottom and top tension. PTFE thread is 1. Slicker 2.) wirey. It doesn't have the friction that poly threads have and it feeds a bit differently. All of my experience has shown that more tension is a good thing. I initially set up my tension using a magnifying glass. I was shooting for a tight stitch with a perfect knot placement and after experimenting found that my machines when using Solarfix liked more tension.

If you cannot get Tenara to sew correctly then you have two choices. 1.) Do what many have done and switch to Solarfix 2.) Contact technical support at Gore and have them help you. I have heard their tech support will help stitcher's with sewing issues.

Sewing with Tenara can be a very frustrating experience. Best of luck,

Chris

[JuneC]

I'll second what Chris said.   Try a smaller needle and more tension, especially on top. 

June

[Tejas]

Here is a Sailrite video on using Tenara thread that might help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei1VOOwEhrY#t=371

[Old sailmaker]

Thanks for the quick replys everyone, much appreciated and also enjoyed watching the sailright link too, it answered some of my questions as well. Mojo, i have been using tenera pretty much exclusively for the last several years just because it holds up so well. Is the solarflex basically the same thing? Pfte thread?. If it last as long as tenera and resist the salt and sun just as good I will happily switch over to it. Going to order some smaller needles and play with my tension some more since I have several spools on hand . Thanks again everyone!

[Mojo]

Solarfix and Tenara are both PTFE threads and are identical in composition. The difference is in the twist. Solarfix is also guaranteed for the life of the fabric just like Tenara.

There is no difference between the two except in how its wound or twisted. Last I checked Solarfix was also cheaper then Tenara.

Chris

[Mike]

Glad to see you made it Miles , like said check your tensions and solfix  sews great I can switch from solrafix to sunguard with no adjustments needed.

[Old sailmaker]

Heya Mike! Went all to crap this morning skipping really bad so ordered some #18 needles. Went and took the 20 out and changed it for a #23. Just the opposite of what was recommended but the scaft was a little different and larger on the 23. Not skipping a stitch now although im putting a little larger hole than i like.

[Mike]

ccool its a bit large for me I use a 19 but if there no headaches what the hey