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Inspiring Quilters, Stitch by Stitch
Servicing your machine
I didn't know where to put this post....
My question is, how often do you have your machine serviced? Mine is supposed to be done yearly, but it's been three years. Am I the only one who isn't diligent about keeping their machine serviced regularly?
Thanks.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jacqui Morris on
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Ummmm, I just found out you are supposed to oil it regularly. I have had new machine for five years now and just oiled it for the first time. This is probably why my other hand-me-down machines that I had before this one did not last very long once I got a hold of them. :/
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Permalink Reply by Mona Rae Cich on
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Bridget,
My machine is an Industrial Bernina, I have never had to take it in, I'm lucky. I oil the feed dog every day that I use it, and once a week with an overall oil job. My machine is 20 years old. If your machine is running smoothly I wouldn't worry, I think you are probably with a large group of quilters that don't have their machines serviced regularly, who wants their machine away from them when they could be finishing a quilt. You've seen the pictures of my 7 year Grandson who is very good at taking care of my machine.
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Permalink Reply by Siobhan on
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It really varies based on the machine. I wipe down and oil my Featherweight once a week or so. My Viking is totally different, only 10 years old, and doesn't get as much use so it goes in once a year.
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Permalink Reply by QuilterBridget on
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I keep mine oiled regularly, but I want to have it taken apart to clean out the insides. I also clean out the bobbin area everytime I change bobbins; I take apart what I can, but the rest needs to be done by the dealer. I just don't want to part with it for the two weeks they take to get to it!
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Permalink Reply by rogue quilter Queen of the WIVSP on
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i don't know why it has to taken apart to be cleaned. i take mine in if i have a problem. it is necchi nearly 30 yrs old. i have read in repair how-to books that a machine should be cleaned/oiled after every 10 hrs of sewing. i don't...but do after every completion of every project. if working with novelty fabs i clean almost every day. esp the bobbin case area. i use a little brush that i can get up inside and sm flashlight to ck for anything i missed. i also periodically while oiling will add gear grease to some of the gear things in shaft area. i have been here 7yrs now and only had it cleaned by shop once [it had been in storage while hse hunting] and repaired once [thread got caught up in flywheel...don't ask me how :)) ..another long story!!]
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Permalink Reply by Jodie on
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I have had my machine for about 4 1/2 years and I have never had it serviced. I clean it regularly but last night while quilting my latest creation, it started squeaking. When I stopped to clean some of the fuzz out of it, I realized it was really hot. I think it's time to bring it in. But it will have to wait until this one if finished first.
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Well it finally happened. This past Tuesday while trying diligently to finish my latest quilt, my machine start squeaking so bad that I could not ignore it anymore. My husband helped me take it apart and it was well oiled. It is now running better than ever. So quiet now. And I've been sewing with a noisy machine for the past year and a half. Ugh! Good news is it worked so well, all that is left on my latest quilt is to finish hand sewing the back of the binding and done! I'm going to try to post some pics of some of my quilts when I'm done.
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You're lucky you didn't have to part with it at the repair shop! I don't think I'd trust my husband to take mine apart; I'm more mechanically inclined that he is!
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I think you misunderstood Bridget...LOL. I took it apart, he only oiled it for me. Then I put it back together. There is no doubt he could have done it completely on his own, he's good like that. He even built by sewing table extension when I was ready to start machine quilting (mostly out of being cheap and not wanting to buy one). I trusted him to do it but I wanted to take it apart myself. I was really shocked at how dirty it was and how much fuzz and lint was in there. Now I have vowed that everytime I finished a quilt, I will take it apart and at least clean it. I won't oil it until it starts getting noisy again but I know why it got so noisy.
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Mine has grease inside (that's supposed to be there), but I'm sure it's all gunked up with lint by now. I keep saying I'm taking it in, but I can't stand the thought of being without it. Then again, if I keep ignoring it I may be without it permanently!
When I first started machine quilting I used a huge, flat box and cut a hole out for my machine. It worked great for a few years until I finally bought an extension table. My newer machine came with an extension table, so I don't need to do anything special for my quilting (except having a quilt hanging over my shoulders when I'm doing a large one).
My book says to oil the machine after 8 hours of use, and I've tried to be diligent about that. My other machine doesn't require oil at all.
Anyway, I'm glad you're back at it!
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what a great idea! the box...i could make an extension table out of plywood...finish it with some kind of polymer coating...hmmmm....omg! now i just need a sewing room to set up in! lol...i too hang the quilt over my shoulder for quilting. not as difficult with a wall quilt tho.
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Permalink Reply by Amy Beth Miller on
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When I bought my Viking Lily, I was told to never oil it. When I got my used Bernina, the dealer where I took classes said to clean and oil it every four hours. (For me getting four hours of time to sew might take more than a month!) I just asked at the Janome booth at AQS Knoxville about oiling a used one I bought recently. They guy said I could oil it occasionally, but the best thing is to take it to a dealer for servicing once a year.
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