Major thread problems shredding and looping

[Sparklesbyshell]

Someone help me. I have a 2005 Amaya. We abosolutely cannot get it to run. First it absolutely shreds the thread, so we adjust the acti feed, then it loops. Now I am getting thread nests. I am trying to stitch on a t shirt and I am using a ball point needle. Please someone help! We have adjusted the need guard gap which was totally out of whack, we have cleaned everything, changed thread, I am about to have a nervous breakdown! Someone please help!!!

[sschroed2]

I'm not an expert at all, but, I would check the red pinch rollers and yellow feed rollers for dirt, grooves, and lubrication. The only time I've had a problem with thread nesting is when I accidentally forgot to put the lever on the red roller down after pull thread through. Made that dumb mistake twice, but never again. Also try changing your needle and check through the user emails about t-shirts. Could even be a density problem.
Sue Schroeder

[Judy]

My favorite do myself in at night boo boo: Putting needle in backwards. With T-shirts, add in not enough backing, no solvy on top, not correctly tensioned in hoop, all of the above from Sue, putting bobbin in backward (so the thread comes off the wrong direction), not flossing the bobbin case between bobbin changes, and not having the presser foot at the right height. In short, I double-dare you to come up with something I haven't messed up myself!

[Judy]

Oh, I forgot this one....didn't have the thread going through the uptake arm (or whatever that thingie is that goes up and down). Yes it's late, and I should be toes up...

[Meezer City]

All of what Sue said and..

Are your needles in correctly with the eye turned that 5 or so degrees to the right? Does the needle plate have rough edges? Is the bobbin tension correct?

It sounds like the nesting and looping is a result of changing the actifeed. Is that correct? If so then you need to hunt down why it shreds.

[Juli in Kona]

One thing that is very hard to see is when the thread gets looped around the needle. Usually this happens when threading, but I have also had it happen by itself. So check that.

Make sure that the thread is coming down the middle of the actifeed rollers.

Juli in Kona

[levelbest]

Actually, I believe 5 degrees is too much. If anything they should only be only slightly to the right or dead on straight. That is what we learned in tech traning. A lit magnifying glass sure helps when trying to put the needles in correctly [img]smile.gif[/img]

[signman]

What we learned in class was about 15º...if you look at the needle as though it were a clock-and you are looking at it from 6, we twist it to 5 (which would be 15º) and then come back as needed if the thread doesn't behave. Some threads will act different, so will different size needles. I think most of mine generally end up about 10º and they run fine-and that is just about how the tech left them when he readjusted everything.
It really depends on 'what works for your machine/thread/needles'.
And yes, we've also put some in backwards! It is so hard to tell sometimes if you are in a hurry! I picked up a pair of 'clamping' tweezers at the hardware store-they have wooden handlesides, and are super strong-when you clamp them on something they stay there. Perfect with the serrated jaws to grab and hold a needle while you guide it into place, and turn it 'just right' while holding the screwdriver in the other hand. The needle won't drop. Now another cause for thread shredding I forgot about-just before you tighten down the needle-put the flat side of the screwdriver blade under the needle tip and just 'nudge' the needle up-if it isn't seated all the way-then it sticks down far enough to shred the thread...there can be NO place 'up and down' in the needle holder.

[levelbest]

Oops. I never said I was perfect.

Here is the exact information from my notes as taught by John Hanson at tech training:

Needle Orientation - Straight on is best. Spec is 0-20% - 5% right nominal. If you think of a clock, by the time it gets to one minute, you are already past the spec.

Typically 50% of needles on all service calls are rotated wrong.

[signman]

Hummm, guess it does matter how you look at it. Half hour would be 180º, quarter hour 90º, 5 minutes would be 30º...1 minute would only be 3º....yeah, that would work. Our needles (75/11 sharps) end up about 15º. I'm pretty sure on hats I end up coming back to about 10º. It's a balancing act-thread/needle size & tip/material/speed as to what works.
And also how close to dead on perfect you have the needle plate lined up.

[Sparklesbyshell]

Thank you one and all for your replies. I totally appreciate it. We got through the design (only after we took it out of the hoop and rehooped and of course it is about 1/4 inch off now) BUT IT IS DONE!

Thanks again!

[Russell Silva]

Every minute on a clock face is 6 degrees, John is right that the needles should be straight to 5 degrees to the right, but in some cases it might need to be tweeked a little more but no more then 20 degrees, needles should never be turned left.