Industrial Sewing Machine Man

Recently a question came up on another list. The reader wanted to know whether there was a gauge that could be used it determine what size a sewing machine needle was since the information on the side of the needle is so small it’s difficult to read.

Unfortunately, there are no gauges that can be used to determine the size of the needle accurately. In order to use the proper size needle with the thread and material that you want, you should follow some simple rules.

• If you start sewing on the material, and the thread starts to shred, that’s telling you that the needle size is too small.
• If the hole in the material is large and there is open space between the thread and the hole, that means you are using a needle that is too large.

Most of the time, the reason needs to be replaced is that it is broken or bent. A sewing machine needle is designed like a nail. All the strength is up and down. Side to side, it has no strength. The reason needles bend or break most of the time is because you are helping the machine along by pulling on the fabric. let the machine do its own job, don’t try to help.

When sewing machines are not used in a long time they can become frozen. Nothing will move when you try to move the hand-wheel.

To fix this condition, the first step is to remove the bobbin case and clean out the area . Remove the needle plate (the plate covering the feeder) .

Clean out between the feeder teeth. If this does not help remove the top and bottom of the machine . Spray wd-40 on all the parts then try to move the hand wheel. No movement?  Then get a hair dryer and have the hot air blowing in to the body of the machine.
Keep trying to move the hand wheel. Be patient this can take a while at least 30 min. Once the machine starts to free up you
must oil the machine. WD-40 is not a oil and can only be used to unfreeze the machine.

If one part of the machine moves and the other does not move the hair dryer to that section. This method does work and has been used by mechanics for years.