How should I care for my machine

[Eileen K.]

Hi everyone

I am relatively new to quilting but have been bitten HARD!

I just broke down and traded in my $150 bottom of the line Kenmore machine for a Bernina Aurora 440.

I know the book says that I should oil it when it asks for it and clean the lint occasionally but only you quilters understand me when I say this thing is my BABY (in line after my real babies of course).
Right now I think I'm excessively OCD about my machine and I want to have a guideline for what is normal.
How often do you clean out the lint and dust, how often do you oil and how often do you have it professionally serviced.

Anything else I can/should be doing??

Thanks!!

[Teri L.]

I clean out the bobbin area after a major project, though I check when I change the bobbin.
I get my machine serviced 1 or 2x per year...but I quilt a lot!
TEri

[Margo C.]

I carefully clean out lint with a soft brush and add one drop of oil in my bobbin case with every full bobbin change. NEVER blow or use canned air into the area, it just packs the lint deeper into the machine.

I change my needle and clean out under the throat plate with every new project, unless I need to do it more often.

Professional service once a year if you sew something on most days.

Hope that helps! You will love your new machine!

[Mary H.]

With my new machine I got three sessions of how to care for and use the machine. Well worth the time. There was a wealth of information given.

[Nancy R.]

Hi -

Like Margo, I clean out the bobbin area with every bobbin change. I use a makeup brush. I also lift the throat plate and clean under there with the makeup brush with every bobbin change. I try to oil the machine reasonably often. A friend told me I should oil it after every second bobbin and I tried to do that for a while, but that just seems too often to me. So I shoot for after each project, but that's tough for me since I'm usually working on many projects at once, which means that I don't finish them very often. :roll: So I just try to do it "reasonably" often. When I oil, I also take a Q-tip and try to get any gunk out of the bobbin area. I'll also using my stiletto to try to get things out of the narrow groove around the bobbin area. I try to take my machine in every year for servicing, but it usually ends up being more like every two years. That has been fine for me, but that's mostly because the day job cuts into my sewing time. When I do finally retire (still too many years off), I'll probably have to take the machine in more often. But that's a happy thing since it means I'll be sewing more!

[Betty J.]

Congratulations on your new machine! How exciting. Yes, the others seem to have it about right. I usually use my birthday for the reminder to take my machine in for service sometime within the next month (I think once a year is just about right unless you are on your machine nearly full time--then once every six months). I clean and oil my machine about every 10 to 15 hours of sewing time, or when I break a needle cause I'm being careless, or after I change the bobbin several times. I've used this formula for all the 50 plus years I've been sewing and my machines have all served me well. I have a little vacuum cleaner attachment that I use to vacuum out the crud, which I do about every third cleaning. That way you get a little better cleaning and it doesn't push stuff up into the machine like compressed air does. Though I confess, I sometimes use compressed air and try to focus it out instead of in. I've never had any problem with it, but Margo is probably right--not a real good idea I suppose.

[Betty J.]

I think the only thing I can add is that sometimes you can hear a change in the sound of the machine and you will know it is time to clean under the throat plate. Also, a popping sound when you quilt means you have waited too long to change your needle. We understand--completely--the need to baby the thing that brings so much pleasure.

[Paula D.]

I also vacuum around needle and under throat plate, while using a stiff brush to coax out any boogers - well, that's what I call any debris.

[Deborah W.]

I do try to take my machine for service once a year although I only have one so I hate to part with it for a week or two! I have a Janome and it says in the instruction manual not to oil it. Anyone out there know if this is actually the proper care of it? Just seems to me like it should be oiled.

[Nancy R.]

I do try to take my machine for service once a year although I only have one so I hate to part with it for a week or two! I have a Janome and it says in the instruction manual not to oil it. Anyone out there know if this is actually the proper care of it? Just seems to me like it should be oiled.

Hi Diane -

The difference might be in the bobbin setup. One of my friends has a Janome and it has a drop-in bobbin. Is that what you have? I've been told that you don't oil drop-in bobbins.

Nancy

[Nancy R.]

I do try to take my machine for service once a year although I only have one so I hate to part with it for a week or two! I have a Janome and it says in the instruction manual not to oil it. Anyone out there know if this is actually the proper care of it? Just seems to me like it should be oiled.

Debbie, I have a Viking and it is not to be oiled either. I would follow the instructions in your manual. Some machines are self-oiling. I'm not sure if the type of bobbin the machine uses is the reason or not. I do take my machine in for regular yearly visits to the dealer. They clean the machine up really good and oil the parts that need it.

[Nancy R.]

I use pipe cleaners as my my cleaning tool. I cut the longer ones in half and then fold in half. For me that loop is just perfect to fish out all the debris in and around the bobbin area. Now that the machine is broken in I space my oil more by feel and sound rather than every bobbin because the fibers used can also play a part in the whole scheme. My machine hasn't seen a service man for ten years but then it is an industrial machine meant to be a work horse with everything in the open. It is all cast. The only plastic used is in knobs, etc and there is nothing electronic involved. Quite a difference from the machines most people use. Check with the dealer or manufacturer what is recommended for your machine. I know there are brands that semi-annual or annual service is recommended because they are so highly enclosed that the average person can't get at the areas that need the attention.

[Margo C.]

I know there are brands that semi-annual or annual service is recommended because they are so highly enclosed that the average person can't get at the areas that need the attention.

And if you do open those machines to clean them yourself, it will void your warranty!! :shock:

[Deborah W.]

Thanks Debbie and Nancy. I do have a drop in bobbin on my Janome and that might be the difference. I also cannot sew every day because of my job so probably once a year at the service centre is good. It is probably a good idea if I just continue to follow the instructions with my machine.

[Kathryn S.]

I do try to take my machine for service once a year although I only have one so I hate to part with it for a week or two! I have a Janome and it says in the instruction manual not to oil it. Anyone out there know if this is actually the proper care of it? Just seems to me like it should be oiled.

Diane, I have a Janome 6600, which has a drop in bobbin. If I take the bobbin case out, there is a small hole with what appears to be lint, but is actually a wick. I put a drop of oil on the wick, not with every bobbin change but a couple of times during a project. I take off the throat plate, get out all the lint with a small soft paintbrush, including all that I can reach inside with the paintbrush. Then put one drop of oil and put it back together. (This is what my dealer told me to do). Very occasionally I clean off the shaft above the needle and extremely lightly oil that. I also noticed that one of my free motion feet squeaks after a while and I lightly oil the shaft area of that when it does.
There is a Janome list for 6500,6600 and 7700 owners on Yahoo that has been quite helpful to me in such matters, although most of the list is taken up by "should I buy this machine" chatter.

Kathy