Juki 1541S Stopped Working

[cds]

Well I think I have broken my Juki already or I am just doing something really stupid. While trying to sew some leather this morning, I noticed the needle snapped off and that the wheel would not rotate completely around.

I think this small shaft with arm curved arm on end is called the "opener" which looks to be keeping the casing that holds the bobbin assembly from turning. This shaft is very tight and doesn't move.

When the hook starts to turn up this arm in the top photo hits the metal and causes the lever inside this gear, on the bottom photo, to release the bobbin shaft.

Any ideas? I guess I will be looking for a repair person today. This is quite frustrating as I have not had the machine 3 weeks.

Thank for any help.

Chris

[CowboyBob]

You probably just got a piece of thread jammed in the hook.You need to hold on to the needle thread when you start sewing,hold it the first 3-stitches.What you need to do is put some oil on the hook & rock the handwheel back & forth(don't forget to unthread the needle) and it will free up.That little finger is supposed to be hitting the outer part of the hook.

[Wishful]

Yes, it sounds like the safety clutched popped to prevent damage to the hook. So as stated above, clear out the jamb then reengage the clutch if needed. I am not familiar with your machine but it may reengage like the consew as seen here
On you tube under 'reset safety clutch after thread jamb on consew 206rb'. For some reason I cannot attach the link..

[leatherisfun]

I had this same problem happen to me the second day after using the same model a little over a month ago. Took it back to the dealer and the repair guy was kind enough to fix it immediately. I watched him work on it and asked a lot of questions.

Everyone is correct in saying that the safety clutch did engage to prevent damage. My problem was that there was thread caught in the hook.

To fix it, remove the needle plate and feed dog. Press in the button on the bed and turn the flywheel backwards. If it click and releases, then you are good to go. However you might need to get a tweezers out to remove the offending thread that is stuck in the hook.

Should have said this before, remove the bobbin. It's ok to remove the curved arm, but don't remove the hook. Getting it setup correctly for timing is a pain. Turn the wheel, don't use too much force. Be patient even though you are frustrated, there is thread stuck in there. Mine had about 1/4" of thread stuck in the hook. He removed it and I haven't had a problem since.

As a last resort, you might have to remove the hook from the shaft.

The key to preventing this from happening is to hold the top thread before starting for the first 2 stitches then release. If you don't hold it, this will happen again.

[SARK9]

At one time the were a few instances of needle collisions with symptoms similar to what you may have experienced. I have no idea if this is still common, but its something else to check. See:

http://leiflabs.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-juki-disastro.html

The 1541's are frequently advertised as "sew & go" on the bobbin changes, like the Consew 206x's, which could care less about thread tails. They are pretty similar mechanically, so I wonder what causes such a difference in behavior?

-DC

[leatherisfun]

The top thread is the one that needs to be held, not the bobbin thread.

[SARK9]

>>The top thread is the one that needs to be held, not the bobbin thread.<<

Right, but the interesting part was that the Consew 206xx, which has a similar bobbin apparatus to the 1541, doesn't seem to care if you hold back the thread at all. After a session of fanatically holding thread tails on the LU-563's, its sort of a relief to move over to the Consew and just not think about it. What is different about the 1541's compared to the 206?

-DC

[cds]

Thanks everyone for the comments!
The thread did get stuck in the hook and caused the clutch to engage. I actually thought that the clutch locked the whole gearing from moving at all which is why I did not check this. Sure enough, holding down the button and turning wheel in reverse cleared it right up.

[leatherisfun]

Made in Japan by Juki? If I leave the thread long enough, it isn't a problem. But I have gotten used to holding it, so not a bit deal anymore.

[Wizcrafts]

Sometimes, when I am only able to hold onto the top thread tail, the knot will get pulled to the top on the first stitch. Other times, the knot may be entirely on the bottom. Holding back both threads equally almost always centers the starting knot.

Edited February 12, 2015 by Wizcrafts