old Landis 3

[mulefool]

I've got a wonderful old Landis 3. I've been living with this problem for awhile now but thought maybe I'd see if anybody here has any ideas on this. She makes a wonderful stitch and the tension is perfect until the bobbin gets about 2/3 gone. Then the bobbin tension becomes too tight. So I've lived with this by filling a bobbin one third full and then adding thread on top to fill so it runs out at about two thirds gone. She hasn't always done this, but I guess I've been dealing with it for 4 or 5 years anyway. Any ideas on what might cause this? I hate winding bobbins.

[D.A. Kabatoff]

Hi Mulefool,

I think I hate winding bobbins as much as you and at one time I got so desperate that I started winding them by hand.

I'm not sure if this is your problem or not, but I have experienced the same thing on both of my Landis 3s... you may be winding the bobbin too tight or you may not be winding your bobbin smoothly and evenly. I've found that when the thread is unwinding and gets to one end or the other of the bobbin, there is more tension on it and the thread can tighten itself and sink into the remaining layers on the bobbin especially if the bobbin wasn't wound smoothly and more often than not when about two thirds of the bobbin thread has been used. When this happens, it's virtually impossible to pull that thread out of the bobbin and I usually have to unwind the remaining thread by hand. I've had these types of problems when I've wound bobbins too tightly or when I don't run the bobbin thread through the wax pot prior to winding the bobbin. I've always found my Landis 3's a little fussy but because the stitching is so nice compared to modern needle machines , I work around the problems.

I've also found my machines fussy about the kind of thread I run through it... if you had a change of thread about the time the problem started, you might try a different kind of thread in it. I'd start by winding the bobbins a little less tightly and make sure they are just as smooth as you can make them. If this doesn't work, try calling Campbell-Bosworth and talking to Randy or Connie. Randy is the mechanic there and Connie is the owner... they both know these machines inside out and may be able to suggest something else. They are very friendly and willing to spend the time on the phone trying to get things working for you. Their phone number is 1-800-327-9420

good luck

Darc

[barra]

Not being familiar with the Landis 3. Is the bobbin a rotating bobbin or a shuttle? I have found after numerous experiments that the best bobbin winding tensioner and guide are my fingers. I ensure the bobbin winds on evenly by guiding the thread as it winds on with my hand. As the thread gets to either the extreme left or right of the bobbin I give it a little flick with the fingers to ensure it starts winding to the other side evenly. If I don't the thread can have a tendency to wind on top of itself. I also apply tension with the fingers. I don't go that fast as to cause friction burn. My bobbin winder is home made and uses a battery operated drill as the winder.

Darc. What are you using as a lubricant in your wax pot. I've near given up on using my wax pot. I still have wax dribble down the side of the machine. That was during the soldering iron in the wax phase. Any hints on wax pots would be appreciated

Barra

Edited July 24, 2007 by barra

[mulefool]

Thanks for the suggestions. barra, the bobbin goes into a shuttle. I also use my fingers with the same technique to wind them and try to keep them smooth and even. It is interesting you suggest that they maybe wound too tightly since I had wondered if I wasn't winding them tight enough! I guess my thought was that if the winding is too loose it would be easier for the thread to pull into the wraps especially at the ends of the bobbin when it is at more of an angle. I do try to get them nice and smooth but sometimes I don't and frankly it hasn't seemed to make any difference in regards to this problem. I did talk to Connie or Randy about this and some other problems I was having several years ago. The other problem was the one bothering me the most and they got me fixed up on that. As I recall my next step on this one was maybe a new shuttle or sending this down to them but it's hard to find a time to do without it, since I'm using it every day pretty much. I do have to say those guys are top notch when it comes to helping out over the phone. I've never used a wax pot. I use 346 Dabond thread on top and 270 on the bottom. About 5 or 6 years ago I took her over to Ferdco and had some work done. I had been using 415 and 346 nylon and they said not to so I changed. In retrospect I kind of wonder if it's because they don't sell nylon. Hmmmmm. I really think in the future if I need work done I would do whatever it takes to get her down to Campbell-Bosworth because I feel they really know these machines.

[Art]

Hi Mule,

I have seen this only once with a Campbell and I attribute it to hand winding the bobbins. The Campbell winder is really expensive for what it is but it came with the machine and winds them pretty even. Sometimes if you use the new wax lubes they can dry out and cause sticking. I use linen and do not use any lube on the bobbin but you might consider this if you are getting sticking. The paraffin based wax from Campbell is what you want to use. Are you using linen or poly? With poly especially you don't want to use old bobbins (meaning the cord has been on the bobbin a long time). On the last thrid of the bobbin, the radius decreases quite a bit and if the cord sets to that radius even a little it can cause handups. Try winding just a third of a bobbin of new cord and then sewing with that and see if that is the problem.

Art

I've got a wonderful old Landis 3. I've been living with this problem for awhile now but thought maybe I'd see if anybody here has any ideas on this. She makes a wonderful stitch and the tension is perfect until the bobbin gets about 2/3 gone. Then the bobbin tension becomes too tight. So I've lived with this by filling a bobbin one third full and then adding thread on top to fill so it runs out at about two thirds gone. She hasn't always done this, but I guess I've been dealing with it for 4 or 5 years anyway. Any ideas on what might cause this? I hate winding bobbins.

[greg gomersall]

Campbell-Bosworth sells Frankel"s liquid stitch wax. I use this in my Pearson. It works well as a wax and a thread lubricant so you might give connie a call and try some. Greg

[Art]

I have used Rice nylon in the campbell, no problem, most of the quality polys are good as they have less stretch than most of the nylons. Linen has no stretch and works great also, although not as durable as the synthetics. If you keep having trouble, send me a bobbin and I will wind it on the winder (I'm just guessing the landis bobbin is the same as the Campbell), I have most of the sizes and common colors.

Art

Thanks for the suggestions. barra, the bobbin goes into a shuttle. I also use my fingers with the same technique to wind them and try to keep them smooth and even. It is interesting you suggest that they maybe wound too tightly since I had wondered if I wasn't winding them tight enough! I guess my thought was that if the winding is too loose it would be easier for the thread to pull into the wraps especially at the ends of the bobbin when it is at more of an angle. I do try to get them nice and smooth but sometimes I don't and frankly it hasn't seemed to make any difference in regards to this problem. I did talk to Connie or Randy about this and some other problems I was having several years ago. The other problem was the one bothering me the most and they got me fixed up on that. As I recall my next step on this one was maybe a new shuttle or sending this down to them but it's hard to find a time to do without it, since I'm using it every day pretty much. I do have to say those guys are top notch when it comes to helping out over the phone. I've never used a wax pot. I use 346 Dabond thread on top and 270 on the bottom. About 5 or 6 years ago I took her over to Ferdco and had some work done. I had been using 415 and 346 nylon and they said not to so I changed. In retrospect I kind of wonder if it's because they don't sell nylon. Hmmmmm. I really think in the future if I need work done I would do whatever it takes to get her down to Campbell-Bosworth because I feel they really know these machines.

[D.A. Kabatoff]

Hi everyone,

Barra, I'm using the liquid wax that Campbell-Bosworth sells... they sent me a gallon when I had one of my machines down there a number of years back and I found it worked well for me.

Art, I'm guessing the Landis bobbin won't fit in your Campbell winder unless the winder is somehow adjustable. I'm pretty sure that the Landis 3 bobbin is slightly longer than the Campbell. I've also got a Randall stitcher which is essentially a clone of the Campbell and the shuttle and bobbin are slightly shorter. It's interesting, you can use a Campbell or Randall shuttle and bobbin in a Landis 3 (noisy as hell) but the Landis 3 shuttle won't fit in the carrier of a Campbell or Randall.

It's amazing how fussy these machines can get... one of my machines came up to Canada via Don King and Chuck Stormes and wound up in the hands of a hobbyist who sold it to me as reconditioned by a local sewing guy in Calgary. I've got a huge amount of money tied up in that machine including sending it to Campbell-Bosworth and having them get it run properly... It ran great for a couple of months after Connie and Randy had a go at it, but somewhere along the line it just gave up and to this day it still won't sew properly. My second machine, I drove half way across the U.S because I got a great deal on it from someone who was selling it for a friend. When I saw it in the guys garage I thought I was in for real trouble because it was pretty rough looking with a bunch of cowboy fixes on it. After I got it home I put a new needlebar and stand in it and I haven't had a problem with it ever. If you look through the throat of it, the long spring running horizontally is actually held to the old thread stand by a piece of twine; i've got an extra proper spring but I'm scared to change it because the machine is running perfectly!

D.

Edited July 24, 2007 by D.A. Kabatoff

[Art]

Hi D,

It's amazing what you can do with a tie-wrap, and with a needle and awl machine the first rule is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Art

needlebar and stand in it and I haven't had a problem with it ever. If you look through the throat of it, the long spring running horizontally is actually held to the old thread stand by a piece of twine; i've got an extra proper spring but I'm scared to change it because the machine is running perfectly!

D.

[mulefool]

I have no experience with using wax in a machine, but the next time I order from Campbell Bosworth I'll ask about it and maybe give it a try. Like you say when it's running good you hate to change a thing, even if you know somethings wore out. Thanks for all the input, and the offer to wind a bobbin for me! I do have a bobbin winder although it doesn't work as well as I'd like and I do end up guiding the thread with my fingers.