Jacktheboatguy

There is a great YouTube video explaining exactly how I assembled the cover plate incorrectly & caused my own problem. Working fine now. Thanks to anyone who pondered how to explain something so simple to me! Jack

I'm using a Juki LU562 for boat upholstery work & it's been working great until now. I had a major birds nest that took quite a while to clear - probably due to operator error on putting in a new bobbin. Now I get a major jam trying to thread it & the machine locks up (probably the safety clutch). I secretly violated the 'guy code' & read the manual. It looks like my bobbin mechanism has rotated about 45° CCW.The manual shows (& it's always been the case) that the 'protuberance' "A" is right next to the point of the arm "B" - touching it & not touching it as the bobbin rotates. Now they're separated by almost 45°. Does that seem like a good observation? Is this something a reasonably handy person could fix? There's a bit of vague adjustment info on pages 18 & 19 but I'm not sure this addresses what I need. There is a good shop in Indianapolis but he's always backed up - taking it there is sort of a last resort. Any recommendations or advice?

I love my Juki LU-562 but locking in a stitch line is always a problem. I have to hold the thread in my left hand, hold down the reverse lever with the right and I don't have enough hands to guide the material. Has anyone figured out a way to 'lock' the reverse lever down so it doesn't have to be held down manually?

I've been using my 'barn find' LU-562 for about a year now & really like it but I have a couple issues. I graduated from #69 thread to #92 but that just isn't large enough for my boat upholstery & dock canopy work. I'm pretty sure this thing will handle #138 (or even #277) but the manual doesn't touch on thread sizes. Does anyone have any experience with larger thread sizes in this machine? I never thought it would be a problem but the smaller bobbin on the 562 is a bit of a nuisance. Is there such a thing as converting a 562 to a 563? When working on boat upholstery or dock covers, there's a LOT of heavy material around the machine and going into reverse to lock in a stitch is awkward. I'm holding the thread ends in my left hand & holding the reverse lever down with the right & 'willing' the fabric to go straight. Has anyone figured out how to do reverse a bit more conveniently? Tx Jack

Wiz - Thanks! Experience is a wonderful thing. When I released the pedal, it was going into full brake mode. Removing the brake pad did the trick. The motor's even a bit quieter.

I put the Rex 550W w/ a speed dial on it & changed the pulleys to 1 1/2" on the motor & 5" on the head. With the RPM dialed down, I can slow it down to a crawl now (matches my skill level). It goes thru 8 layers of marine vinyl like nothing is there. Still tweaking the tension to get it right though. There's a bit of corrosion on the disks so new ones are likely in order. I'm anxious to try out some new attachments & have some fun with my new toy. Is there a way to disengage the motor when I want to turn it by hand? Right now it's really hard to turn.

Thanks to all for the information. My learning curve on this machine is pretty steep. Jack

Any thoughts on a servo motor. Amazon several 550W ones (Mophorn/Enduro/Rex/...) in the $100-$120 range.

I've been doing boat upholstery for a couple of years using a Singer 201 and it's barely up to the job. I've had to back off #92 thread & go to using #69 because it just can't handle it. When 2 seams meet & I've got 4-6 layers to go thru, it pretty much dies. Imagine my surprise when a relative mentioned he had an old machine in the barn that he would probably throw away when he got back to it. I could have it if I wanted. Turns out it's a really dirty Juki LU-562 that supposedly worked about 20 years ago. I'll know more after cleaning but it doesn't appear to be badly worn. Sooooooo, I need a couple of items: 1) The clutch motor has to go. Any recommendations on a good servo vendor? I wind up doing a lot of curved work so, with my skill level, I need to be able to really slow it down. I was sort of planning to put a smaller pulley (50mm ?) on the motor and a much larger one (180mm) on the head shaft. I see though that the flywheel and upper pully are a single piece. Any thoughts on how to slow the thing down short of a speed reducer? 2) The manual isn't clear on needle types. Is 135x17 the correct description? I'll be using #20 or #22. Good sources here in the US? 3) I can't find a description for the bobbins other than B9117-051-000. There's a place called Cutex that sells those. Would these be the right ones? 4) Sometime over the years, the bobbin winder mechanism got lost. A place in TN (Southstar Supply) seems to carry them - reasonable? Winder Link 5) There a couple of feet I'm going to want (an edge guide & a binder attachment). Am I correct that any walking foot that fits the Consew 206RB/225/226R or Singer 111W machines will fit this one? There's a vendor (CKPSMS) out of China that carries them. Any recommendations on a domestic supplier? I know this is long-winded but I'd really appreciate any insights. Jack

I do occasional vinyl/soft leather work for boat and airplane upholstery. I've been using a Singer 201 and it just isn't up to the task. I was using a #18 needle & #92 thread on boat vinyl & getting way too many jams. I backed the thread down to 68 which helped a bit but It appears the 201 was a poor choice to start with. I've been looking for a reasonably priced Consew/Juki/Necchi but nothing so far. Since this is far more of a hobby than a business I can't spend a ton. I found an ad for a new Singer 4452 which sounded good but I'm hesitant to get one of their new machines - lots of plastic & 30 day warranty. I then found a 401A on Craigslist for $135 & it looks like it would do the job nicely. I usually don't go over 4 thicknesses of vinyl. Does anyone have experience with the 401 on vinyl. I think this is a good machine and the price is right but I'd sure like an experienced opinion.