JUKI LU562 stich synchronization forward to reverse

[1788Leather]

I just bought a JUKI LU562 and I'm in the process of cleaning it and going through the adjustments to get the machine set-up so it's ready to sew. In trying to set the stich length so the fwd and reverse are matched I can't for the life of me find either a service manual to follow or a good video that explains it in detail. I've followed you tube video from Uwe Grosse on setting up the fwd and rev stich syncro for max stich length but when I reset to a different stich length the fwd and rev don't match up. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[Uwe]

I have a feeling the design of that class of machines may not be capable of doing what you want, namely to perfectly match forward and reverse across the full range of all stitch lengths. You can fairly easily perfectly match forward and reverse for a particular stitch length using the various limiting devices.

The design of that feed mechanism in those machines is about a century old and they didn’t invent reverse until a few decades later. I’m guessing it was not a priority for the target customer, i.e. factories where the operators were generally not allowed to change settings. If anything, the design focus was on preventing the operator from making changes, while allowing the resident mechanic to easily dial in one perfect, matching stitch length for a specific operation. If an operation required a different stitch length, they would set up a separate machine just for that. 

The hobby/craft user who frequently needs to change stitch length was not a major factor in the design of the machines.

Modern designs are a different story. They often have fundamentally different feed mechanisms, many of which do allow to match forward/reverse through the entire range of stitch lengths, or easily switch between two stitch lengths via a simple switch.

If you look at anything in the current production lineup for upholstery class machines from Pfaff/Adler/Juki etc., they will very likely be able to do what you desire. 

A vintage Juki LU-562 is very cheap in comparison to the new designs, but it does have some limitations.

See if you can live with the limitation, and if not, start saving up for a modern machine..

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Uwe

[1788Leather]

Thanks for the response Uwe. I knew there were limitations to this machine but it was a reasonable price for a machine that can handle leather and I'm just looking for it to get me by until I can afford a proper machine. There's really only a couple of stich lengths that I will be using so I'll focus on dialing them in as needed. I also purchased a CLSP machine as well but it's so finicky, I don't trust it to screw up in the middle of sewing something up. 

Thanks again Uwe.