Major Problems With New Sewing Machine

[lranger]

Hello everyone,

About a week ago I received a new Techsew 2700 and I still can't sew anything on it that's acceptable.

I bought the machine primarily for sewing 2-4 oz. leather bags/purses, but it will not sew two layers of 2 oz. leather with a #18 or even a #20 needle and #69 bonded nylon thread. It just ravels the needle thread,,, bad. It will sew pretty decently with a #21 needle and the #69 thread, but the holes are too big, or at least I think they're too big for the #69 thread.

Also, the backstitches at the beginning and end don't look good enough to me for a finished product, and it isn't really locking the stitch because I can easily pull it out. Is it just me, and am I just expecting too much out of this machine?

Yes, it will sew leather,,, technically, but not well enough for anything I'd want anyone to see. It sews chap leather better, and I have sewn two layers of 8 oz. vegtan on small practice pieces, but the backstitches aren't acceptable and I wouldn't even try to do a realjob on it. I don't quite know what to do at this point. I'm very frustrated. Machines are no fun at all.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Keith

[Constabulary]

Can you add some pictures? Pictures often tell more than words.

[Gump]

To sew light weight leather on that machine, you should try a #16 needle for #69 thread and at least 8 spi. You will have to back the top tension off, and possibly use a little less bobbin tension. Top thread shredding is usually caused by to much top tension. It can also be caused by the needle not being quite close enough to the hook, causing the hook to split the thread. Also, on light garment leather a round point needle will give you a tighter, neater stitch than a LR/LL leather needle. For the vegtan, I prefer a diamond point needle as it penetrates easier and produces a straight stitch line. Gump

[lranger]

I'll try to give you as much information as I can...... I want to start making nice bags and purses out of 2-4 oz. leather. I tried sewing it on my Pfaff 360 machine with a #18 leather needle. It will sew it just about as well as the 2700 is, but still has the problem on backstitching at the end of the stitch,,, and at the beginnings. I figured a real "professional" machine should be able to handle the job so I ordered the Techsew 2700, which is for light to medium weight leather.

Techsew says the machine can only use 135x17 needles #18 to 24. So,,,, tell me if I'm wrong, the 2700 should sew two layers of 2 oz. leather, with a #18 needle and #69 bonded nylon thread all day long like it was butter, I assume I can't go down to a #16 needle either. It would sew two, and even four layers of vinyl, which they tested, and with a #21 needle when I received the machine. I immediately put some 2 oz. leather in it and it created a huge birdsnest in the bobbin and locked up the machine. It took me all day to get that fixed.

The machine is sewing 2 oz. leather, 4 oz. split, elkskin, chap leather, and 2 layers of 8 oz. vegtan with the #21 needle and #69 thread, which the thread is really too small for that, and the stitching is OK, and I might could live with the backstitch at the beginning of a stitch, but I just can't live with the backstitch at the end of the stitch. It is ugly, leaves loops sticking up, and easily unravels. It will NOT sew anything with a needle in it smaller than the #21 without raveling the thread, and adjusting upper thread tension doesn't help. (Well, if I back the tension off far enough that it doesn't ravel the thread, then it leaves the bobbin thread lieing on the surface of the leather.)

I've tried about everything I know to try. Where I am now is; I either have to just live with it, which I can't, or I have a very expensive boat anchor sitting in my shop.

Sorry,,,,,, I've had a week of frustration to deal with.

[J Hayes]

Using small needles may require repositioning the hook closer to the small diameter needle. That could be the cause of the thread shredding, small needle is further from hook, hook penetrates thread because loop is further away. Also too large of needle for the thread size and the loop sometimes won't form properly and again the hook penetrates the thread. Get on the phone with Ronnie and I'm sure you'll be able to sort it out, I bet you're going to have to move the hook closer to the small needle so it can pickup the thread properly. *I have read that slightly twisting the needle can sometimes help with the thread shredding*

Back tacking rarely looks perfect, if I need a back tack to look awesome it gets done by hand.

[Wizcrafts]

LRanger;

Make sure you check the top thread path to ensure that it hasn't risen up out of the middle of the upper disks. That will cause birdsnests due to no top tension. Also, always hold back the threads, or at least the top thread, for the first three stitches.

Reverse not lining up with forward is correctable with adjustments to the machine, which I won't touch on here. But, you can try to equalize the stitches yourself using this method:

1. Use the hand wheel to lower the needle until the point just reaches the feed dog hole.
2. At this position both feet should also be fully down. If the inside foot is raised above the feed dog, do the following:
3. Loosen the large straight blade bolt on the knuckle on the back of the machine, which is driven by a vertically movable crank shaft coming out of the body. It's not the crank arm you need to adjust, but the bolt on the top rear. This bolt tightens down the shaft that moves the presser feet.
4. When you loosen the big bolt the outside foot will snap down, if it isn't already down. The inside foot will be movable by hand.
5. Push the inside foot down with your finger until it is solidly against the feed dog (with the outside foot down all the way).
6. Tighten the big bolt.

What this does is to more or less equalize the lift of the feet, in sync with the point of the needle. It often is a simple way to also match forward and reverse stitches, all else being set correctly inside the machine.

Your machine has 10.5 inches inside the body. If the backtack stitches still won't line up, use the Poor Man's Reverse. Spin the work 180 degrees, sew three stitches, then spin it back and sew to the end. Repeat the reverse direction at the end. This is how it was done on industrial sewing machines from the time Noah emerged from the Ark.

[lranger]

Wizcrafts,

The upper thread is definitely in the tension discs and I am holding the threads for the first few stitches. There is plenty of tension. I have watched people sew on other walking foot machines and they can just pull the work out from under the foot when they stop stitching. I have to physically pull some slack in the thread in order to pull the work out from under the foot after stitching because the tension is so tight. Is that normal? Even with that much upper tension it isn't pulling the loop up inside the leather underneath. I keep trying more tension but how much is too much. To me, if I increased the tension enough it would eventually make the upper thread lay on top of the leather.

I checked the movement of the feet and dogs like you said. Turning by hand in the normal direction, when the tip of the needle is entering the feed dog hole the large foot and the feed dogs are moving up, the center foot is down. I continue turning, the needle goes all the way down and is coming back up. All feet are down when the tip of the needle is coming up thru the hole. Is that right or wrong?

Thank you to everyone who has replied.

[Wizcrafts]

You definitely should be able to easily pull the work out (usually backwards) with the presser feet all the way up (by knee, foot, or hand lever). With nothing being sewn, simply engage the presser foot lift pedal or knee lever all the way while watching the upper tension disks. They should open up and allow the thread to flow with almost zero tension.

Failure to release the disks can be due to excessive upper spring tension, where the thumb nut is screwed in so far there is no room left for the disks to separate. If this is what's happening to you, back off the top tension until the disks can separate enough to let the thread pass freely. Go to the bobbin case and back off the spring tension screw until there is just a slight amount of tension on the bobbin thread, as it comes out the top. The bobbin thread must not be jammed. If it is, investigate to find out where it is binding.

If you have backed off the upper tension nut and still cannot get the disks to separate with the (foot/knee) lifter, call Ronnie on Monday and ask for assistance troubleshooting the lift mechanism settings. This is inside the head adjustments and I won't delve into them on your new, warrantied machine.

If the 2700 has a top facing bobbin that drops in, there is probably a "latch opener" arm that has a single screw adjustment. Ronny can talk you through any changes to that arm. It's job is to pull the bobbin case tab forward to let the top thread pass freely. It also has to release the case at the right moment to let the thread finish its trip without getting hung up by the latch opener. If the top thread does get stuck on the opener finger, your tension settings go down the toilet. If the bobbin tension is good, this could explain why adding more top tension doesn't help.

[lranger]

Mr. Wizcrafts,

I think, maybe, you have solved the problem. Actually, if I hadn't asked about why I couldn't pull the work out from under the foot you never would have told me what you did in your last post.

So, because of what you said, I backed way off on the upper tension nut, and, I backed off the bobbin tension screw just one half turn, to where I really couldn't feel any drag on the thread when I pulled on it. I could tell there was a big difference immediately upon starting to sew. Now, the stitching showed that the upper tension was too tight, something I hadn't seen before, and the stitches on the bottom looked good. I backed off the upper tension some more and the stitching got good on both sides, like it should be. Even the backstitch at the end is much better.

Now for a little rant. It seems to me that these sewing machine people think you should know all this stuff, even though you tell them you've never used a sewing machine. To me, I have NO experience with a sewing machine, I don't know anything about how much adjustment should be normal or even is possible, and I don't know what is normal and what isn't normal. I felt like things weren't acting right, but I didn't know why, until, in this case you said what you did.

Anyway, I think, and I hope that this problem is solved. I know for sure that the machine is sewing entirely different from before. Thank you very, very much.

Keith

[Wizcrafts]

I'm happy to have been of help to you. Now, go back to the proper needle/thread combination.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Wizcrafts

[lranger]

The machine is now sewing 2 oz. leather with a #18 needle and #69 thread, something it would not do ever since I got it.

Thanks again to Wizcrafts, and everyone else who tried to help.

Keith

[Techsew Ron]

The machine is now sewing 2 oz. leather with a #18 needle and #69 thread, something it would not do ever since I got it.

Thanks again to Wizcrafts, and everyone else who tried to help.

Keith

Hi Keith, glad to hear you were able to resolve the tension issue. Often just a couple of tension adjustments can be the difference between a perfect machine and a big headache.

Also, noted your comments re-beginners using a machine for the first time. We try to give as much information as possible with our instruction manuals, youtube videos and more.

We also recently began offering a free lesson for first timers where they can call and speak with one of our technicians over the phone prior to getting started. In this lesson we make sure to cover the essentials of starting out, threading, bobbin winding, basic tension adjustments, inserting/removing the material, motor speed settings and more.

Feel free to give us a call if you need any more help!

Ron

[Darren Brosowski]

My suggestion to all first timers is practice, practice, practice and then practice some more.

If you haven't spent ten hours learning the feel of the machine, speed control and guiding the work BEFORE you thread it up then you are not doing it properly