Juki 1541-S Safety Clutch

[piera]

Hi all,

New to this forum.. I have a Juki 1541S...

Have had this machine for about a month now.. I know how to disengage the safety clutch.

Now when I try to disable the safety clutch even if i rotate my hand wheel away from me nothing is turning and my safety clutch button doesn't go all the way down.

I don't know what else to do.

Edited February 19, 2016 by piera

[gottaknow]

First off, make sure the cause of the disengagement has been cleared. If not, what I'm going to tell you could make things worse if your safety clutch button has a problem, my work around will do the trick. Tip the machine back, find a spot on the lower shaft where you can clamp a healthy sized pair of vise grips. Use a piece of leather to protect the shaft. Clamp the vise grips in place and turn your hand wheel backwards. This should reset the clutch even if there's a problem with your reset button or the safety clutch.

Keep in mind that you should still figure out why you can't reset it with the button. The clutch may need adjusting, or there could be an issue with the button. Welcome to the forums!

Regards, Eric

[piera]

Thank you Eric!

I don't see anything on my machine for it to cause such issues.

Here are the pics

Forgive my ignorance but which part would be the lower shaft (I'm new to this)

Edited February 19, 2016 by piera

[gottaknow]

The problem I see is that little positioning finger should have its tab holding the bobbin basket at the 12 o'clock position. Loosen the one screw, rotate the basket back so the notch is at the top and put the tab into the slot of the basket. The machine will not sew at all if this isn't corrected. I'd draw an arrow on you photo, but I'm not where I can do it.

Regards, Eric

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

You can put the hook position finger (hook supporting plate) back in place, but if the finger does not look like this in the pic, it will likely come back out again.

I'm in Philly, about an hour from Telford PA where OP is from, and this would be covered by our warranty for sure.

[piera]

Hi Gregg.. do you do house calls haha

I looked into your store to buy my machine but you didn't have financing i was looking for with my Sewing and More Card :\

Im so clueless about how to fix this.. I just wish I got the machine without the safety mechanism.

[piera]

It works it works it works!

I pushed that support plate to be in hook cause it was off and it works!!!

Thank you SOOOOO MUCH!

I'll have to thread it now and test it and get back to you if it's good to go

But least my bobbin is turning now!

[gottaknow]

Thanks for posting that pic Gregg, I'm on the road.

Regards, Eric

[piera]

Thank you both for your help!

I threaded it and it's working perfectly

[coryleif]

Hi Gregg,

My 1541S does this sometimes, too. I've found that if pressure is applied to the bobbin, the basket and hook will lock up, causing the assembly to pop out of position like in Piera's case above. While sewing, this happens while stitching thick items w/o adjusting the thread guides to allow for more thread to go around the bobbin (causing the thread to push on the basket and jamming).

I got Juki to give me a new hook and it's a little bit better, but I'm always vigilant about properly adjusting the thread guides now.

Bad hook batch or just bad case finger adjustment?

Thanks!

cory

[gottaknow]

Hey Cory, set the position finger using the thickest thread you use. Most people tend to set them too close. Also, if the finger has jumped out several times, you may need to replace the bobbin basket part of the hook as the finger will chew this area up. It must be smooth, but don't change the angle of the notch with emery paper or a buffer. The position finger itself should be smooth, but it's shape not altered. Once you get it adjusted for your thickest thread, you shouldn't need to adjust it much after that. The other thing that is critical is making sure the hook has good oil supply and that there isn't any thread hiding between the bobbin basket and the hook.

Regards, Eric

[coryleif]

Thanks, Eric!

After this, I also make sure to oil the hook every time I sew.

This happened to me the first day I had this new machine. Maybe the hook needed to break in and I pushed it too hard. I think there's a Kurt Vonnegut short story related to that...

Do you adjust the finger/notch position based on what looks or sounds good? The finger on my Tacsew 111 goes in about 1.5mm -- enough for the bobbin basket not to pop out, but with plenty of room for #92 thread to move freely. I guess what I'm asking is: what's too close? Do you see people push the finger in far enough to obstruct the thread?

Thanks again!

[c]

[gottaknow]

I set it just far enough in so that it stays. Most people set them too tight which can throw loops on the bottom of what you're sewing. Unlike a vertical hook machine, there's no latch opener to create a gap. The needle thread has to snap past that point with only the help of the thread. As for your hook oil, there is a break-in period for a new hook. Even the high speed Jukis I buy, not only do I turn the hook oilers up all the way, they get extra with an oil can until I feel they are broke in.

A final note on that positioning finger. You know you have it set right when you don't have to keep adjusting it. Now if you ever need to move your hook left or right, check the finger. That and after a substantial jam.

Regards, Eric

[coryleif]

Great advice. Thanks, Eric!

[c]