Thread Tension Help

[dikman]

I thought the same thing as Mike but couldn't put it as elegantly. My limited experience is that dying the leather can make it stiffer and tougher to sew. I was going to suggest increasing the needle size too, but again Mike beat me to it.

[venator]

Okay so after checking the thread path and cleaning it as much as possilble here's where things sit.

through dyed and finished leather it will pull on about every 5th stitch.  Sometimes the top thread becomes visible on the bottom, sometimes the bottom thread on the top. . .

If I use the roller guide then the bottom thread becomes so loose I can pull at it with my fingers as in the pic above.

We did bend a needle a bit back when the machine caught a pre-existing hole and pulled the needle off track.

Thoughts?  Is my needle misaligned?  I obviously changed needles and have a few times in this process.  How do I check this?

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

Even though I know nothing about your model of machine, here are a couple thoughts.  Have you started a new spool of thread recently? I have quite a few spools that my Cowboy 4500 absolutely will not sew with.  It was not cheap or odd lot thread. I ordered it from a supplier that I bought from for years, and it always worked on my Landis One and still will (of course just about ANY thread will work on THAT machine).  I'd try going up a needle size, and it might work, or it might not, just depended on what I was sewing and how thick.  The only thread that seems to work consistently and without issues in my 4500 is the nylon thread from Weaver. I don't know where they get it from, and I don't care, because as long as they don't switch suppliers, I will continue to order it from them, sometimes just to fill a small order.  Two spools of thread can look and feel identical, but in use, perform very differently. 

The other thing you might try if you haven't already, is to pull the thread out of your machine completely. Take the spool off the thread rack and run your fingers down the length of thread that is hanging from the spool. Thread will develop kinks as it comes off the spool. Again, some threads are worse than others, but I've had some that I could count on having to pull out and de-kink after sewing for a given amount of time.  I had a Randall that was extremely picky about that.  I tried running the thread up through a little eyebolt attached to the ceiling to try to eliminate or reduce the kinks, but in the end, I'd still have to pull the thread out of the machine and straighten it out.  Good luck to you and I hope you resolve your issues.

[venator]

1 minute ago, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

Even though I know nothing about your model of machine, here are a couple thoughts.  Have you started a new spool of thread recently? I have quite a few spools that my Cowboy 4500 absolutely will not sew with.  It was not cheap or odd lot thread. I ordered it from a supplier that I bought from for years, and it always worked on my Landis One and still will (of course just about ANY thread will work on THAT machine).  I'd try going up a needle size, and it might work, or it might not, just depended on what I was sewing and how thick.  The only thread that seems to work consistently and without issues in my 4500 is the nylon thread from Weaver. I don't know where they get it from, and I don't care, because as long as they don't switch suppliers, I will continue to order it from them, sometimes just to fill a small order.  Two spools of thread can look and feel identical, but in use, perform very differently. 

The other thing you might try if you haven't already, is to pull the thread out of your machine completely. Take the spool off the thread rack and run your fingers down the length of thread that is hanging from the spool. Thread will develop kinks as it comes off the spool. Again, some threads are worse than others, but I've had some that I could count on having to pull out and de-kink after sewing for a given amount of time.  I had a Randall that was extremely picky about that.  I tried running the thread up through a little eyebolt attached to the ceiling to try to eliminate or reduce the kinks, but in the end, I'd still have to pull the thread out of the machine and straighten it out.  Good luck to you and I hope you resolve your issues.

I appreciate the advice, I've had this problem with multiple spools and multiple bobbin winds so I doubt that's it.  That was one of the first things I've checked as I once got a spool that my machine just hated for some reason.