Zac Report post Posted April 18, 2020 Another question proving how clueless I really am when it comes to sewing machines. I am having issues with my machine locking up on its first couple of stitches and I can’t work out why. I normally then unjam the machine and it works fine. It only ever locks up on the first 2 stitches. I have given the bobbin case a pretty good clean up and it hasn’t made any difference. It doesn’t always happen but enough to be pretty frustrating! The machine is a Seiko LCW-8BL apart from this issue starting out it works perfectly. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! It is wasting a fair bit of my time. Sorry if this has been asked before but I couldn’t find anything... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted April 18, 2020 Locking up? Sorry, but that's a bit vague. Does the needle stop moving? Or is the thread jamming? Or won't the handwheel turn? What exactly do you do to unjam it? Any chance of taking a pic of what's Jammed? So many questions....... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert51 Report post Posted April 18, 2020 Do you have a birds nest under the work causing the lockup? Or as dikman asks, what is causing your lock up, would it be possible to give a little more information or a photo? Thanks, Bert. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zac Report post Posted April 18, 2020 Sorry for being unclear. I’m trying to get a photo but of course now the machine is working perfectly! The thread jams locking up everything else. The thread creates a birdsnest on the underside. Which I then cut the bobbin thread and work the top thread out. I can feel when it is going to jam before it does because the top thread feels like it is starting to get sucked into the machine. ill try get a photo to give a better description, thanks for the help so far though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CowboyBob Report post Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) Are you holding onto the needle thread for the first 3 stitches when you start sewing? Edited April 18, 2020 by CowboyBob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zac Report post Posted April 18, 2020 12 minutes ago, CowboyBob said: Are you holding onto the needle thread for the first 3 stitches when you start sewing? Yes and when it is going to jam I can feel the needle thread pulling in back which is why I think it is getting caught on something. Would this be possible? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert51 Report post Posted April 18, 2020 Is it possible that the thread is not in it's correct path? Does the thread need to lock in the tensioner? Do you have the thread coming off the spool smoothly? Sorry for the silly questions, but there are several thing that can cause this problem. I had to change a spool today as for some reason I could not work put the thread would not come off the spool smoothly, causing a problem only when I was not expecting it to. Bert. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonInReno Report post Posted April 19, 2020 So when it’s jamming it’s pulling thread out of your fingers? If you hold it hard enough that it doesn’t slip through your fingers does that solve the problem? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zac Report post Posted April 28, 2020 Thanks for all the tips guys, I played with the tension disks a little and it seems to have fixed the problem. I wanted to make sure before posting hence the late reply. Thanks again! Cheers, Zac Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert51 Report post Posted April 28, 2020 Pleased to hear all is good, it took me a while to get my head around tensions, change thread and check your tensions again, take the time to get it right again if needed on an offcut from your project. Bert. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites