Broken screw head on needle assembly juki lu563

[Nate88]

Hi community,

was working on a project and changed the needle. I have a juki lu563. It has two screws to tighten the needle in the assembly. The top screw head broke off because I just barely overtightened it .

my local ACE carries screw extractors and I picked one up, but while attempting to bore a hole, I got real scared I would F this up. 
 

if you have any tips for me, please help! Much appreciated. 
N

[Uwe]

You can always replace the needle bar itself in case you can’t get that screw out. Needle bars are not expensive, but installing them is often a bit of work.

Usually only one screw holds the needle. That second screw you see is likely just holding the thread guide in place - that screw should not need to be turned unless you replace the thread guide.

I’ve used a Dremel in the past to grind a new slot into the broken-off  screw to try and extract it. It worked, but the area around that screw wasn’t going to win any beauty contests.

Buy a couple OEM Juki needle screws and replace them when they start to wear. Some people need to change needle several times a day, for others a needle lasts several months. Needle screws are cheap, even if you pay $2 each. Don’t buy the too-cheap ones - they’re likely made with inferior metal and are more likely to shear off. In general it‘s better for the screw to shear before the female thread strips because screws are usually cheaper than the part it goes into.

Pictures are super helpful when crowd sourcing help. I’m sure it’s all obvious to you since you’re looking at it, but we don’t see what you see unless you post a picture. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Uwe

[Nate88]

Uwe,

 thanks for your response! I subscribe to your YouTube channel and I absolutely love your professional videos. Thanks for putting all that time and effort into your work, you’ve taught me a ton already! 
 

I ended up drilling a tiny hole through the screw, but haven’t been able to find a screw extractor small enough to pull out the broken screw. 
 

Do you have a video or resource available for how to remove the needle bar? 

[Wizcrafts]

4 hours ago, Nate88 said:

Do you have a video or resource available for how to remove the needle bar? 

I just changed the needle bar on a Singer 211G156, from which your machine was cloned. If the parts they copied are the same, here's the sequence that I used to do exactly this operation. WARNING: THIS WAS NOT MY FIRST RODEO. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY ENSUE FROM FOLLOWING THESE STEPS!

1. Unthread the machine
2. Remove the faceplate cover from the left end of the head.
3. Remove the needle and its set screw
4. Remove the small screw that secures the thread guide to the needle bar, then remove the thread guide
5. Hand wheel the balance wheel until the needle is at its lowest point (BDC).
6. Use a flatblade screw driver to loosen the screw that should now be residing in the opening in the needle bar frame, near its lower end. The opening should clear a 1/4" wide screwdriver blade. Don't remove the set screw, just loosen it a couple of turns.
7. Try to turn the needle bar by hand to loosen it, then start raising it up.. A trick to raising a semi-stuck needle bar is to handwheel it up, then grab it above the needle bar rock frame with smooth jaw pliers. Eventually, it will move up until it hits the top of the head. Hand wheel until the needle bar moves under the hole in the head, then use a plier to force it up and out of the head.
8. When you are ready to install the new bar, oil the bar and drop in in from the top, aligning it with the clamp that you loosened the screw on. Then continue pushing or tapping it down from the top until it extends down below the head about 1.5 inches.
9. Rotate the needle bar so the holes for securing the needle and thread guide are on the right and the indent in the bottom of the bar faces you in front of the machine.
10. Gently tighten the clamping set screw to hold the needle bar.
11. Reinstall the thread guide and its tiny set screw, which goes into the top hole in the thread guide and needle bar. Be careful to not overtighten this screw or the head may break off leaving the threads stuck in the needle bar. This will cause the thread guide to flop around as you sew.
12. Insert the needle set screw in the bottom hole in the thread guide. Start it by hand to avoid cross threading it.
13. Insert the largest needle you have or will use. In most upholstery machines this is a #23 needle, then tighten the needle set screw. If your largest anticipated needle will be a smaller size (under #23), use it.
14. Lift the feet with the hand lift lever.
15. Unscrew the throat plate and set it and the 2 screws aside.
16. Aim a good work light into the space between the hook and the feed dog.
17. Hand wheel the balance wheel until the needle reaches BDC, then moves up 3/32", or so. It should be over 1/16 and under 1/8 inch up from BDC.
18. If the hook is inline with the center line of the needle, the hook timing is still on.
19. If the top of the eye of the needle is below the point of the hook and the hook is within the cutout scarf area, lock down the needle bar set screw for all you're worth.
20. If the eye of the needle is not just below the tip of the hook, loosen it enough to move it by hand into the position where the eye is a bit below the hook and the tip of the hook is inside the scarf.
21. Lock down the needle bar set screw to hold this position.
22. Reinstall the throat pate, ensuring that the little tab on the bobbin case fits into the cutout in the throat plate.
23. Thread the machine, insert the bobbin you were using and test to see if the hook picks off the top thread and carries it around the bobbin basket when you hand wheel until the hook passes the needle and the take-up lever pulls the threads up. The top thread should go around the bobbin basket without any snapping or binding then come out the hole in the feed dog smoothly.
24. Also, take note if the hook passes by the needle without making contact with it! If it hits, read my notes below.
25. Reinstall the faceplate after oiling the moving parts and oil holes inside the head.
26. Hopefully, you are good to go at this point.

If the hook hits the needle, it must be moved to the right, or the deflector shield needs to be gently pried out to push the needle out of the way. Normally, if the hook is in a working machine the distance and deflection are already set. However, when you change needle bars the lateral position of the needle can change just enough to allow the hook to hit the needle (this just happened to me when I changed needle bars in my Singer 211). Moving the hook is for another discussion. Hopefully that isn't necessary in your case.

You can also take the head to a sewing machine dealer and let them do this troublesome work and time it for you. I strongly recommend this if the hook needs to be moved, and/or the hook timing is out relative to the eye of the needle on the upstroke.

[earla]

@Nate88 - you can also take a small traditional screw extractor and carefully grind a tapered square on the end for very small screws.  Lightly tap in to hole while carefully turning.  I have used this trick many times to remove small screws with good success.  

[Nate88]

Thanks for all the tips - I really appreciated it.

 

I ended up taking drilling out the screw, using a tiny bit, then stepping up 1 size. That eventually cleaned the screw out without damaging the threads in the needle bar miraculously. Just waiting for my shipment from sewingpartsonline to get my new screws.

 

For those who have this machine (or cloned ones),  the screw above the needle set screw is meant for attaching the thread guide right above the needle. I understand that this screw is only for tightening the thread guide, and not the needle. Can someone confirm that for me? The person I bought the machine from said he used both screws to tighten in the needle. Looking for clarification on this. Thanks all once again.

[Wizcrafts]

9 hours ago, Nate88 said:

For those who have this machine (or cloned ones),  the screw above the needle set screw is meant for attaching the thread guide right above the needle. I understand that this screw is only for tightening the thread guide, and not the needle. Can someone confirm that for me?

Confirmed! This is a rookie mistake. Most folks just order a new needle bar and go through the process I outlined, or even take it to a dealer.

Thou shalt not over-tighten the tiny top screw in the needle bar thread guide! It has nothing to do with securing the needle on most Singer sewing machines and their clones. It is only meant to hold the thread guide in place so it doesn't flop around as you sew.

[Tobin]

I ran across this fine article, looking for a lead. LU-563.  I sheared off the needle screw, cut a slot, cussed some, gave up. 
I got lucky and found a new oem needle bar on Amazon and went ahead because the shipping was included. $24.50.  
The good news here is to get the needle bar out is different than on the 211G.  To remove:

1.  Loosen needle bar adjustment screw.

2.  Remove needle, thread keeper and screw, throat plate, feed dog.

3. Loosen bobbin housing (2big screws) underneath and tap the assembly to the right a slosh. This will allow you to slide out the needle bar effortlessly.

[fibersport]

Another method is to get a left handed drill bit, sometimes the drilling action is enough to turn the screw out.  I'm not sure what they cost but it might be better if the part is not easily replaced or costs a fortune.

[CowboyBob]

19 hours ago, fibersport said:

Another method is to get a left handed drill bit, sometimes the drilling action is enough to turn the screw out.  I'm not sure what they cost but it might be better if the part is not easily replaced or costs a fortune.

Drilling in a hole this small is pretty tough to do,we've found if you pull the needle out it will take the pressure off the screw & it usually turns out using the point of a needle.