Consew 277 R3 - Not picking up bobbin thread

[Escobar]

I recently purchased a used consew 277 r3. I 'tested' it with the thread that was already in it. Sewed fine. When it finished I swapped in some 138 thread with a #22 needle. The bobbin thread will not come up. The person that sold it to me connected me with the OG owner. They stopped by and said that my thread was too thick and that is why the bobbin thread wasnt coming up. Apparently I need to use size 40 thread or 69.

I was a bit confused considering the info I found on this site indicates that it manage 138 well enough (although it will go through bobbins fairly quickly). I was further confused because they made it seem like that the timing needs to be set to the thickness of the thread. I know the tension needs to be adjusted but the timing as well? Is that a thing? I'm guessing its just out of timing and needs to be adjusted although from the looks of it it's fine. But this is not something I'm familiar with.

Consew is only 15mins from me so I'll probably take it there unless someone on here has a shop close to me.

[RockyAussie]

Check that you have the long slot of the needle on the left. I have myself made that mistake more than once. Here is a link may help - https://www.consew.com/files/112347/InstructionManuals/277ROpMan.pdf

[MtlBiker]

11 hours ago, Escobar said:

I recently purchased a used consew 277 r3. I 'tested' it with the thread that was already in it. Sewed fine. When it finished I swapped in some 138 thread with a #22 needle. The bobbin thread will not come up. The person that sold it to me connected me with the OG owner. They stopped by and said that my thread was too thick and that is why the bobbin thread wasnt coming up. Apparently I need to use size 40 thread or 69.

I was a bit confused considering the info I found on this site indicates that it manage 138 well enough (although it will go through bobbins fairly quickly). I was further confused because they made it seem like that the timing needs to be set to the thickness of the thread. I know the tension needs to be adjusted but the timing as well? Is that a thing? I'm guessing its just out of timing and needs to be adjusted although from the looks of it it's fine. But this is not something I'm familiar with.

Consew is only 15mins from me so I'll probably take it there unless someone on here has a shop close to me.

Are you new to industrial machines generally, or just new to that particular machine?  Just in case you might be making the same newbie mistake as I did... make sure you are not holding the top thread too tightly as you try to pick up the bobbin thread.  You've got to hold it, but it's got to remain loose enough that the hook can catch it and bring it around to pick up the bobbin thread.  I felt quite foolish when I figured out what I was doing wrong.

 

[Dream4est]

I would bet you have the bobbin thread incorrectly routed watch this video. Doug Glenn of Consew gets the 227 to pick up bobbin thread while sewing the first few stitches. Not what I would do but as you see it does it automatically. Check your hook timing too if hook is off a bit it wont pick up bigger thread. It has to be super close to the scarf like .05" or less. A used machine can easily have the timing a bit retarded or advanced too so check that not just distance to scarf. Doug claims it will sew 207 on top with a 24 needle. I can get my chinese copy to do 138/138 all day with a 23. I generally use a 22 with 138/92 on this G bobbin style machine.   

Consew Sewing Machine 227R-2 Demo - YouTube

 

[Dream4est]

How about this manual page 6 and 7:

277ROpMan.pdf (consew.com)

[Escobar]

On 8/20/2021 at 2:16 AM, RockyAussie said:

Check that you have the long slot of the needle on the left. I have myself made that mistake more than once. Here is a link may help - https://www.consew.com/files/112347/InstructionManuals/277ROpMan.pdf

Thanks. It was oriented in the right direction. But now I now i double check it every time. I've downloaded that pdf multiple times a day

On 8/20/2021 at 8:11 AM, MtlBiker said:

Are you new to industrial machines generally, or just new to that particular machine?  Just in case you might be making the same newbie mistake as I did... make sure you are not holding the top thread too tightly as you try to pick up the bobbin thread.  You've got to hold it, but it's got to remain loose enough that the hook can catch it and bring it around to pick up the bobbin thread.  I felt quite foolish when I figured out what I was doing wrong.

 

Took your advice and seems to have helped! I'm new to industrial machines in general. 

 

On 8/21/2021 at 12:35 AM, Dream4est said:

How about this manual page 6 and 7:

277ROpMan.pdf (consew.com)

I've managed to get the machine going. The  Titiming was fine. The tension had to be adjusted for thread sizes. I'm still going to take it to a mechanic just to make sure its fine.

[Wyowally]

It has helped me several times to grab a good little LED light, tilt the head back with bobbin cover open, and actually watch what it does with needle, thread, material, timing, etc. If the hook point doesn't have the right size little loop of upper thread to go into, you're needing to adjust something.

[Escobar]

Took the machine to Consew. They're only 10mins away. They adjusted the timing. They asked me what thread size I wanted to use. I decided on v92. Works great zero issues. 

I just wish I would have asked if the thread size determines the timing. I always thought it was based on tension. Because now that the timing is perfect I'd like to try v69.

[RockyAussie]

4 hours ago, Escobar said:

Took the machine to Consew. They're only 10mins away. They adjusted the timing. They asked me what thread size I wanted to use. I decided on v92. Works great zero issues. 

I just wish I would have asked if the thread size determines the timing. I always thought it was based on tension. Because now that the timing is perfect I'd like to try v69.

I would guess they adjusted the distance of the hook from the needle size to be ideal for the thread you said you wanted to use. It should still work fine on the the thinner threads but thicker you will need to check if the hook is touching the needle too much. If so learn how to adjust the hook back a bit.