DIY sewing machine repair

Even the highest quality, reliable sewing machine fails sooner or later. In the best case, it is necessary to carry out maintenance, take preventive measures. But sometimes repairs are necessary - replacement of worn out parts. It is quite possible to replace them ourselves, if you show care and accuracy when repairing the product. Let us consider in more detail the stages of repairing a sewing machine with our own hands.

Common problems include:

• the machine is bad, sews slowly or does not work at all;
• during operation, the device does not catch the upper thread loop or does not pick up the lower thread;
• the needle or hook is stuck and does not move;
• the needle often breaks;
• poor fixation of the cap with the bobbin in the hook compartment;
• the flywheel stopped spinning.

This list of faults mainly covers the states of the electromechanical model of the car. For electronic, the number of different faults can be supplemented by faults in the electronic control boards.

The reason why the hook does not pull the thread into the stitches is one of the following.

1. Dull hook tip.
2. Disruption of the shuttle mechanism, in particular, a violation of its spatial orientation.
3. The lower thread turned out to be thicker than the upper one, loses to it in elasticity, both threads are not smooth enough and too twisted.
4. The needle is too thick for the fabric, or vice versa.
5. The bobbin thread has broken. The upper thread does not catch the lower thread. Its entry into the seam stopped immediately after the break.
6. Ejector misaligned or broken.
7. The hook and needle do not fire at the same time. One clearly lags behind the other.
8. The bobbin has got burrs.
9. The screw next to the shuttle is twisted or broken.

Further lining the same seam with a faulty machine does not make sense.

Without moving the needle, you cannot start the sewing process. The reasons why the needle stops going up and down are as follows.

• Improper care of the sewing machine. Parts, or rather, their rubbing surfaces, due to drying out and untimely replenishment of the lubricant layer, begin to wear out faster.

• Poor storage conditions. The sewing machine is not intended to be kept in hot and cold conditions, high humidity.

• The needle guide and shuttle do not work correctly.

• Weak or broken drive belt. This belt transfers the torque from the motor shaft to the drive shaft of the general mechanism, from which both the needle bar and the shuttle operate. If the movement is transmitted through gears, and not belts, or through chains and sprockets, then it is necessary to check their integrity. Broken and worn parts must be replaced.

After checking (and replacing, when required) the specified parts, the machine will again work properly with the needle.

The reasons why the flywheel is spinning tightly or has completely stopped spinning are as follows.

1. The machine is not lubricated with machine or industrial oil, but, say, vegetable oil. This oil dries quickly, but the plaque on the parts still remains. It acquires additional stickiness and significantly slows down the operation of rotating parts.
2. Old grease can also thicken when the clipper has not been greased for many months, and in turn has been working hard the whole time. Then the remnants of threads, lint of fabric and dust stick to the dirty parts.
3. The fact is that the sewing machine is prone to vibration during operation. For example, the screw holding the needle guide connecting rod on its axis may come loose. The flywheel is simply stuck.
4. The belt is too stretched or broken. In this case, the engine is idling.
5. The end of the needle broke off and blocked the shuttle, and with it the rest of the mechanism, up to the flywheel. The same thing happens when the thread scraps are wrapped around the hook.

By freeing all of the above parts from foreign contents and lubricating them, you will achieve stable operation of the unit.

Other sewing machine malfunctions include the following.

• Engine failure... Perhaps the enamel insulation peeled off from the windings, an inter-turn short circuit occurred, and they burned out from this. AC motors run trouble-free for years. But frequent and prolonged work, from which they gradually warm up, will sooner or later put them out of action. There is one such engine in the machine.

• One or more buttons do not work. Especially frequently used buttons break more often. Current-carrying contacts from several hundred thousand or millions of clicks will rub off and oxidize.

• Pedal failure - it can withstand more than one million clicks. However, sooner or later, it will surely turn out to be faulty, like any of the control buttons.

• The display does not work. On machines with electronic control, the display may not be backlit or display nothing (or display chaotically, it is not clear what). The reason is the oxidation of current-carrying paths and the gradual destruction of the loop that feeds its corresponding sectors.

Do-it-yourself sewing machine repair makes sense when you have at least the basic skills to restore the equipment to work. In this case, you need the following tools.

• A set of screwdrivers, including three- and hexagonal. Expensive electronic typewriters may require 5-point screwdrivers ("pentalobes") - just like repairing smartphones and tablets. The specific set of screws depends on the model - after removing the case, inspect all connections and act according to the situation.

• Set of wrenches. Small nuts are most likely used in typewriters - under 3, 4, maybe 5 or 6 mm, but no more.

• Engine oil or industrial oil.

• Consumables... Assess the situation. Any detail can break. You can order exactly the same from China - for example, through the AliExpress online store, or walk around sewing workshops and shops, as well as the household markets of your city, district or region.

It is quite possible to fix the sewing machine yourself. For example, if a pedal is out of order - not finding a similar one or not willing to pay the masters from the service center, you will most likely make a similar one.

Anything can be used, up to a room light switch with an enlarged, streamlined contact area. Some people make pedals for sewing machines, for example, from keys from old radiotelegraphs that used Morse code.

If you need to repair an electric drive in an electric (electromechanical) sewing machine, most often we are talking about a motor that can fail over time. The manual model has no motor. Rewinding motors is not a fast activity, even if you turn to specialists who repair all kinds of components that include windings.

In modern sewing machines, collector or stepper motors are most often used. The former work directly from a direct current source - for example, with a voltage of 12 volts. The second requires the same voltage, but in a pulsed mode, where a special adapter with a driver for a stepper motor is needed. Both can be ordered from China or purchased at the nearest radio market or radio store. The rubber belts are also changed at the service center.

If the purchase of new needles and threads does not cause any difficulties, then the purchase of spare parts from the shuttle mechanism will be more difficult. The shuttle parts are unlikely to be sold to you in the nearest sewing store - the shuttle is not such a quick-change consumable that it can be changed literally at every step, which cannot be said about needles. This part costs ten times more than the same needle and bobbin for the lower thread - most likely, you will order this part on the Internet.

Choose high-quality steel parts right away - it's good when stainless steel turns out to be their starting material.

You will be able to replace the display in a household sewing machine yourself only if you have found the same one on the Internet. The employees of the SC simply have similar spare parts from exactly the same machines, directly contacting their manufacturers.

So that the sewing machine breaks down as rarely as possible, observe the following rules.

1. Always sew on a stable, level surface.
2. Do not store the product in hot, cold and damp conditions.
3. Lubricate the rubbing surfaces of machine parts regularly. The manual may indicate the total time of intensive work of the machine in hours, after which it is simply necessary to clean and lubricate the mechanics of the device.
4. Do not connect the device to a power supply with frequent voltage surges. It is recommended to use a filter and a stabilizer or an uninterruptible power supply - it will protect the machine from line voltage surges.
5. Do not neglect the setting of the sewing machine when changing the material to be stapled. After a long period of inactivity, check that the specified characteristics are correct. For example, use the correct thread and needle for different fabrics.

If you are working with a specific model for the first time (for example, you just bought it) - read the instructions, which also give advice on servicing the product.... Whatever the model of your device, it can be repaired in any case.

By following the precautions and safety measures outlined above, you will ensure that even the cheapest device will work without problems for at least several years.

You can find out how to fix some types of sewing machine malfunctions in the following video.