Below are some pictures of machines brought in for service as an example of why regular service is important. The pictures also show some problems that can occur with machines. Sewing machines are mechanical devices that require periodic maintenance, cleaning, and lubrication. Use of poor quality fabric and thread that generates excessive lint can create more problems in your machine. NOTE: all of our web site pictures are thumbnails and you can click on any of them to see a larger image.  This shows lint accumulated on the feed dogs of a machine. On this machine, there was so much lint that the needle plate was actually raised up by the feed dogs and the needle plate moved up and down when the machine was run. This can usually be easily cleaned by removing the needle plate.
   These pictures show lint in the hook race of a machine. While lint in other parts of the machine can be dry, lint in the hook race tends to be oily from oil on the hook and it then packs into the hook race. This can cause noise and premature wear of parts. This lint can be removed with a wooden toothpick after the hook is removed.
  These pictures looking from the front and the rear of the machine show lint in a machine with a rotary hook that uses drop in bobbins. Typically, machines with drop in bobbins accumulate more lint in the hook area since the bobbin case is not easily removable by the customer for cleaning the machine. Front loading bobbins provide easy removal of the bobbin case for cleaning and general maintenance.
  This is another picture of lint accumulated in a machine with a rotary hook that uses drop in bobbins. Once again this illustrates how lint is more likely to accumulate in machines using drop in bobbins since the customer cannot access the bottom of the hook for cleaning.
 This shows the needle bar of a machine with accumulated lint.
 This shows the hook area of a machine with accumulated lint.
 This shows the rear of the free arm of a machine with accumulated lint.
 This shows thread wrapped around the needle linkage of a machine. This can happen if the thread breaks while sewing and the machine continues to run. If enough thread is wrapped in the linkage, the machine can bind and stop running.
This shows another example of thread wrapped around the needle linkage of a machine.  Here is another example of thread wrapped around the needle linkage of a machine.
 This shows the rear of the free arm of a machine with accumulated lint.
 This is another picture of the rear of the free arm of a machine with accumulated lint.
  These pictures show accumulated lint in the bottom of a free arm on a machine. Once again, this was on a machine using a drop in bobbin.
  These pictures show thread and lint caught in the top tension discs. The top tension discs "squeeze" the top thread to provide top tension and if thread or lint is caught between the discs, the discs are held apart and cannot provide the proper tension to the top thread. Sometimes this can be removed by "flossing" the tension discs with a heavy thread such as gimp cord or topstitching thread dipped in rubbing alcohol. However, sometimes the machine covers must be removed to clean the discs properly.
This is another example of thread and lint caught in the top tension discs.  Here is another example of thread and lint caught in the top tension discs.
 This shows thread that was caught in the top tension discs of a machine. The gold thread above the needle linkage goes into the tensions discs and also had several clumps of lint that was in the tension discs. This affected the top tension on the machine.
     
Thread and lint can get caught under the tension spring on the bobbin case also. The pictures above show a bobbin case that had a small piece of thread caught under the tension spring. Because of that, there was no bobbin tension. By inserting a needle under the tension spring and moving the needle to the end of the spring, the piece of thread was removed. However, doing this might affect the tension setting and the tension screw might have to be tightened to restore the proper setting. A front loading bobbin can be easily removed to remove the thread while the bobbin case on many machines with drop in bobbins cannot be easily removed by the customer.    
The pictures above show another example of thread caught under the bobbin case thread tension spring.    
Sometimes thread can get wrapped behind the handwheel. This is usually caused be leaving an extra spool of thread on the back of the machine while sewing. Thread can become wrapped to the point that it jams the machine. If an extra spool of thread is left on the back of the machine, the loose thread tail should be captured by the thread spool. Most spools provide some means to capture the loose thread tail to keep the thread from unwinding off the spool.  This shows another handwheel with thread wrapped behind it. While this is much less thread than the example above and did not cause a problem, it illustrates the same issue.
    This shows an even worse example of thread wrapping in a machine. In this machine, the thread got pulled in the machine by the cooling fan on the motor and then wrapped around the motor drive pulley. Since the drive belt is toothed and mates with teeth on the drive pulley, as the thread wrapped on the pulley, it caused the belt to get tighter and eventually jammed the machine.
   These pictures show part of a broken needle jammed in the hook race. When the hook rotated and contacted the needle fragment, the hook could not move and the machine jammed.
  These pictures shows part of a broken needle jammed in the hook race. The needle fragment is in the top left corner of the hook race with the needle point pointing to the right and the eye of the needle can be seen. In this instance, the needle fragment did not jam the machine. However, the needle fragment forced the hook out of the hook race and towards the front of the machine far enough so that the tip of the hook hit the needle and the needle deflected far enough to then hit the bobbin case and prevent sewing.
   These pictures show part of a broken needle jammed in a horizontal rotary hook. The first picture is with the needle plate and bobbin case in place, the second picture has the needle plate removed, and the third picture has the bobbin case removed. This needle fragment also jams the machine. However, with a horizontal hook and a drop in bobbin, access to the needle fragment is harder for a consumer.
 This picture shows a needle plate damaged from being hit by the needle. Such needle plate damage is caused by pushing and pulling on the fabric while sewing. A sewing machine should feed the fabric and the consumer should only have to guide the fabric while sewing. Pushing and pulling on the fabric causes the needle to deflect and strike the needle plate, breaking the needle and damaging the needle plate.
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