TURNER — How often should your machine be serviced? Most home sewing machines have a top steel shaft and bottom shaft running through steel bushings, and they need annual lubrication to prevent them from freezing up (seizing up). As they dry up, the motor works harder to turn the shafts and puts a strain on it and other parts in the machine. The motor can burn up, get hot and prematurely wear out the brushes. Newer machines today have a composite washer of felt to hold the oil longer, but that still needs to be recharged every year. By having your machine serviced annually, you will ensure a much longer life for your machine and trouble free sewing.
At Cote Bros., when we service your machine, we also do a lot of preventive maintenance such as oil and grease all moving parts, power air clean inside, check and adjust belt tension and condition, check brushes in the motor, remove any burrs on hook, check needle bar and bushings, determine presser foot alignment, inspect and clean build-up in gears, check and calibrate tensions, adjust tension release, check needle plate for burrs, check hook timing and adjust, check and adjust reverse, check bobbin winding, check light, and much more.
All of this will keep your machine running properly and give you the best sewing experience. Most manufacturers require this to maintain your warranty. Even though your manual may say it doesn’t need oil, that means the operator doesn’t have to oil it on a daily basis: ALL MACHINES NEED OIL at some point. If your manual says it does need oil, it is only referring to what the consumer can oil, such as the hook: one drop for every two whole bobbins, but the inside still needs to be oiled by a service tech annually. If you haven’t had it serviced, it will break down just like a car without oil!
The manufacturer doesn’t want the consumer inside today’s more sophisticated machines because of the electronics and circuit boards. They don’t want oil on the boards or in some of the sensors, etc. Not just any dealer can service machines anymore. The training sessions we attend teach us how to make adjustment to the electronic components and calibrate them all. An average machine today has four to five motors controlling such things as the zigzag, stitch length, bobbin winder, etc.; this eliminates many moving parts and makes the machine more reliable and more precise. The new Bernina 830 has nine motors in it, all controlled by the electronics. It is truly the ultimate sewing machine.
If you have an embroidery machine the embroidery module also needs to be serviced. We charge only $15 to service the module. The arm moves in the X and Y direction and has two different motors to move it with each arm on a shaft that needs lubrication. There are also gears and belts in all modules that need grease.
For more information, contact Cote Bros. at 225-5920.
