08 XT breaking & fraying threads.

[dsldan]

My XT use to run pretty smooth. now it breaks & frays thread quite offen. It may run nice for a while, then start in again. Changed needles, changed threads. Thought maybe it's not the machine. So I started the Ampass test. Started very smooth. 1 break in the small letters. 1 in the square with 3 wide stripes. several in the horse and buggie. Lose threads & breaks in the long narrow triangles with half moon satin stitches. Maybe hook timing, hook gap, or burr on the hook. What do some of you think? I'm not completely down, I have 2 machines.

[Greenwing]

Make sure your needle is in straight the eye should be front & center a bit to the right max of 5 degrees on a clock 1 minute after 12 is 6 degrees, so it is ONLY a bit.
If you can tell it is turned to the right it is probably too far.
Perfect front & center is OK.
The best way to tell is not to look at the eye. look at the channel going down the length of the needle
the metal on either side will be the same when you have it right.

and Hello fellow Minnesotan !!!

[dsldan]

Will recheck everything the first chance I get. Thanks again. Dan

[dsldan]

Checked all needles. Still same thing. Ordered new hook. Dan

[levelbest]

Checked all needles. Still same thing. Ordered new hook. Dan

You might take the hook off and check for burrs with your finger. You can then use super fine sand paper - like 3000 grit and lightly sand away anything you notice. Even the slightest bur can cause thread fraying.

We had this issue with our original machine. I bought a backup, took the original hook off, sanded lightly, put back on and haven't had an issue since.

[dsldan]

Thanks for the info John. I still have another machine. I'm going to wait until I get the new hook. That way I have a backup if the old will still work. Thanks Again. Dan

[dsldan]

New hook did the job. She runs great. Finished the Ampass test with no problems. Tried to sand nicks on the old hook, but made it worse. maybe I should keep a new hook on hand. Thanks for the input everyone. Again Thanks Dan

[Dave J]

Replacing the hook

New hook did the job. She runs great. Finished the Ampass test with no problems. Tried to sand nicks on the old hook, but made it worse. maybe I should keep a new hook on hand. Thanks for the input everyone. Again Thanks Dan

So is replacing the hook hard to do, like are there timing issues etc?
Regards,
Dave Janis

[dsldan]

Dave,
The directions are on the maintance & parts cd's, or on Melco web site.
Dan