[JCAR]

I recently purchased some new needles for my tacsew t111, 135x17. I got sizes 18,20,and 22....and am using sungaurd 92 thread. The needles are from a popular company, but I think they may be of poor quality. I began sewing a project and noticed a skipped stitch here and there, where the bobbin thread was not picked up. I also broke or bent several needles sewing through 4 layers of vinyl. I also noticed the thread was fraying near the needle when I backstiched. I had a real mess for awhile, until I changed to an old needle I had from when I purchased the machine. It sews great now. I tried several "new" needles and had problems. My question is, does it sound like I am on the right track here? What is a "good" needle? Thank You, JCAR

[DanTwoLakes]

It's possible to get bad needles, but not a whole batch of them in different sizes. Schmetz and Organ are the two brands I stick with. I rarely break a needle, maybe once a year, and that's when I throw caution to the wind and sew over something I shouldn't. I think you had something else going on and somehow rectified it.

[JCAR]

Hm...I in fact purchased the Organ needles, they are the the ones with some sort of coating on them, and have a gold color. I will take back the poor quality statement and continue to investigate the problem. The only other thing I actually changed was the bobbin. Thank You DanTwoLakes, you always provide quick responces and advice, it is appreciated. JCAR.

[DanTwoLakes]

What kind of needles are these, are they titanium coated or something? Two other needle brands are Groz-Beckert and Muva.

These are the Organ needles I use.

[Jon]

I looked through the Knowledge Base for you, and found these resources:

A Thread of Truth
Needle Cross-Reference Chart
Needle Sizes
Sewing Machine Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Sewing Machine Problems

Hope this helps. (Although, realistically, it probably won't help as much as DanTwoLakes will )

[JCAR]

Thank You Gentleman, the needles are titanium coated. I really do not know what happened, I just know that the problem seemed to resolve itself with the change back to an old needle. I will look things over in a day or two, and try to duplicate the problem on some scrap materials and the new needles. Thank You JCAR

[DanTwoLakes]

You were probably having problems because the eye on the new needle was abrading your thread. You don't need titanium needles.

[Coodeville]

Originally Posted by DanTwoLakes

You were probably having problems because the eye on the new needle was abrading your thread. You don't need titanium needles.

I use Organs as well and have never had a problem. Is it possible that the problem was fixed while troubleshooting and you never realized it? I have personally found out that when these machines are not properly lubed, timed or threaded, all sorts of stuff starts to happen. You don't want to find out on a leather hide.

[JCAR]

DanTwoLakes nailed it........it must be the titanium coating on the needles. I set up multiple test runs, each with the same results. I bought the titanium needles thinking they were some how "better". Lesson Learned...I switched back to non-coated needles, from Organ, problem resolved. JCAR

[Coodeville]

It can be very irritating when your sewing machine isn't working right. Glad your in good shape now. Keep your oil bottle handy.