I understand how to adj tension so that the backside shows 1/3 thread, 1/3 bobbin, and then 1/3 thread. My question is how do I verify the my bobbin tension is set correct to begin the adjusting? I dont feel comfortable doing the "drop test". Thanks Troy
I hate the old drop test. We use a Towa bobbin guage and get perfect repeatability. Keep the bobbins set the same and adjust the top tensions from then on. Just be sure to keep the bobbin case clean, especially under the spring where the firch builds up.
leave well alone, once set mine lasts for months if not years. Just put a finger nail under the tension spring and blow out any fibres each time you put a new bobbin in. Using magnaglide bobbins cured all my tenion problems but make sure you ditch the internal spring if you use them.
Having "1/3 top - 1/3 bobbin - 1/3 top" on the backside of a column stitch does not necessarily indicate proper thread tensions. This 1/3 rule only indicates that the relationship between top and bottom threads is correct.
It is possible to have a perfect 1/3 ratio and still have improper thread tensions .... eg. if both top and bobbin tensions are too loose, the machine can still produce a good 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3 stitch.
To set machine thread tensions, always properly set bobbin tension first either by using the drop test method or a bobbin tension gauge [which is more accurate and consistent]. Once bobbin tension is set, then set top thread tensions using either the 1/3 rule or a top thread tension gauge [again, more accurate and consistent].
Tension guages would be nice. I too am having an issue getting my bobbin tension down right. I really don't know where to start. When I try to adjust the bobbin, seems like it just gets worse.. no matter which way I turn the screw... or by how much. It started off looking more like 1/3 thread to 2/3 bobbin... the more I mess with it it just mixes both, plus the top has more bobbin than thread...
I find that there is an extremely fine line between too much bobbin tension and not enough. An 1/8 of a turn of the screw is a very large adjustment. The drop test is way too much tension. I find that the bobbin needs to almost free fall with just a little drag.
I'm a big fan of tools but have stayed away from the bobbin tension gauge because I didn't think it would be able to detect the very slight difference in tension between too much and not enough.
HEY GUYS!!! I'm excited to announce that I have my Barudan UP AND RUNNING AGAIN!!! It turns out that it was not my bobbin, it was my thread tension. I do want to share though, for those that are not too experienced... like myself... I've noticed that the tension for different colors of thread are totally different...
The only reason that I noticed this was... I use needles 1-5 for colors that I use most often 1-white
2-black
3-royal blue
4-mustang red
5-kelly green
the rest are colors that I dont use too often.... but the reason I say this is... my needles 1, 3, & 4 all did great on the "I" test ... my #2 was ok.. not great.. so I started a job that included my #1 and #2 needles for a logo, #1 being the main color. The white turned out GREAT!.. but the black kept having thread breaks and frays.... it was very frustrating... so I thought... ha HA! I'll show you black!.. I figured since the #1 needle was great, I would rethread the black to the #1 and use it... but much to my dismay, it was worse on the #1 needle and kept tossing the thread up top. SO.... I put it back on #2 and tweaked the tension to be more so than the white... and PRESTO, like magic!!
anyway I'm attaching the finished product (a school blanket) so you can see what a weeks worth of headaches and a few advil will turn out to be if you keep pushing through the road blocks.
Thanks again to all that have posted, all of your help was and is GREATLY APPRECIATED!
As embroiderers, we can all understand having a problem and the relief that comes with solving it.
Quality stitching requires proper machine thread tensioning and for as confusing as tensioning may seem to some, it is actually very simple .... first set the bobbin tension correctly and then set top thread tensions.
The easiest and most accurate way of setting thread tensions is with tension gauges.
The gauges also help in other ways. Using the bobbin tension gauge, will quickly teach you that not all brands of pre-wound bobbins are created equal .... some are excellent [smooth running and consistent] and some are crap.
The top thread tension gauge will allow you to diagnose upper thread problems [dirty tensions disks, bad thread, etc.] before these problems start to effect the quality of stitching done by the machine.
If I was king of the world, every embroidery machine would come with tension gauges and every machine owner would use them ???
I have a 4 head Tajima TFHX and am just learning about fine-tuning. We had multiple problems, but things are improving.
To obtain the results I think I want on the "thirds test", I have had to turn the bobbin tensions WAY back. The bobbin case springs are barely adding tension at this point, but even at that, I have to turn the top thread tension up a lot...to get thirds. I've been only sewing on one thickness of backing for these tests. Perhaps I've needed to read more about this procedure. I'm doing the drop test for bobbins, but It's hard to tell how hard to drom my hand. =o(
The 1/3 test is a useful indicator of top thread tensions only if your bobbin tension is correct.
When setting machine thread tensions, always properly set bobbin tension first, then set top thread tensions accordingly.
Although embroiderers do use the drop test method to set bobbin tension, many will find a bobbin tension gauge easier and much more accurate. Tension gauges are also a good way to get a better handle on understanding machine tensions.
One of the first things we learned when using the bobbin tension gauge is that not all brands of pre-wound bobbins are created equal .... some run smooth and consistent, many do not.
Thanks for the reply, Bob. However let me restate this a little bit for clarity. (I don't have a Towa Bobbin Tension Guage, and until I can get one, which will be a few days at least, I need to get close.)
For weeks now, the women operating the Tajima have been sporadically complaining about poor embroidery. It's my machine, and I need to step up my game on tuning it, and I am a RANK BEGINNER, but it's not black magic or voodoo. I am aware that all Machine's operate within the predictable rules of physics, and I simply do NOT grasp these rules very well as of yet. You, and several posters here, are WAAAAY ahead of me in this endeavor.
So here's the nugget of my current exercise--and I am wording this VERY carefully. I can't really loosen these meticulously cleaned bobbins much more (or at all....) without having them "free fall" using an extremely gentle drop test. Loosening the adjusting screw an almost imperceptible amount-like a 1/64th turn maybe- will IN FACT allow for free fall. NO "bounce" at all. And yet to get the TOP THREAD to overpower the Bobbin Thread on a satin stitched 1/4" column to the degree that there is anything approaching THIRDS, I must tighten the Tensioner AND Pre-Tensioner to nearly their Max settings. I don't believe I could get a visual "ALL BOBBIN" result at all. That just seems all wrong to this farm boy brain, so maybe I'm doing something wrong.
To further explain, I am stitching on 1 (one) backing sheet per hoop--non tear-away--and the puncture holes are stretched out a lot. Perhaps 2 sheets, or sewing on fabric with backing would change the dynamics radically, but I doubt it.
I'm trying to be clear here, but I'm so new at this tuning stuff. We bought this business 2 years ago and none of us even knew about bobbin tension adjustments until last week, when the wailing from the sewing room finally drew my attention away from screen-printing. Everything has it's own learning curve.
Thanks to all of you for your consideration! Ping me off-line, and I'll PM you a phone # if you think it'll help.
Starting point for Embroidery Tension 
Re: Starting point for Embroidery Tension 
