The only one I got in working condition, the 990 |
Underside of the power supply board |
Current project, capacitors replaced |
The only one I got in working condition, the 990 |
Underside of the power supply board |
Current project, capacitors replaced |
For the past couple of years I've been working as a sewing machine technician (yes, really, legitimately, for a shop etc) but left a month or so back. I left because I wasn't learning anything new, was a casual for the better part of two years and caught and spread covid because he couldn't tell the guy who obviously had it to stay at home, or stop coughing or sneezing etc.
Anyway, although not great in some things he's a really great technician and was an excellent teacher. Now that I'm freelancing again, I can use some of the new skills and pass them on to others. Servicing a machine is no longer just fixing it, but make it as close to new as is possible.
Mechanical Janomes are a really good choice for a secondhand machine. There's not a lot that usually goes wrong with them and if there is something it's usually quite fixable and new spare parts such as bobbin cases and feet are usually available.
I bought this machine (a MyExcel 18W) from my local e-waste recycling place. They sold it to me for very little money because someone else had brought it in not working.
Remove the presser foot (the whole thing), then the screw the holds the needle plate on, then the bobbin case.
Flip the lid open and remove the two screws. Lift up the left side then remove the left side of the carry handle by pushing it in. The handle and top can now be removed together.
Don't remove the other screws, just these |
Unscrew the side panel at the centre and the bottom (don't remove the bottom screws). It helps to also loosen the front screw closest to the top of the side panel.
Remove the two bottom panels (bottom of machine and under bobbin area).
Red ones are removed, blue are loosened |
The front also needs to be removed. This is a bit less straightforward. There are two screws at the bottom (see above) to be loosened, one at the top to be loosened (which you have probably already loosened to get the side panel off), and one to be removed at the top (see next picture).
Remove this, arrow points to a bar that will get in the way |
Yes the bar will be in the way in that picture, but it will be less in the way if you set the stitch length to maximum. Also set the stitch width to maximum. In the case of this machine, the stitch length was completely seized. It's unlikely to have been set to near zero before seizing, so you should be okay.
The last screw must be accessed from the right side of the machine. It's only really accessible when the pattern selector is set to buttonhole, so set your pattern to buttonhole now, look directly in and you will see a brass coloured screw quite far in. A long philips head screwdriver is perfect here. Do not remove it, you just need to loosen it a bit for the front cover to be removable.
Lift it from the bottom, manipulate the top left past the shaft as well as the other front part (which stays on), and you should be holding the front cover in your hands very soon.
So what's usually wrong with Janomes? Number one is reverse getting stuck. Janome uses grease that will harden (like a slow setting glue) over time, especially if the machine is not used. When the grease is new it's a pale yellow or just off white. The darker it is, the harder it is.
Almost all other common issues involve the same issue. Grease hardens, and whatever part of the machine it's on seizes or becomes very sticky. The couple of non grease related problems will be mentioned as I get to them.
The machine's exterior was very dirty but I didn't take a picture of it. I'm sure everyone has seen a really dirty and dusty machine before, so use your imagination. Here are a couple of photos of bits that need to be cleaned.
Bottom of the machine. At the bottom is the bobbin area |
Bobbin area very dirty |
Top of the machine |
The entire machine was like this |
You will need a toothbrush (a packet of varying levels of cleanliness would be better). Some chemicals to remove dirt - methylated spirits and mineral turpentine are ideal and a jar. An air compressor is very handy too, for drying and cleaning.
Methylated spirits is also fantastic for cleaning Janome plastic. Just don't get it on the lettering. Sometimes it comes straight off too.
There is a nylon brush commonly used by sewing machine mechanics that I use quite a lot. You won't be able to get to everything with a toothbrush because they're only one shape. If you have to clean something that isn't on the side of wherever you're poking, a toothbrush won't get to it.
Some modern grease, preferably with teflon, and some sewing machine oil.
Some absorbent rags.
You will of course need actual tools as well. A basic set of screwdrivers and an allen key will be necessary. A set of small files will be useful for filing out damage if required.
Look at the black bobbin case. If there is damage to where the thread gets taken around by the hook, you need to determine whether it can be fixed. Fixing it means making it smooth again. Any burr on the bobbin case will snag the thread, so you must attend to it. If you don't have small files, you can use emery paper but it's more difficult.
Sometimes this area has needle damage |
This one is clearly perfectly fine so I didn't need to do anything.
Next, check the needle plate for damage.
The damage is obvious |
This time I wasn't so lucky. Clearly a needle has struck the needle plate several times. The top damage here is first to be filed flat.
Now it's very smooth |
Okay, you can see that the area the needle passes through is also damaged, so inspect it.
Again, the damage is obvious |
The same issue arises if you don't file this out. Thread will snag and you will get unsatisfactory stitching.
File out the damage so it's smooth |
It took just a minute or two to fix this, but if you don't it will definitely cause a problem.
Next thing to check is that the upper timing wheel is tight. To do this you need to remove the bobbin winder. Take a picture of it before you remove it.
Tighten the TWO allen screws |
Next, look at the side. I like to remove the motor and check the bearings, but this model is usually fine. However, the connection block where the plug goes in is often damaged. I really wanted to go to town on this machine so I removed the motor from the machine completely. Partly to make it easier to photograph the stuck parts. If you aren't planning to remove the motor, at least remove the toothed drive belt. This is quite easy: Just slip it towards you at the top and it slides off the hand wheel a bit at a time.
Next remove the hand wheel: Pry off the cover, and unscrew it. The inside will be covered in heavier machine grease but unless it's solid, I leave it alone.
If this slips, you will have lots more work |
Clip the two sides of the belt together (to maintain tension), and remove the tensioner bracket then remove the tensioner wheel from the bracket (there's a circlip, be careful when removing this of course). The wheel is usually caked in grease, so clean it all off as well as any parts of rubber belt that may have transferred to it. Once dry, just put a little oil on the cleaned shaft and put it all back on again, including the circlip. Make the tension so it's not pulling on the motor. The toothed belt means it doesn't have to be tight. If it is tight, it will damage the motor.
Don't replace the hand wheel yet, or the motor if you have removed it.
Now get the reverse working. The following photo shows the area you need to be working on. It's at the bottom of the machine.
Reverse gets stuck here |
You need to remove the circlip, remove the washer underneath, remove the spring.
Lift the mechanism off the slider on the shaft, and unhook the connecting rod that you can see going off to the right. Now you can remove the whole reverse mechanism. Clean the part it pivots on (shown by the arrow) as well as the mechanism part that comes in contact with it. You also need to ensure that the slider can slide freely. Clean either side of it with the solution. Remove all traces of the yellow grease (I took the following picture after starting this). So 1 and 2 are the reverse, and 3 is part of the feed. Also clean the other end of that shaft.
Some places to clean. |
If you were just here to find out how to fix the reverse that's it, but for a service, remove all of the dirt and grease on the rest of the bobbin mechanism. Position 2 requires a small smear of grease.
Grease these spots |
You don't need to overdo the grease. I like teflon grease (and oil) because they tend to resist the effects of gravity better than the other stuff.
So now you have attended to the bottom and side of your machine.
The top is mostly easy but there's usually sticky grease on this shaft.
You know what to do |
Remove the screw and bracket, and the shaft should now be movable. Dissolve the grease at the top and at the bottom.
Remove the gold coloured bracket that the light is mounted onto for better access to the needlebar and presser foot and clean with solvent then dry and re-oil.
Replace the bracket.
There's some more grease around the top. Remove as much as you see and replace with new.
Remove the grease first |
Now it's time for the difficult part. Not for any reason other than some of it is difficult to get at. Move the stitch width lever (if you can), and you should see the front two discs turn. If you can't move it (this one was seized) I can assure you it is supposed to move separate to the rest of those plastic parts.
If it is not moving easily, insert a small flat bladed screwdriver between the moving and static parts and brush in some of solvent. Here is a picture of it. I know I wouldn't be keen without one.
Notice the grease is gone now |
If yours is also seized, it's just that the grease has once again set and glued the discs together. Clean all the grease away (it took several applications with this machine) and keep at the solvent between the discs. The lever will start to move freely. Keep it going, sometimes this takes a good half hour of work to un-seize.
Once it's freed up it isn't usually the end of the story. The rest of that mechanism is also invariably also seized or at least sticky. Brush away as much as you can see. You will need as much access as possible, which is why I said not to replace the hand wheel, belt or motor.
In particular, this shaft needs to be cleaned thoroughly. The separate parts of it need to be able to move easily.
Move the pattern selector to move this |
Move the pattern selector to get maximum access to the shaft, and apply the solvent both ends as well. Once the parts can move freely, oil it (I don't grease this).
When you change the stitch length it should be pretty easy but you should see the feed dog moving. If it isn't moving, then the shaft that controls it is still stuck and you need to keep working on it until it's working properly.
When you move the pattern selector and the stitch width lever, you should see the needle bar move left and right. If it's sticky, you need to keep working on it.
Getting these parts free is the hardest part of this job. Once you have done it, give yourself a big pat on the back. Its neither quick nor easy to do this.
Reassembly of your machine should take a while too. This is because before putting any external plastic back on, it must be cleaned. This is possibly the strongest lesson I learned from the shop. The machine must also be made to look as close to new as possible. Before putting a panel back on, clean all the dirt off. If the machine is yours, this should make you feel much better about using it. Use methylated spirits or cleaning solution. The latter is safer for the decals.
Put back the motor if you removed it, and the bobbin winder, power socket etc.
Put the front on first. Make sure both controls are set all the way to the right, as well as the levers, otherwise they won't enter and you'll have to take the cover off again to fix this. Once it's back on, don't tighten the top right screw just yet.
Replace the side cover. Put the screw back, tighten the screws at the bottom, then tighten the front cover screw. Replace the pattern selector knob.
Replace the front cover screws and tighten the ones you didn't remove, including the ones at the bottom. Make sure the tension release is connected.
Replace the bottom bobbin area cover then the bottom cover.
Replace the top cover and carry handle at the same time.
Replace bobbin case, needle plate, bobbin and bobbin cover.
Hopefully your machine should be working perfectly now. If there's still something wrong, you're more likely to learn from it if you have to go back and do it all again.
Please give me feedback. If there's something wrong with these instructions I'd like to know. I'm writing all of this from memory, which at my age isn't all that great.
These are called Vikings in the US and UK and made in Sweden until about 1976.
They have several very common issues. In fact they're so common that it's rare to not find one or all of them wrong with a machine. The ad came up on marketplace, a Husqvarna 6440 for $20. Extraordinary price but here are the issues in order of importance:
1. Broken pattern gear. Without an intact pattern gear you have a very competent straight stitch machine. Very rare to have one with this intact. Replacements are available but quite expensive.
2. Seized mechanically. Husqvarna used a grease not unlike that used by Janome, within sintered bearings which contain quite a lot. It leaks out when the machine isn't used for a long time and hardens to something that resembles glue. All of the old grease needs to be replaced if you want to use your machine.
3. Broken plastic. The cover is plastic and when bits of it disintegrate, you find yourself gluing the covers on. Not a great look, and very inconvenient when you want to work on it.
4. Capacitor. These tend to fail quite dramatically, with smoke and melted plastic. Best to replace them before they get to that stage (0.1uF, 275V, less than a dollar).
I asked the seller about the gear. She replied that it was intact and that someone else was supposed to pick the machine up on Thursday, so I got next in line. I got a message on Friday to say it was mine.
The seller had apparently been a saleswoman and worked for Bernina for two years in the early 70s then was poached by Husqvarna two years later. It's always nice to know the original owner of a machine, especially if she's knowledgeable and has history in the sewing machine industry.
Back to the machine. The last service was in 2010, and she hadn't used it since then. It was as stiff as a board but would move slightly and as she had said, the original gear was 100% intact. Since it's a one owner machine, I wasn't too worried about too much broken plastic from the case. The plastic piece at the front above the dials had been replaced during the last service. I'm assuming that the technician had spilled cleaning fluids on it and replaced with that of an earlier machine (a 6370). The original one would have said Husqvarna 2000, since the model number is at the bottom right.
After her makeover |
Yes it looks really good here but it took about eight solid hours of work to free it all up. This post is mainly to tell you what to do and what not to do with these machines.
I use a 50/50 mix of methylated spirits (denatured alcohol in the US) and mineral turpentine. Get yourself a glass jar and apply with a toothbrush. Before you start though, be aware that although this stuff is like magic on dirt and grease, it will also dissolve the surface of this beloved machine, so apply it extremely carefully. I'll also note that this mixture will also dissolve the surface of any older, black sewing machine, so keep it away from surfaces. I put cotton rags all over any part that could get splashed. If you accidentally splash the paint, don't try and rub it off, or you'll immediately remove the paint. Let it dry.
Methylated spirit is extremely volatile, meaning it evaporates very quickly, so if you leave it out, it will evaporate and you will be left with pure turps, so put a lid on it. It also will absorb water, which you don't want either, as you'd be putting water inside your machine. I work with a young technician who never puts the lid on and always leaves the jar outside in the heat and rain, so we use a heap of methylated spirits at work.
Here's the back of a 6370 (I didn't take a photo of the 6440 but they're exactly the same) with the cover removed.
The screws holding the cover on are two big ones on the left and right, as well as one holding the side cover to it, and a couple underneath. Don't remove all of screws underneath, two of them will be securing the mounting for the motor. Be extremely gentle removing these: They're self tapping screws holding onto some very brittle plastic. Even being gentle, a few pieces fell off. I secured them back on with araldyte and waited the full 24 hours before reattaching the covers, also done very gently.
The side cover is removed by pulling out the hand wheel (also plastic and susceptible to falling apart), unscrewing the screw just behind it at the top, and there could be a couple of self tappers at the bottom.
The one covering the needlebar, which hasn't been removed here, is held on by just a simple thumb lever. Pull it down and the cover will lift off easily.
After the covers are all off, blow out the loose dirt and dust bunnies with compressed air or brush it out with a nylon cleaning brush.
I figure you would be wondering by this point why anyone would bother with a machine that has so many issues.
Firstly, Husqvarnas are the only machines I've seen with a genuine low gear. When engaged, they go slowly and can punch through just about anything. The gearing is controlled by pushing (off) or pulling (on) the bobbin winder. The bobbin winder is always on.
Secondly, the patterns available are wonderful, and you can draw little dogs as well as yachts, and remember this is a mechanical machine designed in the 1960s. The patterns (which are covered cylinders) are easy to find because most people discard their machines when they get stuck (in reverse is very common), seized or break the pattern gear.
Pretty much everywhere there is original grease.
All of the dials get stuck. I removed the pattern gear to get at the grease underneath it and discovered that it was grease-glued to the rod it's supposed to slide along. Everything that could be stuck was stuck, and since she used it ten years ago, it's just at 45 years from new and its time is up.
So knowing that all of the original grease needs to be dissolved, get to work. I work as a technician and have dealt with many of these machines. My own was stuck somewhere the others weren't, which is marked on this photo.
Pay close attention to these |
So, start brushing, keep clear of the paint and pay extra attention to these areas, testing by trying to turn the dials (be careful of solvent coming through the dials).
When the dials are all very free, and the machine is moving easily, there's one more area that will almost certainly be seized: The buttonhole mechanism. Your aim is to set the bottom dial (stitch width) to zero them try and pull it out to activate the buttonholer. I haven't seen one yet that isn't locked up tight. You will need to really work that mechanism, applying solvent, spraying oil etc. When you manage to finally get it pulled out, it also needs to be able to be turned between 0 and 4. As long as you don't apply too much force, you should be able to work the solvent etc through and the machine will be all good.
Make sure the reverse works and that the feed dog drops. Both should go easily and quickly. If there's a delay with the feed dog or the zig-zag, something hasn't been degreased.
Finish by making sure that everything you degreased has new grease (non-hardening teflon grease is an excellent replacement for plastic gears), and anywhere that metal touches metal will need oil.
With the new greases available, your machine should last a lifetime if lubricated. Just be careful with those plastic covers.
Remove the capacitor if there's one there (if you can't do this yourself, anyone who can solder can do it). It's for suppression purposes only and they're not needed in 2021. Check the brushes. If you want to, clean the carbon from the commutator with cotton buds dipped in methylated spirit while the brushes are out. Brushes less than a few mm long should be replaced, but bear in mind they last a really long time and the ones in the machine are probably the originals.
Most of these machines will be seized and/or the pattern gear will be broken. If you are so inclined, spend the time and money and the machine will make you fall in love with it.
The gears aren't nylon like Bernina gears (nylon absorbs moisture and becomes very brittle over time).
I hope that it is the seizing up then subsequent use that causes this. If your machine struggles to go, what would you do? You'd probably slip it into low gear and power ahead, right? *snap*
I'm hoping that this is it, because if so mine should outlast me.
Drive rubbers in foreground. Original is black |
One rubber bumper in place |
Bernina 740 Industrie |
Nicely balanced at last! |
original wiring on both sides |
Finished controller. |
It was also missing screws for the door! |
Capacitor is the silver thing at the top. |
After a good clean, she's looking acceptable. |