This Hints page is free for your personal use. Take from my Web page and put in a notebook for your use. Ask others to come and get their own copies. I will be putting patterns and other problems on later.
| Smoke or Odors | Knitting Machine Problem | Parts |
| Maintenance | Oil or Grease Machine |
This is one hint that you may scoff at. Knitters under my tutoring have been most generous and thoughtful as I hope you all are. As thoughtful as they have been, they always found the outdoor air more beneficial to them and the classroom when they lit up a cigarette. Thank you all for not smoking while you are knitting, in a yarn shop or at a Seminar. The yarn absorbs the smoke and odor, thus the garments as well. Those who do no smoke are most grateful to you. I have often seen a generous person being so thoughtful at a seminar to choose the open air also. As non-smoker all of my life, I became one of those who are more allergic to it than most. At a Seminar there were no non-smoking rooms, and I was so ill due to this event. Without insurance, it was very costly for me at and after that Seminar to get well again. Ask before you go for a non-smoking room or take another place to stay. A cigarette can be misplaced, endangering you and others. Some Yarns and sprays are dangerous under certain conditions. Ashes can cause a dirty clogged machine when mixed with oil that we often use on our machinery. You may have damage to some parts you never even think about. I beg of you to pay attention to this hint.
Be kind to your machine, your yarns and others. I apologize if I have offended anyone by this hint. I wish you always to be well.
Loops at ends of your knitting. Solve by first of all, knitting slower, clean your end sinker plate brushes. Brushes having the slightest bit of lint or minute bit of yarn can cause your yarn to wind on to them. Removing them defeats the purpose they were made for. Sometimes the yarn can wind around the post under the brushes and needs to be attended to. Remove the brush if it does not spin well with your finger and check for this. The plastic gears should spin as easily. It only takes a small amount of fluff to cause the wheel or gear to be taut. Please make certain the screw is on tightly as they are expensive to replace. They can get lost in your carpeting and if dropped, they will roll away and you may never find them. Most beginners and even intermediate knitters can have the above problems.
You definitely need them on in Fair Isle knitting.
I advise everyone who takes parts off of their machine to put them in a small baggie and place in with all the accessory parts drawer that are frequently used. You may need them when you least expect it.
Sinker Plates: Always hold the sinker plate at center and try to keep it level and straight while placing it to the carriage. Use the thumb screw to hand tighten down the knobs. If you are the user, you should be the one to do this if you wish to loosen them for some reason later on. If your plate is not squarely placed on to the carriage, you may have some distress while knitting an e wrap row. I have noticed many of this type of condition being the culprit of the machine not knitting well in short rowing.
Sinker Plate: You should be able to place a dime between the edges of the sinker plate and the gate posts It gives you an even amount of room when yarn is used for knitting. You will no longer hear the grating sound. Of course, you may wish it to be closer, but the plate edge should not rub on the gate posts as you move the carriage when knitting.
Maintenance is such a minor but important step. A little oil goes a long way, but often. If a machine bed is dry, you are wearing your bed. A small film of oil between the carriage rails and the rails of the machine at front and back should be a big concern. Imagine if you never oiled the rails of the bed as to the front edge becoming sharp as a razor with wear and tear. Imagine how hard it gets to push the carriage when the oil dries and evaporates to the air. When you feel the difference right after oiling and compare it later on in your knitting session, you will know when to oil. If you also add a little oil to the carriage rails it is most helpful. Never spray near your electronic or P.C. machine.
Oil spray: It gets into the air and then settles. A knitter recently told me when I had sprayed my oil on to a cloth, the linoleum floor became a bit slippery when walked on. Sometimes we do this thoughtlessly. What about our rugs? Are they collecting oil? How about breathing it into your lungs? Please think of your health when using sprays. If you spray near some models of machinery, you may experience malfunctioning of the machine patterns. The patterns may not knit correctly. Have you experienced this? Under no circumstances, spray oil on your needle bed. As the carriage moves over the bed, it can create a heat. Some sprays can harden on your machine bed. DO NOT USE WD 40 on your needle bed. There may be some that are good, while others not advertised by our industry for use are best to stay away from. If you don’t know which to use safely, ask!
Oiling, Always go away from your machinery some distance or even out of doors to spray the oil on a cloth. First of all, you are not breathing it into your lungs and secondly, it saturates the cloth enough to wipe down the machine rails, the needle butts, the carnage rails, and the bottom edge of the carriage where all the moving cams are. They need a little oil also. Years ago, I only thought about the rails and have since learned of other places to oil for preventing wear. Factories do not oil much if at all, so the machine cams do break or stick in place. The front rail gets razor sharp in time.
G carriage care: If you have read my G carriage book, it carries all the hints that you need to know and are not in the manual. Oiling, is not an issue mostly. You must know that the factory really greases it well and sometimes a little too much. If there is too much grease, for awhile you may have to use old yarn until the extra grease is worn off. If you care about your G carriage, you know there is nothing wrong with the G carriage as I have found out. But I do suggest if you use it often, to do some preventive maintenance. Have someone who does this work efficiently, check out your G carriage in a year or two to check on the wearing of the parts. They can do the work of proper maintenance to avoid any G carriage problems.