16 Dec 2011
Knitting Machine Carriage Jammed
Today whilst I was busily working away, with a deadline looming the carriage of my knitting machine jammed. This has happened many times in the past and I know exactly how to deal with the problem or so I thought. Usually all I need do is unscrew and carefully remove the sinker plate and then turn the dial on the carriage to CR (Carriage release) and then lift the carriage off the rails. The problem I encountered today though was that the dial would not turn to CR and therefore I could not lift the jammed carriage.
The following is what I did to cure the problem;
I sat directly in front of the jammed carriage and looked at the stuck needles HEAD ON. I visually examined them hoping to spot any needles which looked out of place in any way. I found two needles which looked out of place. One was twisted slightly to the left and one was slightly raised above the level of all others. These two needles I carefully 'jiggled' and after a little bit of jiggling they became unjammed and then I was able to turn the dial to CR and release the carriage. I replaced both needles with new ones and I was back 'in business' once again.
If this happens to your machine (and my guess it will at some stage) remember always treat your machine with kindness.Don't bang and bash it. Take time to look and then never force anything. Jiggle and jiggle gently!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thank you for posting! Mine was much trickier to fix but finally it worked out.
ReplyDeletebought my machine used, no books, and so did NOT know what CR means.... your third sentence fixed my problem, thank you so much for sharing what you know... there are times when the internet is wonderful.
ReplyDeletei have a problem similar to this although if i go to CR it does, but no matter what i do the carriage without the sinker plate glides across the needles but when iput it back it jams, cant see why, i have all the needles replaced 11, (i thought i had checked them all but wether i missed them before or they have bent when the carriage jammed i dont know. ) it is new to me, but it was knitting okay last night but today no chance. cant see any of the begs are damaged but have near to tears the amount of time i have spent today trying to get it to work, (have been quite gentle with it and not pushed or dragged it, have removed the carriage by either removing the plate and or turning dial to CR
ReplyDeleteHi, I was wondering if maybe you could help me. I haven't used a knitting machine in over 20 years and was gifted one. In my excitement I started palying around with it (no yarn) thinking I would suddenly recall how to use it. Well, I went and reversed the carriage before reaching the end and now the carriage is stuck. I refered to an on;ine PDF version of the manual and it says to turnt he small knob to CR position for easy removal of the carraige. However, I cnnot turn the knob any further than the KC position...Pleae help? I tried jiggling but nothing happens Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Silvia,
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything more helpful to suggest other than you could ask on Ravelry.com in one of the Machine Knitting Groups as there are so many knowledgeable people there. Ravelry is free and easy to use.
My guess is you have got a needle or two jammed....have you looked CLOSELY at it and not just from above but getting down at the level of the needle bed and carriage and looking as closely as you can. I do think that careful jiggling will dislodge it enough for you to be able to turn the dial. I feel your frustration and hope you get the help you need on Ravelry. Please do take a look there. I am on Ravelry as RachaelKnits if you want to friend me there.
Best of Luck, Rachael.