# carriage jamming



## Janie136

I need help trying to figure out why my carriage is jamming. The machine is clean, oiled, and has a new sponge bar. I used it a month age and it worked fine. It will go back and forth until I put the sinker plate on it than it jams on the first set of needles. No yarn in the brushes. Help.


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## jaysclark

Janie136 said:


> I need help trying to figure out why my carriage is jamming. The machine is clean, oiled, and has a new sponge bar. I used it a month age and it worked fine. It will go back and forth until I put the sinker plate on it than it jams on the first set of needles. No yarn in the brushes. Help.


Have you got the sponge bar on top of the needles, so that needles are flat against the needle strip


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## Beetytwird

If your needle bed is metal, check the top for small nicks. One of mine will do that just in a certain spot, some how the bed got nicked I had to file it smooth again.


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## Janie136

Interesting question. I can not get ahold of the sponge bar. I have tried to push it on through but it seems to have dissappeared. I do see that the back of the needle pops up and out too easily when it is fully out. Can't get machine apart to get at sponge bar.


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## Janie136

Is it possible to put the sponge bar in wrong??????????????


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## dialknit

Yes, it should go on top of the needles. You press the needles down as you insert the sponge bar.


Janie136 said:


> Is it possible to put the sponge bar in wrong??????????????


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## Janie136

Ok so how do i get the thing out. I tried a coat hanger but nothing is pushed out the other end when i inserted it.


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## deemail

Janie136 said:


> Ok so how do i get the thing out. I tried a coat hanger but nothing is pushed out the other end when i inserted it.


I use the eraser end of a pencil..


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## Azzara

I use a special bar pusher I've had for years but it looks a lot like a flat sided carpenters pencil.


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## MaryAnneCutler

Which Brand and model of machine are you attempting to remove the retainer bar?


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## Janie136

Brother chunky KH 260


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## Reba1

I've had my sponge bar go into my 260 crooked before. See if you can something very thin but strong into the needle channel and slide the bar forward so it is seated correctly. THen you should be able to slide it out. I used the standard gauge stitch picker, but the butt end of an extra needle might fit in there, it does on my standard but I don't have the 260 set up right now to test it. 

It took several jiggles in different slots to get it finally lined up right. 

Good luck.


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## der_fisherman

Janie136 said:


> Interesting question. I can not get ahold of the sponge bar. I have tried to push it on through but it seems to have dissappeared. I do see that the back of the needle pops up and out too easily when it is fully out. Can't get machine apart to get at sponge bar.


I am only talking about Brother machines, with them the sponge bar can usually be accessed from both ends...

If it is a Brother, then (I see it is from another post), if it not seen at either end, that it is too short for your machine.....though I have never heard of such a problem.

Or it is possibly completely missing...

Assuming it is in there somewhere, take a metal coat hanger and cut (Pliers, side cutter or metal saw or similar! File it to a nice flat square end on the longer bottom part) it so you have say 6" of the bottom, plus the curve from one end and a couple extra inches.

Then see if you can push the sponge bar out.

Watch the needles at the end you are working on and make sure that you are not simply bending/damaging them... that you are only pushing on the bar....

If the piece of wire is too thick, take some off the sides at the end.....only two opposite sides, not all round....

Or take a flat piece of metal and try it, say 1.5mm thick, 2cm wide say 15cm long....

I have never had this problem myself, so I hope I am not misleading you in some way.....

Best of luck and tell us what happens.

Regards

Andy

PS. I see you tried that, which suggests to me it is either missing or the wrong one.....hopefully not!!


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## Peanut Tinker

Janie136 said:


> Is it possible to put the sponge bar in wrong??????????????


Yes it is. I put mine in and didn't check that it was pushed in right to the other side. Only when I had problems with the carriage, did I find that it had gone in on an angle. I used a very thin metal ruler, and put it into the needle channel to gently slide the sponge bar back to the front of the bed where it was supposed to be, and then made sure I pushed it straight to the end of the bed. Works fine now.


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## HEF13

Check front pegs are all in line. Make sure the sinker plate is in fully before tightening up. Look at sinker plate to see it is not twisted.


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## GinB

To get a sponge bar free, I usually use a slotted (straight edge) screwdriver (not a Phillips screwdriver) and gently tap the end of it with the palm of my hand until it starts sliding out the other end. (Sometimes, it can require "more" than a gentle tap, but do be careful.)

Ginny


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## Busylee

I had this problem with my Singer 360 and the reason it happened is because I have my ribber on my machine and when I tried to put the sponge bar back in it went in on an angle towards the back of the machine. The suggestion of a very thin metal ruler between the slots is the way I got it back into the track.


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## deemail

Busylee said:


> I had this problem with my Singer 360 and the reason it happened is because I have my ribber on my machine and when I tried to put the sponge bar back in it went in on an angle towards the back of the machine. The suggestion of a very thin metal ruler between the slots is the way I got it back into the track.


This has happened to me also... peek thru the slots on the bed and see if you can see the sponge bar 'intruding' under them.... it may be just enough to be binding up.... use the ruler in Busylee's suggestion and try pushing thru several to see if it dislodges it...


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## Azzara

Busylee said:


> I had this problem with my Singer 360 and the reason it happened is because I have my ribber on my machine and when I tried to put the sponge bar back in it went in on an angle towards the back of the machine. The suggestion of a very thin metal ruler between the slots is the way I got it back into the track.


I have heard of people using a thin hack saw blade to do the same thing.
Just wrap the end you hold with a towel or something to protect your hand from the teeth and pry or push with the side of the blade that is flat.


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## Azzara

Busylee said:


> I had this problem with my Singer 360 and the reason it happened is because I have my ribber on my machine and when I tried to put the sponge bar back in it went in on an angle towards the back of the machine. The suggestion of a very thin metal ruler between the slots is the way I got it back into the track.


Actually, I sort of wish I'd been there to watch you....*grin*
I might have taken pictures for the club site.
This is one story I hadn't heard before.


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## susieknitter

I always use a wooden chop stick to get sponge bars out.


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## GinB

susieknitter said:


> I always use a wooden chop stick to get sponge bars out.


That's a great idea.


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## susieknitter

GinB said:


> That's a great idea.


I always keep one in my machines tool box. I think they are good to use because they are strong; long enough; don't hurt your hands; and being wood they won't damage the plastic ends on a sponge bar like metal object could.


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## randiejg

Something like a chopstick is good to push with. If you don't see the white caps on the ends of the spongebar on either end, you don't have the right type. It sounds as if it is way too short, and was either inserted upside down (sponge side should be on the bottom so it lays against/on top of the needles, the metal on the top), or may also not be the correct width and have gone in crooked and jammed. Check the needles at each end of the machine. If the bar is too short, these needles may have popped upwards, and are blocking the bar from moving to the end. Try removing those needles at one end, then try pushing the bar toward that same end. 

Also, if this was a homemade replacement, made with weather stripping or something similar, the foam was likely way too dense, and had caused it to jam in there really good. Some of these also tend to be a bit sticky to make matters worse. I bought a used machine a couple of years ago that had one of these in it. It took me several days to get the darned spongebar out, then clean out the channel. All you can do is keep trying with whatever implements you can fit in the channel to push it through.


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## Susie2016

I used to have problems with my carriage jamming all the time---until finally I figured out that I didn't have enough weight on the knitting. Especially on the edges. Try putting a lot more weight on and see if that helps.


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## KnittyGritty800

Janie136 said:


> I need help trying to figure out why my carriage is jamming. The machine is clean, oiled, and has a new sponge bar. I used it a month age and it worked fine. It will go back and forth until I put the sinker plate on it than it jams on the first set of needles. No yarn in the brushes. Help.


I had a similar problem with my new (to me) studio SK151/Ribber SK150 and was getting very frustrated when I discovered and I had failed to properly seat the sinker/feeder plate. So simple but such a bother!


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## 30Knitter

Check the levers under your carriage. Make sure all are moving and returning to position correctly. Sometimes a lever is not working properly and causes jams.


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## Janie136

UPDATE: so i decided i must have accidently disposed of the sponge bar and got a new one. The needles are riding very high. the very back of the needle actually comes up and out of the bed when i e-wrapped. now the carriage hits the needles on part of the plastic near the brushes because the needle will not slide back as carriage passes over it. Took sinker plate off and it still jams somewhere in the under mechanism tho all levers appear to be moving. now what?


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## Janie136

Even with sinker plate off and all needles in non working position, carriage still jams. Errrrrrr


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## der_fisherman

Janie136 said:


> UPDATE: so i decided i must have accidently disposed of the sponge bar and got a new one. The needles are riding very high. the very back of the needle actually comes up and out of the bed when i e-wrapped. now the carriage hits the needles on part of the plastic near the brushes because the needle will not slide back as carriage passes over it. Took sinker plate off and it still jams somewhere in the under mechanism tho all levers appear to be moving. now what?


If I understand you completely, its a needle/sponge bar problem.

The way I see it, the carriage is largely immaterial till you get that fixed......you can only damage something by trying to use the carriage on needles that are not sitting correctly....

All the needles must lie flat and be moveable in an out by hand....smoothly.

I am sure that others here can also give good advice.......mine is, don't use the carriage at this time, it could possible really jam up and break or bend some things and all parts are not cheap on these machines....

If (big IF!) there is a sponge bar somewhere in the machine, it needs to be removed and checked for size....and type.....until that is done, you should be most careful....

If there isn't one, one needs to be inserted.....

I hope this helps.....

Andy


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## MaryAnneCutler

Sounds like there no retainer bar in the knitting bed. Some people remove it thinking it will save the sponge from deteriorating.

Do not use the carriage until the needle movement problem is fixed.


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## der_fisherman

Macon said:


> Sounds like there no retainer bar in the knitting bed. Some people remove it thinking it will save the sponge from deteriorating.
> 
> Do not use the carriage until the needle movement problem is fixed.


I agree 100%. A really good post of yours....

Hopefully, she has not damaged anything up to now, but that hangs on both the reasons for the stoppage and the force used to overcome it.

Hopefully at worst a few needles are bent, easy to replace.....

My wife can get very "strong" with something that should move but doesn't....sadly!!

Macon red wines are some of my favourites when in France on holiday. A steak as well from Macon is a worthwhile side dish to the wine!!! Lovely area.....

Regards

Andy


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## Sphl0ckman

I replaced the spongebar for my kh260 machine about 2 months ago they are really not very expensive only around $20 including shipping. Its not worth repairing the bar just get a new one. Until you replace the bar you won't be able to diagnose anything else with the machine. if you think your bar may have gone in and gotten stuck try removing needles from various spots if they come out then theres no bar in it if not you can probably find where it went to.


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## Janie136

I want to thank you one and all for all the help. After inserting new sponge bar, the carriage still was problematic. To make matters worse, I dropped the carriage on the floor after the 99th removal due to jamming and broke the handle in 2 places. Needles to say I was ready to quit machine knitting FOREVER. I was certain my carriage was screwed up underneath to bout. I decided to give it one last shot and removed all the needles to soak in alcohol.Although they appeared clean, they were sticky, grimy necessitating another soak in detergent and ammonia. I put them back and wella, the carriage moved just fine after lubricating. We need to keep harping on the newbies and not so newbies to keep up the maintenece for these grand machines to work!!!!! Lesson relearned.


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## askia

Excellent result! You can probably buy a replacement handle for you carriage if necessary.


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## 30Knitter

Since you dropped your carriage, make sure you didn't break anything (besides your handle) or bend anything.


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