How to Oil & Clean Your Juki TL Machine

So you’ve just received your brand new Juki TL mechanical sewing machine, and it’s time for it’s very first oiling. And you’re not exactly sure what parts to oil and how often they should be oiled. Don’t worry, you’re in the right spot! 

You’re going to need to oil your machine every 3-4 months and every full bobbin change on the hook. Meaning, if you’re sewing on a regular basis 1-3 times a week then oil your machine every 3-4 months.   

If you’re working on bags, and sewing through heavy materials and sewing 4-5 days a week you should probably oil it every 2-3 months (We also go thoroughly over the oiling here.)

Always oil your machine before sewing not after you finish sewing. The point is for the oil to be distributed around as you’re sewing to lubricate the parts being used. If you oil after sewing, and you’re  not planning on sewing more, the oil will just sit and drip to the bottom.  

But how much oil? Only 1-2 drops every time you oil it. One drop goes a long way. More is NOT better. Less = more. 

Time to Oil  

You’ve just taken the machine out the box and it’s time to play! PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU  READ YOUR INSTRUCTION MANUAL. No amount of experience excuses you from learning the ins and outs of a NEW machine. Take time to read through and familiarize yourself with the do’s and don’ts.  We do contradict the user manual on oiling; as we have found they recommend it way to often. We have confirmed with our Juki Rep as well and are working on getting the manual up to date!

Next, it’s time to OIL. For this initial use of oil, we are going to use 2 drops. From this point forward, it’s 1-2 drop at a time.  

Lets begin at the TOP of our Juki TL machine: 

You will see the 4 entry spots that require oiling. Refer to the pictures below.

Next, you look at the throat of your machine. You will see 2 more additional entry spots for oiling. See below: 

Entry spots on throat of machine that require oiling.

And lastly, in my opinion, the most important spot to oil is located inside your machine. Lift up your bobbin cover on the left side and remove the bobbin and bobbin case completely. Pictured  below is the bobbin holder unit. Right where the tip of the oiling pen sits is where you will place your single drop of oilOil this hook every full bobbin exchange.

Bobbin holder without the bobbin case or bobbin inside.

That metal piece, if you turn your hand wheel, will spin. The oil will travel around the still component so the metal-on-metal runs smoothly. After dropping your oil, turn your hand-wheel a few times to get the part lubricated all the way around. 

Staying Lint Free  

Along with oiling, you should be cleaning your machine after each sewing project. Let us show you how to keep your machine lint free!

We highly recommend using our cleaning swabs. They pick up so much more than the eye can  see. Take your bobbin and bobbin case out and clean both your bobbin case and the unit in which the bobbin case sits with the cleaning swabs.

Next, if you notice on the bottom of your machine, there is a little door. Before tilting the machine on its backside, make sure the presser foot is down. As pictured below.

Make sure your presser foot is down before you move your machine.

Open the little cover to reveal the inside bottom end of the machine. There you can see just  how truly mechanical your machine is with all those metal gadgets and gizmos hidden inside.  See for yourself: 

Look at those gadgets!

Now look on the head of your machine where the little window for your presser foot pressure is.  Pull that cover to the left and it should slide open. See the picture below: 

Pull the lever to the left side to open the cover.

Here, you remove any lint you see with a cleaning swab or a vacuum tip.  

Last stop, the needle plate. On the needle plate, you can find 2 screws located on the front and  the back of the metal plate. Go ahead and unscrew them, as well as your presser foot. Keep the screws close by! They are tiny, and too important to lose. Once you have everything taken off, you will see your feed dogs. See in the picture below.

Once the needle plate is removed, the feed dogs can be seen clearly.

Clean all around the feed dogs and in-between the rows of the feed dog mechanism. Any build-up of lint there WILL cause tension issues. They have to be clean to perform their best, as they are what’s making contact with your fabric and feeding it though the machine. 

All Clean  

You’re all done! You did it! Now you just have to repeat the oiling process as needed. We like to recommend keeping a little maintenance log next to your machine so you can keep track of your oiling dates. We still recommend taking your machine to get professionally cleaned every 1-2 years depending on how much you sew and how much you keep up with it as well. 

Happy sewing my friends, hope you found this helpful. 

xo Boki & the Junkies Junkies Clan.