House call

I’ve been fortunate to live in an area with a great Bernina tech. He even makes house calls, and on Friday he came to mine.

Kurt is like the doctor you don’t want to give up because you’re moving and I wanted him to give both my machines one last thorough going over before we moved to Houston.

Not that I couldn’t have waited until after we moved, but I trust Kurt, plus I’m not a fan of the Houston Bernina dealer, so he gets my business.

Kurt uses compressed air to blow the lint out of the inside of the machine. I appreciated the fact that he performed this task outside on the front porch.

After nearly 20 years selling and servicing Berninas, Kurt has seen and heard it all and willingly shares what he knows—all you have to do is ask. He will tell you which machines have the best service record, update you on the technology advancements in sewing machines, including the competition, and educate you more than you ever thought possible about your machine.

Kurt inspected everything with a fine toothed comb, first replacing the light switch on my 1230, even dissecting the old one to show how the two little copper pieces inside wear out over time.

He replaced the tension spring on the bobbin case of my 150QE

and explained the likelihood of replacing my bobbin hook at some point in the future,

The one on the left came with my machine and was one of the parts Bernina changed when they introduced their new generation of machine back in the late 1990s. Over time, which included a sufficient number of service complaints, the company realized the truth in the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it adage and returned to an all-metal part.

Kurt also pointed to a tiny circular area around the bobbin where lint collects and explained how to clean it out.

Along the way, I learned that I’d been taught to oil my machine incorrectly, fueling my negative feelings about the Houston dealership.

I was told to place a drop of oil on this ridge—wrong!

Right: Place a drop of oil next to the red arrows.

Oiling is also required along the depression (red circle) inside the bobbin cover.

Once he straightened me out, he chuckled, and said, “I’ll forgive you this time since you got bad instructions, but next time I service your machine, I’ll call you on it since you know better now.”

Kurt also voiced some strong opinions about needles, advising me to steer clear of Organ titanium—something to do with the depth of the scarf messing up your machine. He also advised against Klasse needles as well. “Buy Schmetz,” he said. “Go to Jo-Anne’s with your coupon and stock up.”

It was fun seeing Kurt again and catching up. And while I know my machines will need service in the future, at least I have time to try and locate a Bernina trained tech who doesn’t work for the dealer.