How to Adjust Needle Depth on Needle #1

In this video, we set the needle depth by first removing the face plate. We loosen the Phillips head screws in the front, remove the screws across the bottom, and slide the front plate off to the side so we do not have to re-thread the machine once it has already been threaded. We then remove the needle plate by loosening its screws, either with an offset wrench or by starting the screws with a long screwdriver from the top side of the head and then moving to the opposite side.

We then move the head to needle number one by pressing 1 on the numeric keypad at the control panel. After removing the needle plate, we also remove the cover for additional working room, although that step is optional. We then unthread that particular needle and turn the hand wheel at the back of the machine to 178 degrees. The first time around, the needle may not be in the down position, so we continue all the way around a second time until it returns to 178 degrees at the bottom of the sewing stroke.

With the machine at 178 degrees, we insert the needle depth gauge where the bobbin would be and roll it to the right or left. We want to feel the needle just barely scraping the top edge of the gauge. In this case, the needle is scraping too harshly, so we begin making an adjustment. We insert a T-handle Allen wrench into the lower Allen screw, break it free carefully, and loosen it enough to adjust the height of the needle bar, which changes the needle throw.