Ricoma EM-1010 Maintenance & Tension Test: Needles, Oiling, and Perfect Thread Balance

Primer: What this maintenance achieves and when to do it

Routine attention to needles, the bobbin area, and thread tension keeps your EM-1010 consistent. The goal is a balanced stitch where the back shows one-third top thread, one-third bobbin, and one-third top thread again. When that balance drifts, you’ll see symptoms like puckering, looping, and bird nesting, which slow production and can ruin garments.

When to perform this routine

• After a run of dense designs or abrasive materials

• Anytime you notice erratic tension, thread frays, or frequent stops

• Before important jobs where you want predictable quality

Output you’re aiming for

• All 10 needles produce tidy, consistent swatches

• The back of each swatch follows the 1/3 rule (top/bobbin/top)

• No recurring bird nesting on any single needle

Quick check

• Look at the back of a test swatch: if you barely see bobbin, top tension is too tight; if a wide lane of bobbin dominates, top tension is too loose.

Context note: This article focuses on maintenance and tension. If you are researching hooping tools and accessories, you might also come across terms like hoop master embroidery hooping station or embroidery magnetic hoops in your broader workflow planning.

Prep: Tools, materials, and workspace

What you need on the table

• New needles: 65/9 (Groz-Beckert shown)

• Embroidery thread (10 colors if you want a color per needle)

• New bobbin (with bobbin thread)

• Embroidery machine oil (for the bobbin area)

• Hooped fabric with stabilizer (for realistic tension testing)

Workspace basics

• Hoop up fabric with stabilizer so test results reflect real stitch behavior

• Clear the machine bed and ensure adequate lighting

From the comments

• Several users recommend tension testing on hooped fabric with stabilizer for more accurate readings.

• Community tip: a bobbin tension gauge helped some embroiderers establish a reliable baseline before adjusting the top.

Checklist — Prep

• 10 new 65/9 needles within reach

• Fresh bobbin ready

• Oil at hand

• Hooped fabric with stabilizer loaded

If you are exploring hoop accessories beyond this maintenance, some readers compare options such as magnetic embroidery hoops for brother or hoopmaster. Keep in mind this guide centers specifically on the EM-1010’s maintenance steps.

Setup: Needle choice, threading, and bobbin care

Choosing the needles The routine here installs 65/9 needles across all ten positions. The creator notes they use 65/9 “for almost everything,” and for this session, swaps in brand-new 65/9s on each needle.

Pro tip

• Replacing all needles at once eliminates a variable during tension troubleshooting.

Install and rethread - Remove each old needle and insert a new 65/9, ensuring correct orientation and secure clamping.

- Rethread the full top path for each color: guides, tensioners, take-up, and the needle eye.

Watch out

• Improper needle orientation or incomplete threading will show up as skipped stitches or tension chaos later.

Community perspective on sizes

• One commenter prefers pairing 75/11 with 40 wt thread and reserving 65/9 for finer thread; another noted 65/9 can work across different weights depending on the job. Use what works for your materials and designs.

Bobbin care: oil and install a fresh bobbin - Remove the bobbin case and inspect for lint.

- Seat a fresh bobbin properly in the case.

- Apply a drop of oil in the bobbin area per manufacturer guidance.

• Reinstall the bobbin case without forcing it.

Quick check

• The bobbin should pull smoothly and the case should seat confidently.

From the comments — baseline first

• Multiple embroiderers advocate setting bobbin tension with a gauge first, then dialing in top tensions for consistency.

Checklist — Setup

• 10 needles replaced and oriented correctly

• All threads rethreaded cleanly

• Bobbin replaced and area oiled

• Optional: bobbin tension baseline established with a gauge

If your shop workflow includes different machines, you may encounter varied hoop formats (e.g., brother embroidery machine hoop or magnetic hoop embroidery) when preparing test fabric. That doesn’t affect the EM-1010 maintenance steps here.

Operation: Calibrate tension in clear, repeatable rounds

The plan is simple: stitch a multi-color tension test with one color per needle, evaluate both sides, adjust only the needles that need it, and repeat.

Round 1 — establish reality - Stitch a small swatch for each of the 10 needles.

- Evaluate the backs and fronts: note which needles are too tight or too loose.

• Target: 1/3 top, 1/3 bobbin, 1/3 top on the back.

Interpreting results fast

• Barely visible bobbin on the back: top tension too tight

• Very wide bobbin lane on the back: top tension too loose

Round 2 — adjust and re-test - Adjust only the top tension knobs on needles that were off; make small, deliberate changes.

- Run a fresh pass of the swatches.

- Compare round 1 vs. round 2 to see improvement or any unexpected regressions.

Round 3 (and 4, if needed) - Repeat the adjust–test cycle. Many needles will settle by round 3; a few may need a fourth pass.

Expected outcome - Most needles converge on balance within a handful of passes, as seen when four rounds largely solved issues for 9 of 10 needles.

Common question — Where does the test come from?

• It’s simply an embroidery design run on the machine with distinct colors for each needle; any compact, repeatable swatch format works.

Pro tip (from the community)

• Use hooped fabric with stabilizer for more realistic results — it mirrors how thread behaves in production.

Checklist — Operation

• Run round 1, evaluate, and log notes

• Adjust specific top tensions

• Run round 2, compare side-by-side

• Repeat until swatches converge for each needle

If you’re preparing a batch of swatches across different machines in your shop, you may hear terms like dime hoop or brother magnetic hoop. They’re unrelated to the EM-1010 tension method here but often part of broader setup workflows.

Quality checks: Read your swatches like a pro

Front side

• Clean, consistent coverage with no looping or gaps

• Minimal thread show-through between color boundaries where applicable

Back side

• The 1/3 rule: top/bobbin/top in roughly equal proportions

Quick check

• If a previously good needle suddenly looks loose or tight in the next round, verify threading and ensure the thread is properly seated in the tension discs.

From the comments — make a baseline constant

• Several embroiderers credit a bobbin tension gauge for repeatability; baseline the bobbin, then your top adjustments behave more predictably.

Reference note

• Some shops keep a labeled sample card of “good” backs for quick visual comparisons.

If you are testing on different hoop systems (e.g., brother se1900 magnetic hoop in another setup), remember that the EM-1010’s tension balance is determined at the machine head and bobbin — the hoop only changes fabric handling.

Results & handoff: Lock in settings and document

By round four, most needles should stitch balanced, with the back showing the expected top/bobbin/top thirds. If one needle still misbehaves, separate it for targeted troubleshooting (see next section).

Capture your settings

• Take a photo of your best swatches and note which needles required what adjustments.

• If you used a bobbin gauge, record the value you liked so you can return to it later.

Handoff to production

• Keep the test hoop mounted nearby. Before a critical job, stitch a quick two-color mini check on the needles you’ll use.

Note

• Variability happens: the second round can reveal unexpected changes on needles you didn’t touch. This is often a clue to re-check threading or seating of the thread in tension discs.

If you coordinate with other machines in your space, you might track different hoop standards (for example, brother 4x4 embroidery hoop on a backup unit). These inventory notes won’t change the EM-1010’s tension process, but they help keep your shop organized.

Troubleshooting & recovery: Bird nesting and persistent outliers

Symptom: Bird nesting on one needle (e.g., needle #1) - Behavior: stops every few stitches, messy underside tangles, and loose top thread on the swatch.

What to try first

• Rethread that needle path completely

• Verify the needle is oriented correctly and fully seated

• Confirm bobbin is properly seated and the case is reinstalled cleanly

Community-sourced diagnostics (synthesized)

• Check bobbin and bobbin tension (several comments cited this as a first step)

• Consider whether hook timing might be off on that position; one viewer suggested this as a likely cause for a single-needle issue

• Some embroiderers found a bobbin tension gauge useful to establish a constant before chasing upper tension

Decision points

• If a single needle keeps nesting while others are perfect → revisit threading, needle orientation, and bobbin seating on that path

• If the problem persists only on that needle after clean rethreading and new needle → investigate timing or seek a deeper mechanical check

Watch out

• Don’t keep increasing top tension blindly. Over-tightening can mask the root cause and create new problems elsewhere.

Quick isolation test

• Swap thread colors between two needles (keeping their paths) to confirm whether the issue follows the needle path or the thread cone. Use this only as a diagnostic hint; then revert to your normal setup.

Pro tip (from multiple commenters)

• “Start with a constant.” Baseline the bobbin tension with a gauge, then the top tension adjustments become more predictable and repeatable from round to round.

If your test swatches are part of a shop-wide documentation system, list them alongside any hoop configurations you routinely use (even if from other platforms, such as mighty hoops for brother or magnetic hoops for embroidery). This can help diagnose fabric handling variables across jobs over time.

From the comments: Mini-FAQ and field-tested tips

Q: Why use 65/9 needles on everything? A: The creator states they use 65/9 for almost everything and, in this session, replaced all 10 with new 65/9s. Commenters shared varying preferences (e.g., 75/11 with 40 wt, 65/9 for finer thread), but the takeaway is to use what works for your projects and fabric.

Q: Where do the tension swatches come from? A: They’re stitched on the machine as a simple multi-color design, one color per needle, so you can compare and adjust.

Q: How can one needle misbehave while others are perfect on the same bobbin? A: Community suggestions include confirming bobbin condition/tension, rethreading the entire top path, and considering hook timing checks for the problem needle.

Q: How do I know when tension is “right”? A: On the back of the swatch, look for one-third top thread, one-third bobbin, and one-third top thread. Barely visible bobbin = too tight on top; a wide bobbin lane = too loose on top.

Q: Any tool that speeds this up? A: Several embroiderers recommend a bobbin tension gauge to set a dependable baseline before adjusting top tensions.

If you maintain several machines or share swatch boards across teams, you may catalog accessories in your notes (e.g., mighty hoop magnetic embroidery hoops or dime snap hoop). That’s shop organization — your EM-1010 tension process remains the same.

Step-by-step quick reference

1) Replace needles (all 10): install new 65/9s, orient correctly, and tighten securely.

2) Rethread each path fully and seat thread in tension discs.

3) Refresh bobbin and oil the bobbin area; reinstall the case.

4) Round 1: stitch multi-color swatches (one per needle) and evaluate.

5) Adjust specific top tensions, re-run Round 2, compare.

6) Repeat rounds until balanced; most resolve by Round 3–4.

7) If one needle persists (e.g., bird nesting), rethread, verify orientation, check bobbin path; consider timing diagnostics.

Logbook tip

• Photograph each round and annotate which needle changed. It makes the next maintenance session even faster.

Finally, if you’re standardizing how you hoop test fabric across different units in your shop, you may encounter names like mighty hoops for ricoma or magnetic hoops for tajima. Those inventory choices are separate from the EM-1010’s tension process described here.