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.. this article is a constant work in progress as I collect more information and personal experience…

… Please, read the whole article first before proceeding.

First cleaning steps:

1. Check against the manual if all parts are present. (If your ribber did not come with a hard copy of the manual, google its model number and you will find free pdf file of the manual). The most critical ones are carriage, side brackets, connecting arm, at least one cast-on comb with a wire, setting plates, weights and table clamps. If others are missing, you can probably manage to knit without them. If something is missing, search on the Internet to purchase them and while they are arriving, work on the steps below.
2. Clean/wipe the visible dirt from all parts.
3. Remove all needles, clean/wipe them and inspect. I visually inspect if there is deep rust (if there is just shallow rust – I gently polish the needles with fine sand-paper), obvious bends.
4. Vacuum from underneath of the ribber bed and from the top (simply run the narrowest attachment your vacuum have over the needle bed).
5. If you have a brush with long wire, insert it into the slot for the retaining bar and move it back and forth, in and out. Vacuum again. Repeat several times until you see no more lint/dirt coming out.
6. Inspect the metal parts of the needle bed as well as connecting arm and carriage (especially from underneath) for any major or minor rust. Major rust – medium size to large orange spots. Minor rust – series of small to medium sized black-ish dots. Read a separate article on my recommendation on how to deal with rust.
7. Insert the needles back in. While doing it, check if the latches move freely. Insert the retaining bar. It goes on top of the needles. For Brother ribbers, the groove of the plastic retaining bar should be facing you. When all needles are inserted, look if the distances between the needles are even. If not, you might have a bend needles you did not catch.

If all parts are present, you are now ready to start your first tests. They are outlined in my other article.

If you are passing this ribber to somebody else, repeat the wiping, vacuuming and visual needle inspection again.

The article below is dedicated to the ribber refurbished for a customer in January 2024. For specifics of Brother KR850 ribbing attachments, read my KM Encyclopedia.

Brother KR850e, tested and serviced in January 2024, underwent all my usual tests: inspecting all needles, cleaning the bed and tools from old grease and lint and testing on all needles (made two hats while doing it – read below). Read in detail the typical steps I undertake while servicing the ribbers. Also, check out the tips on the first tests for your new ribber.

The setup includes all assesories mentioned in the manual. The hard copy of the manual is included as well. The machine will also come with its original box and Styrofoam pads.

Although the Styrofoam linings have seen better days and are a bit dusty but still service it protective purpose.

The functioning of the carriage was checked by knitting a 1×1 rib swatch on just 20-30 needles and on a full bed (all needles with the exception of 2 and 3 needles on each side for the ease of knitting). These tests were performed with 3 different yarns: thicker acrylic with some polyester (not as stretchy), thin wool-containing (wool is sometimes staticky) and thin 100 acrylic yarn (probably most stretchy out of the latter two). Watch the full video of theses tests in my YouTube channel.

All needles were inspected very thoroughly before and after all the tests to ensure no bent ones and no sticky latches.

Even on a full bed, the carriage-setup (ribbing carriage, connecting arm and a main carriage) was very easy to move – watch the video: I could move it with just one hand. (but of course it is always a combination of yarn, tension and potential static)

Both swatch knitting and knitting on a full bed (1×1 rib, in two different needle configurations to ensure all needles got tested) showed excellent performance from the ribber and not flawed stitches.

Below are the items I knitted while testing this ribber. They are going to the local charity.

Now about the imperfections and minor flaws of this ribber:

1. Couple of large barrel weights have small cracks.

2. Some of the tools (especially with plastic components) have visible scratches (too many to list here).

3. Cast-on combs have some minor rusty spots (even my brand new (but old stock) cast-on combs have some black rust spots. Probably due to age.) I covered the spots with corrosion stopping oil, which offers temporarily protection from further rust. Despite these cosmetic imperfections, the combs are smooth and function well: the yarn did not snag on them.

4. Connecting arm has some minor rust spots as well (they might not show well on the pictures below because they are very small).

5. The carriage has some minor rust spots too as well las some minor scuffs. But under-carriages looks very nice. Plastic components of the bed and the ribber itself show typical yellowing/aging from the exposure to the sun light.

The ribber worked well even with these rust spots, so I do not anticipate any future issues. Honestly, almost all ribbers that come to my possession have some sort of rust issues. Since the quality of the metal on the parts for the vintage machines is much better than the quality of the metal on the parts for modern machines (Chinese knock-offs/copies), my strong preference still goes to the vintage parts (even with minor rust) than to more modern new/old stock parts. Also, extensive polishing/rubbing (with the goal to remove rust completely) damages surrounding yet-uncorroded surfaces, making them prone to corrosion. So, if i do not see a lot of issues with the moving levers and knobs as well as with static (or static is manageable), I only gently polish the rust and cover it with protective oil. More tips on rust are in my other article.

Bottom line: since the sinker plate and the carriage did not have any issues, I did not replace them. With Regular oiling and wiping and storage in dry place, these parts will serve you a very long life. I did not have any issues with the static as well but I did have a wax in my tension mast just to make sure because of the dry season and because my shop is right by the fire place room (dry air causes more static).

Despite all these flaws, the ribber worked well. I used all the assesories and tools that will be included with this ribber.

Happy knitting! Do not forget to use the tips on how to learn to operate new-to-you ribber to avoid frustration and damage to new-to-you ribber.

… this article is a constant work in progress as I collect more information and hands-on experience…

…. Please, read the whole article first before proceeding.

Problems with rust in or on your knitting machine can manifest themselves as stuck levers and knobs, metallic/grinding sound when moving parts, sometimes static and jerky movements of the parts. Rust is sometimes visible and obvious and sometimes not (because it is hidden inside the carriage or needle bed or is at hard-to-get angles/corners of the machine).

Major rust: medium to large size rust spots.

If your hole needle bed is covered with orange rust, your machine it is probably a lost cause. If you hate waste and like projects, you can still attempt to disassemble and polish all parts (with sand paper and metal brushes) and cover the surfaces with oil or even a thin layer of rust-oleum.

If this project fails or you don’t finish it (or get confused how to put it together), you will probably have a lot of spare parts for your other machines or to pass along to the knitting machine community. AND, you’ll learn a lot about internal intricacies of a knitting machine. Still a win-win.

I managed to remove rust from a vintage machine, where the whole needlebed was covered with orange rust but I was lucky enough that there was no corrosion in the needle groves. It did required a lot of notes taking since the available-on-the-market service manuals are of poorly quality and I was almost on my own in disassembling and assembling it back on. But even with note taking, there were confusing parts on how to do certain things but I managed to get this machine to work pretty well.

If you see individual orange rust spots and they are easy-to-get to, first wipe them (vigorously) with the oiled rug and see how much of this rust will simply come off. Often, a lot of comes off and no harsh scrubbing is necessarily.

If you feel that more scrubbing is needed, start with rough plastic brushes and if still lots of rust remain, use fine sand paper and/or metal brushes to reach harder-to-get places.

If the surface you just polished from rust does not come in contact with any other moving parts, feel free to cover the polished surfaces with rust-oleum. I do that if I see rust on lids, underneath the needle bed, on punchcard readers panels (only on surfaces that are supporting the mechanism).

If polished parts do come in touch with other parts, just apply protective oil.

Minor to Medium rust

A lot of machines come to me with some blackish, grayish and even whitish discoloration (often in the form of bunch of very small spot group together), like acne on the needlebed, retaining springs, punchcard mechanism, lids and cases.

This is not the most aggressive form of rust but if left untreated/unnoticed, might still cause issues.

Thus, when the machine came to you needing some TLC, wipe it first with a rug (aggressively but its just a rug – no damage will occur to the metal itself). If the surface feels smooth to your hand, just cover it with oil (Gun oil, UPS oil or other corrosion protection oil friendly to knitting machines). If the surface still feels rough, polish with fine sand paper (if the surface is easy to reach and is flat enough) or a rigid plastic brush to remove additional rust layers. Again, apply a very thin layer of protective oil.

I once had a carriage with white-ish discoloration on its metal part (a very vintage machine). It might have been a vintage form of steel (who knows), but since then I did not see any more the same type of metal damage (aka rust). The carriage needed a bit of TLC and “hand-holding” while knitting and daily oiling. With these preventive measures, it knitted wonderfully. Without them – a lots of static accumulated and lots of grinding noise was coming after several rows of knitting.

The bottom line is:

A lot of ribbers and machines come to my possession with some sort of rust issues. Since the quality of the metal on the parts for the vintage machines is much better than the quality of the metal on the parts for modern machines (Chinese knock-offs/copies), my strong preference still goes to the vintage parts (even with minor rust) than to more modern new/old stock parts. Additionally, it is often simply impossible to find parts on the new market. Also, extensive polishing/rubbing (with the goal to remove rust completely) damages surrounding yet-uncorroded surfaces, making them prone to corrosion. So, if i do not see a lot of issues with the moving levers and knobs as well as with static (or static is manageable), I only gently polish the rust and cover it with protective oil.

…. more coming as I learn more about these mighty machines and their intricacies.

…this post is a constant work in progress (last updated December 2025). But I hope several solutions/problems outlined in here are still useful.

The most important aspect of attaching the ribber to your knitting machine is the distance between the main and the ribber needle beds. An incorrect distance between the ribber and the main bed can manifest itself as:

1. dropped stitches
2. poorly formed stitches
3. grinding noise (which can be heard only when moving the carriage from one side and not the other way)

Thus, spend a decent time learning how to setup the correct distance before attempting to knit. There is a separate article on how to set up Brother ribbers as well as Studio/Silver Reed/Singer ribbers. There are a lot of online resources how to do it as well.

The second most important aspect is to correctly attach the connecting arm. An incorrectly attached connecting arm to the ribber can manifest itself as:

1. grinding noise
2. lots of damaged needles or bent latches
3. poorly formed or dropped stitches
4. ribber carriage comes out of the connecting arm pin during knitting

Some older models do not have such a connecting arm, which makes this step redundant but then the knitter needs to move the two carriages separately, one after another.

There is a separate article on how to attach the connecting arm for Brother as well as Singer/Silver Reed/Studio knitting machines. There are a lot of online (including video) resources as well.

There are several other problems, such as:

• static

… this article is a constant work in progress as I accumulate more experience (personal) and based on what other people write about their problems and their fixes…

Last update: January 2026

The working mechanisms of Singer/Silver/Silver Reed/Studio/Empisal Knitmaster/Riccar knitting machines (you can read about them here) are unique and different from the most popular Brother knitting machines (check out their differences here). Thus, sometimes a different approach is needed.

Problems with the knitting machines related to the carriages often manifest themselves as:

• carriage moves smoothly on the needlebed from left to right, but NOT from right to left (and vice versa).
• carriage gets stuck on the bed
• buttons/levers/knobs/dials on the bed, which do not move freely, move slowly, or do not retract sharply, as they are supposed to be
• mispatterned stitches or/and not correctly selected needles

Below are possible reasons and a brief explanation of how to fix them. More detailed explanations on how to fix these problems are available on the Internet.

• If your machine has patterning drums and they are not moving freely or are stuck completely, it might be because of the old oil/grease, old lint, and/or some yarn wrapped around the moving parts. SOLUTION: visually inspect the drums on the sides and remove any visible junk. Apply Kroil Oil first to the drums and see if they start moving freely. I typically try to rotate the drums every 2-4 hours after applying (generously) the Kroil oil around them.
• Due to the old gunk and dried-up oil, some of the moving levers (responsible for guiding the needles through the intricate passages of the carriage) get stuck. If you suspect a lever does not move, check against the same lever on the mirror side of the carriage: compare its movement, how fast it retracts, etc. SOLUTION: Apply Kroil oil around the lever to remove the old gunk.
• The carriage might have too much old grease and lint to move freely. SOLUTION: Clean the undercarriage with 100% alcohol, a ton of Q-tips, and UPS greaseless lubricant.
• Springs inside the carriage disconnected from their corresponding posts. This might happen because the springs lost their tension/torque, but also due to the impact (the machine or the carriage was dropped). SOLUTION: Check for any dangling springs. Compare the springs on both sides of the carriage to make sure the springs are attached correctly. Or refer to the manual or pictures on the Internet on how to attach the springs. One of such tutorials (but for the Brother knitting machine) was published by me and is also available as a video.

If you think none of these problems/solutions apply to you, it might not be a problem with the carriage. It might be an incorrect position of the carriage on the needle bed, bent needles, incorrect yarn threading through the mast, incorrect tension of the yarn, static, too-thick yarn, or (the culprit of almost all problems with knitting machines) an old sponge in the retaining bar.

If your carriage works ok and moves smoothly but the mechanism is mispatterning, it could be related to:

• misaligned punchcard reader. I had a machine where the punchcard reader was slightly off-center: the left side was a bit closer to the needlebed than the right side. As a result, the patterning drum did not touch the pins on the reader strongly enough to engage the pegs. Watch the video on how to troubleshoot it and fix it.

If you have a Brother machine, you might have some specific problems, which are described in another article.

… this article is a constant work in progress as I accumulate more experience (personal) and based on what other people write about their problems and their fixes…

Problems with knitting machines related to carriages often manifest themselves as:

• the carriage moves smoothly on the needle bed from left to right but NOT from right to left (and vice versa)
• carriage gets stuck on the bed
• buttons/levers/knobs/dials on the bed do not move freely or move slowly or do not retract sharply as they supposed to be
• mispatterned stitches or/and not correctly selected needles (read more on this here)

Below are possible reasons and a brief explanation of how to fix them. More detailed explanations on how to fix these problems are available on the Internet.

• Due to the old gunk and dried-up oil, some of the moving levers (responsible for guiding the needles through the intricate passages of the carriage) get stuck. If you suspect a lever does not move, check against the same lever on the mirror side of the carriage: compare its movement, how fast it retracts, etc. SOLUTION: Apply Kroil oil around the lever to remove the old gunk.
• The carriage might have too much old grease and lint to move freely. SOLUTION: Clean the undercarriage with 100% alcohol, ton of Q-tips, and UPS greaseless lubricant.
• Buttons (tuck, part, MC) do not move. SOLUTION: apply Kroil oil around the buttons, let it sit for a couple of hours, and try to move them. Repeat until the button moves again. Do not force the buttons to move too much to avoid damaging them.
• Springs inside the carriage disconnected from their corresponding posts. This might happen because the springs lost their tension/torque but also due to the impact (the machine or the carriage was dropped). SOLUTION: Check for any dangling springs. Compare the springs on the mirror side of the carriage to make sure the springs are attached correctly. Or refer to the manual or pictures on the Internet on how to attach the springs. One of such tutorial (for the MC button retraction) was published by me and also available as a video.

If you think none of these problems/solutions apply to you, it might not be a problem with the carriage. It might be an incorrect position of the carriage on the needle bed, faulty (or incorrectly installed) timing belt, bent needles, incorrect yarn threading through the mast, incorrect tension of the yarn, static, too-thick yarn, or (the culprit of almost all problems with knitting machines) old sponge in the retaining bar.

If you have a Singer/Silver Reed/Studio knitting machine, you might have some specific problems, which are described in another article.

Brother KR810 ribber fits a wide variety of Brother knitting machines, from some of the vintage ones to the later models, all the way to the electronic ones.

This article is about specifically the KR810 ribber refurbished in December 2023. To learn more about pros and cons of the Brother KR810 ribber model, refer to the article in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia.

The machine was thoroughly cleaned. All needles were cleaned and inspected individually, first visually and then by knitting on a full bed 1×1 ribbing (in two different combinations to make sure all needles were tested). All knitting tests were great. See a video of these tests on my channel.

The setup (consisting of main carriage, connecting arm and a ribber carriage) moved well and i was able to knit with just moving the carriages with one hand.

The machine knitted wonderfully thin yarns, sock-yarn-weight acrylic yarn and fingering mohair-containing slightly fuzzy yarn.

This machine will come with all assesories mentioned in the manual. However, the reinforcing brackets will not be included for the following reasons.

The original side brackets (that attach to the ends of the ribber) did not come with this machine. So, I borrowed from a KR850 ribber and they fit wonderfully.

Because the KR850 side brackets already have the “tongue” needed to attach the ribber to the table, the original KR810 brackets are no longer needed.

With this setup, the KR810 ribber attached wonderfully to both KH710 and KH970. However, I was able to knit only on the machine with a winder bed (KH970) than with the narrower bed (KH710). A potential reason is a slightly off angle between the machine and a ribber due to the different side brackets and table clamps. Thus, this ribber is sold as compatible with wider-needle-bed knitting machines (such as punch-card-capable machines (KH820 and above) as well as electronic machines (KH900 and above)).

I know some internet sources mention that this ribber is compatible with the push-button machines like KH552, KH710 and early punch-card machine, like KH800. But because I did not have the original side brackets, I could not confirm that this ribber can knit with these earlier knitting machines.

All buttons, dials, knobs and levers on the ribber carriage move freely.

Hard copy of the manual will NOT be included with the ribber but it can be found online for free.

The connecting arm has some rust specs all over it. I gently removed the protruding layer and applied oil for corrosion protection. But the corrosion damage is still visible. However, my tests showed that it does not affect the functioning of the ribber.

The brushes in the under-carriage section are in excellent shape.

Watch my video showing knitting on the double bed, containing this ribber and my wide-needle bed knitting machine. It worked great and the big advantage of this ribber is versatility and compatibility with large varieties of knitting machines.