--- title: "Tufting Gun Troubleshooting: Not Cutting, Cutting the Fabric, Skipping and Jamming | Loopi" description: "Why a tufting gun stops cutting yarn, tears the backing cloth, skips stitches or jams, and how to fix each problem, plus a simple cleaning and oiling routine." canonical_url: "https://www.loopi.space/it/blog/tufting-gun-troubleshooting" last_updated: 2026-10-20 locale: it meta: "og:description": "Why a tufting gun stops cutting yarn, tears the backing cloth, skips stitches or jams, and how to fix each problem, plus a simple cleaning and oiling routine." "og:image": "https://www.loopi.space/og/blog.jpg" "og:image:alt": "A green tufted rug with a cream and rust design" "og:image:height": "630" "og:image:type": image/jpeg "og:image:width": "1200" "og:title": "Tufting Gun Troubleshooting: Not Cutting, Cutting the Fabric, Skipping and Jamming" "twitter:description": "Why a tufting gun stops cutting yarn, tears the backing cloth, skips stitches or jams, and how to fix each problem, plus a simple cleaning and oiling routine." "twitter:image": "https://www.loopi.space/og/blog.jpg" "twitter:image:alt": "A green tufted rug with a cream and rust design" "twitter:title": "Tufting Gun Troubleshooting: Not Cutting, Cutting the Fabric, Skipping and Jamming" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://www.loopi.space/llms.txt) # **Tufting Gun Troubleshooting: Not Cutting, Cutting the Fabric, Skipping and Jamming** Most tufting gun problems come from three places: the cloth, the yarn or the cutting mechanism. Very few mean the gun is broken. Work through the checks below in order and you will usually find the cause in a few minutes. Before anything else: **unplug the gun** before you touch the needle, scissors or any adjustment screw. A tufting gun can start unexpectedly if the trigger is bumped. ## The gun is not cutting the yarn You pull the gun away and the tufts are still joined, or long loops trail behind a cut-pile line. **Check, in this order:** 1. **Is it in cut mode?** On dual guns that switch between cut and loop, check the setting before anything else. 2. **Too much yarn.** Extra strands, or a thicker yarn than usual, can be more than the scissors can close through. Remove a strand and test. 3. **Dull scissors or blade.** Blades wear, faster with synthetic yarn and faster still if they have ever hit a staple or the frame. A blade that leaves frayed, chewed ends rather than clean cuts needs sharpening or replacing. 4. **Scissor alignment.** The two blades have to meet tightly. If a screw has loosened from vibration, they open a gap and the yarn slides between them. Follow your gun's manual to adjust the tension; tighten in small steps and test. 5. **Fibre build-up.** Packed lint around the scissors stops them closing fully. Brush and blow it out. ## The gun is cutting or tearing the fabric Holes open in the backing, or the cloth splits along a line. 1. **Cloth too loose.** This is the cause most of the time. Primary tufting cloth should be stretched drum-tight on the frame, so it barely gives when you press it. Re-stretch it, working evenly from the centre out, and re-tension it as you go on large pieces; cloth relaxes during a session. 2. **Wrong cloth.** Use primary tufting cloth made for guns. Lighter or loosely woven fabrics, including some cloths sold for punch needle, cannot take a gun's stitch rate and tear. 3. **Pressing too hard.** The gun's foot only needs to rest on the cloth. Pushing into it drives the needle and scissors through the weave. 4. **Going over the same line twice.** Tufting back over an area that is already full punches through the same holes and widens them until they tear. 5. **Needle or blade burrs.** A nicked needle tip or scissor edge can snag and cut the threads of the cloth. Check them for damage. ## Tufts fall out or the gun skips stitches Gaps appear in a line, or tufts pull straight out of the back. 1. **Slack cloth again.** If the weave is loose, the cloth cannot grip the tuft. Tighten it. 2. **Moving too fast.** Each stitch needs a moment. If you move faster than the gun cycles, it stretches stitches apart and leaves gaps. Slow down, or turn up the speed if your gun has a dial. 3. **Yarn snagging on the way in.** Follow the yarn from the cone to the needle. A cone that does not unwind freely, strands twisted around each other, or yarn caught on a corner makes the gun pull against it, so it feeds short. Let yarn come off the top of a cone, not the side, and give it a clear path. 4. **Threading.** Re-thread through every guide in the order your manual shows. A skipped guide is easy to miss. 5. **Too few strands.** With thin yarn, a single stitch may not hold. Add a strand. Loose tufts that make it into the finished rug are also a gluing problem: the back needs a full, even coat of carpet glue that soaks into the base of every tuft. See [**tufting for beginners**](https://www.loopi.space/it/blog/tufting-for-beginners) for the finishing steps. ## The gun is jamming The gun stalls, the yarn bunches at the needle, or the motor strains. - **Too much or too thick yarn** for the needle. Remove a strand. - **Fuzzy or textured yarn.** Boucle, mohair, chenille and loosely spun yarns snag inside the gun. Use smooth yarn. - **Lint build-up** in the feed and around the needle. Clean it out. - **A knot** coming off the cone. Watch for knots in recycled or mill-end yarn. ## Uneven pile height Part of the rug stands taller than the rest. - The pile height setting has shifted. Check it is locked. - You are tilting the gun. Hold it square to the cloth so the foot sits flat. - On cut pile, some unevenness is normal; shearing or trimming the face evens it out at the end. ## Cleaning and oiling A short routine prevents most of the problems above: - **After each session:** unplug, then brush and blow lint out of the needle area, the scissors and the feed. - **Regularly:** oil the moving parts with a light machine oil, in the places and amounts your gun's manual specifies. A drop or two is enough; excess oil collects lint and can mark yarn and cloth. Run the gun on scrap cloth after oiling. - **Inspect:** check screws for vibration-loosening and the needle and scissors for nicks. If your gun came without a manual, the seller or manufacturer usually has one, and their videos often show where to oil. ## When it is the gun, not you If you have worked through all of the above and it still will not cut or feed, the motor stalls on clean smooth yarn with one strand, or you hear grinding, contact the seller. Worn internal parts on cheaper guns are not unusual, and most suppliers sell replacement scissors and needles. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why is my tufting gun not cutting the yarn? The most common causes are dull or misaligned scissors, too many strands for the scissors to close through, or lint stopping the blades from meeting. Check the cut-mode setting on dual guns first. ### Why does my tufting gun keep cutting the fabric? The cloth is almost always too loose. Re-stretch it drum-tight, make sure it is primary tufting cloth, and rest the gun on the cloth rather than pushing into it. ### What oil should I use on a tufting gun? A light machine oil, used sparingly where your gun's manual shows. Wipe off any excess so it does not collect lint or mark the yarn. ### How often should I clean my tufting gun? Clear lint after every session. Fibre build-up causes many cutting and feeding problems. ### Can I fix a tufting gun myself? Cleaning, oiling, re-threading and adjusting the scissor tension, yes. Internal motor or gear problems are best taken to the seller. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"Professional tufting calculator and quote generator for yarn artists.","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"Loopi","url":"https://www.loopi.space/","publisher":{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/#identity"},"translationOfWork":{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/#website"}},{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/blog/tufting-gun-troubleshooting#webpage","@type":"WebPage","dateModified":"2026-10-20","datePublished":"2026-10-20","description":"Why a tufting gun stops cutting yarn, tears the backing cloth, skips stitches or jams, and how to fix each problem, plus a simple cleaning and oiling routine.","name":"Tufting Gun Troubleshooting: Not Cutting, Cutting the Fabric, Skipping and Jamming","url":"https://www.loopi.space/blog/tufting-gun-troubleshooting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/it#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://www.loopi.space/blog/tufting-gun-troubleshooting"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/#logo"}},{"@id":"https://www.loopi.space/#identity","@type":"Organization","description":"Professional tufting calculator and quote generator for yarn artists. 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