Machine shredding thread and skipping stitches

[Curious Gem]

My Janome is skipping stitches and shredding the top thread. I've given it a good clean, unthreaded and rethreaded but no joy. Any ideas what else I can try or does it need a service? Thanks

[Efemera]

Change the needle...try a different thread...alter the tension.

[Tamnymore]

What brand of thread are you using @Curious Gem ?

[BrendaP]

If the thread is shredding it's possibly too thick for the needle, but for any problem like that my first option is to change to a new needle.

[Missie]

You might have a small burr on the needle that is shredding the thread.  Try a new one.

[KayK]

Also have a look near the tension disks and the thread lever - I have had mini bits of thread stuck in there before!

[Curious Gem]

Can't work out how to reply to individual posts. I've tried different types of threads. How would I get to the rear tension disks? I've tried taking the side off and giving it a clean. It doesn't sound very smooth when I turn the handwheel unthreaded.

[BrendaP]

Get a piece of thread and hold it like dental floss (actually dental floss might work!) and pull it back and forth between all accessible parts of the tension discs to see if you dislodge a piece of thread or fluff.

Tension discs work like two saucers base to base with an adjustable coil spring holding them together, but if you use a twin needle one of the threads has to go either in front of the pair of discs or behind them.  That's why I suggest flossing all places.