Timing series part 7: Extra credit
We here at AA are a little shy, and haven’t managed to make any videos of our own. I do hope to change that in 2013 though.
I thought anyone who was interested in this series – that yes, I’m finally finished with and I will stop making the bad time puns – may like to read and view further.
Video:
- In this great video on youtube, they show, among other things, how a machine makes a stitch. It’s in German but I think they get the point across very well even to a non-German speaking person.
- I really enjoyed this series: The secret life of Machines: The sewing machine. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 I especially liked the human powered demonstration of how a sewing machine makes a stitch and advances the fabric. The “bobbin case” looks really impressed. 🙂
- SewingPartsOnline showing how to change the feed dog gears in a newer (plastic geared) Sewing Machine
Articles:
- Dave McCallum talking about an interesting timing issue on a featherweight. I wouldn’t doubt if this is possible with other machines as well.
Often I’ve found machines with little to nothing wrong with them mechanically. A 301a had the finger off. A Husqvarna with the needle in flat side to the wrong side. Etc.
The learning curve for spotting errors can be incredibly high for someone not experienced, so they sell, or in many cases I’m sure machines are simply trashed, due to people not knowing (or caring) how to fix them. Or that there are people out there very happy to get and fix them.
I agree. More often than not, there’s nothing physically/permanently wrong with the machine. I do get the odd one that someone’s stepped beyond their skill level and done a real number on it (my 222 came that way. Someone had loosened the hook for whatever reason and messed up the timing.) Luckily no one mashed the gas with a needle in place after that. It also had the finger out of place, she was sluggish to the point of being almost seized… There’s no way she would have sewn in her state. I had another 222 come to me same basic circumstances but after the gas had been mashed and replaced a hook on that one. Expensive mistake. 🙁
I’m still learning the things to look for. Every time I think I might have it licked, something else gets added to the list. Tension screws missing from the bobbin case (301A)? Broken hook tips (222K)? How about a set screw for the stop motion knob (301A)? Weird things. Some of them, I care little about because they’re easy to replace, but some things – the hook or the stop motion set screw are expensive or hard to find.
I think why I loved teaching that class in William’s Lake so much is that I know that very few machines will hit the landfill in that area now. All of my ladies there were on the lookout for whatever they could get their hands on and learn from. I get excited emails from them telling me about what they found, and what they did to get it running and how happy they are with how it sews, sounds, etc. The rush I get from that as a teacher? Better than any drug. 🙂