Timing series part 5:  Examples

Note: The 401A and 201 timing directions have been updated.  My apologies for the previous mistake.  I’m not really sure what I was thinking when I put those directions in, they were just plain wrong.  They should be correct now.

Note:  Never run the machine with the pedal If you suspect that the timing is off, while checking or after adjusting the timing until you’ve determined that the setting was correct.  Running it at speed if the timing is off can cause massive damage to the hook, bobbin case and also smash the needle which can lead to shards flying around.

Note: The process I show for adjusting timing doesn’t necessarily work for newer machines that are set up a little differently, but the process of checking it still applies.   And if your machine is on warranty, please just take it in and have it fixed.  Some dealers / manufacturers will void your warranty if you try to change anything.

In order to demonstrate setting the timing on a machine, I’m going to show a series of photos.  The first is the location of the timing lines on the machine, if applicable.  The next is the location of the screws / nuts / bolts you need to loosen to time it.  As needed, I will provide further explanation.  For the technical explanation, please refer back to this post: Making Time

Note: These images will be easiest to understand if you click on them to make them larger.

Timing a Slant-O-Matic:

We’ve been using a recently restored 401A for this series, so we’ll continue with it.

The location of the timing lines, as shown previously in the series:

The screws that must be loosened to adjust timing:

Once you loosen these screws (there are 2 of them on the same collar), you will slide the gear to the left to disengage the gears in order to turn the hook.  When you have the hook in position to catch the thread, slide the gear back to the right and mesh it with the other gear. 

As a general rule, the reason we don’t time using the set of gears closer to the hook is that the shaft that the gear tightens onto has a flat spot on this set of gears.  It should only ever tighten down at two different settings.  We typically need fairly “infinite” adjustment to get timing accurate.

Timing a Model 66 / 99/ 185 / 192 (Spartan):

The location of the timing lines.  The 99 looks a little bit different, but reading this series, I’m sure you’ll recognize them when you see them.:

 The screw that must be loosened to adjust timing:

Timing a Model Model 27/28 Variable shuttle style machine:

The location of the timing lines:

 The nut that must be loosened to adjust timing:

Timing a Featherweight:

The location of the timing lines:

 The screws that must be loosened to adjust timing:

One thing to note, on the Model 222 that I picked up this month, the screws in the photo below were loose, which affected the timing. ergo, it may be another viable way to adjust timing without sliding a gear. This would be another situation as above where if the feed dog timing is correct, it would be OK to time from here, especially if you found these set screws loose when you acquired the machine, as I did.  If the feed dog timing is incorrect, time from the back,  where the adjuster’s manual says to.  This general rule would apply to pretty much any machine that has been tampered with or found with screws that have been loosened.

 

Timing a Model 201:

The location of the timing lines:

The screws that must be loosened to adjust timing live under a “cup” that needs to be removed for access.  The Red arrow points to one of these two screws.  The other one will be on the same shaft, seen only if you rotate the handwheel.:

You may have noticed that we timed on a gear that has a flat spot on the shaft it tightens onto.  This is how the Singer Service manual indicates it’s supposed to be done.  I can’t offer you a better explanation than that.  It’s counter-intuitive and if I didn’t have the manual available to me, I would have timed from the back like with most other machines.

It would appear that I misread the manual.  The 201 is timed using the screws on the vertical gear at the front of the machine.  Not the horizontal gear, and not from the back.  Thanks to Rene for pointing that out!

This is a small deviation from a lot of the other machines you will run into.

Timing a Model 15:

The location of the timing lines:

The screws that must be loosened to adjust timing:

Note, the Model 15 is a little bit unique in that according to the manual, the timing is permanently set at the factory.  It does not specify a way to time it.  If it needed to be done and I couldn’t do it via the needlebar and other than during the replacement of the hook shaft, I would do it this way, but I’ve never had to time one.

Timing a class 15 clone:

The location of the timing lines:

On the clone that I have here, there are no timing lines.  This is a perfect example of why I suggest timing “by eye” rather than using specific marks on the needlebar.  We know that the needle has to be on the rise when the hook comes around.  We know that the hook point should be behind the needle’s eye when the needlebar has risen approximately 3/32″, and above the needle’s eye by about 1/64″ . Knowing this, you can time any machine without timing lines.

The screws that must be loosened to adjust timing:

Timing is accomplished in the same way as with the Singer model 15

 

Did this help you out??  Does your machine work now?  Did it not work?  I’d like to know.  Let me know below.