Sometimes you find yourself taking the bobbin case of a Slant-o-Matic out, maybe to remove an errant thread, clean the lint out or whatever. Strangely, putting it back in isn’t as easy as taking it out. Or maybe you thought it was good, but the machine’s locked up, or it just doesn’t look / feel right. Continue reading Sit yourself down!!! Slant-O-Matics: Bobbin Case placement
Tag Archives: Sewing Machines
Followup to the Universal adjustable sewing desk
I had a couple of questions asked in PMs the other day on the Quilting board about the Universal Desk I built a couple of weeks ago, and am posting them here with permission.
when you have your machine in it… does your machine ‘vibrate’ backwards? I see you have a gap at the back/right side of it and am wondering if you have something you insert in there or if you just leave that spot open. (to the right of your wheel)
Spring has sprung
Well, not really. Not here in Central Alberta anyway. We got about 10-12″ of the white sh…. stuff over the last weekend.
Ever had your bobbin case just fall out while you were sewing? You’re just sewing along, and the darn thing just gets up and leaves? Or maybe you’ve found it not snapped in when you’re positive that you installed it right.
No,.. chances are that you don’t need a new bobbin case. Continue reading Spring has sprung
I am so flattered!
I wanted to just take a quick moment out to say thank you to everyone who reads this blog. I’ve been seeing things being pinned on Pinterest from my posts on the Quilting Board and from Archaic Arcane directly over the last few days.
I post about the things I do to hopefully benefit the community as a whole. Seeing people pinning and linking to the QB and to Archaic Arcane so that others can come visit and hopefully I can help them out shows me that you find what I’m doing to be of value.
From the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU! It’s so great to know that I’m not just talking to myself. 🙂
Followup to the 222 found at the Antique store.
In January, we found a Featherweight 222 in an Antique mall, on the way to visit my aunt. This is the followup to the find, and photos of the lovely lady.
Eliza is ready for her close up. When we were in Calgary, visiting my aunt in January, we learned that her serial number allocation date (as close as we can come to a birthdate on a Singer sewing machine) is February 26, 1957. On my aunt’s 3rd birthday. Because of that, we’re naming her Eliza. My aunt’s name is Liz, or Elizabeth.
She hasn’t been fully polished yet, but she’s completely returned to full working order and cleaned up. When we picked her up, she didn’t turn smoothly, someone had been into the bobbin area, and the dreaded “finger” was misplaced. There was also more movement in the hook area than there should have been. Lastly, the bobbin case was reassembled incorrectly, so the bobbin didn’t fit into it. She also had a little rust in weird places, on the chrome, a few of the screws, the bobbin case and the bobbin winder. We replaced the bobbin winder, and the rest had the rust removed from it, and a good oiling to discourage the rust returning.
Her body however Continue reading Followup to the 222 found at the Antique store.
Tear it down – bobbin case maintenance
What do you do when you’re sewing along and your machine’s tension goes crazy for no reason?
There are the obvious things to do: re-thread the machine, in case the thread “popped” out of one of the guides, or came unseated from the upper tensioner, clean out all of the fluff and lint from the machine, especially in the thread path ( don’t forget the bobbin case area) … sometimes you might even get desperate and clean out the upper tensioner.
If you don’t know how to do that, it’s really straight forward, and can save you a trip to the sewing machine repair shop.
But what do you do if you’ve done all of that and the tension’s still goofy? Especially if your top tension seems way too tight. Say you have it turned the upper tensioner all the way loose, and your thread is still laying on the top of your fabric… Continue reading Tear it down – bobbin case maintenance
Second Floor – Hardware, Children’s wear, Ladies’ lingerie… A Universal Desk
Lately I’ve been experimenting with Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).
Yes, I see that surprised look on your faces! I do, in fact, sew sometimes! When I’m not buried elbow deep in the innards of a sewing machine, sometimes I even use them. 🙂
My latest “thing” is FMQ. It’s really fun, but if your sewing surface isn’t set up correctly, it can be a real pain in the neck, shoulders, wrists, arms, back, and head. With a lot of damage already in my back and wrists from computer work, (and dirtbikes, and old car wrecks, and skiing,… well you get the picture.) I had to think this one through pretty carefully.
I wanted a new desk, but had to do it on a budget. I’m willing to contribute some sweat equity, so I figured I’d give it a go at building something.
Continue reading Second Floor – Hardware, Children’s wear, Ladies’ lingerie… A Universal Desk
A stitch in time
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.
Until Next Time
Timing series part 6: The others
Two things I touched on but didn’t explore in detail are feed dog timing and how the timing on a shuttle bobbin works (Vibrating shuttle or transverse shuttles, also known as bullet and boat shuttles)
Feed dog timing is very straight forward – The feed dogs move the fabric. In order to do that effectively, the needle must be clear of the fabric before they start to move it.
Running out of Time
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