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)
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.
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
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
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.
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
Timing series part 4: Why it’s fairly difficult to throw timing off, and how to adjust timing.
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.
First, why it’s very hard to throw timing off.
Why am I posting this before I finish the timing series, you ask? Well, this is what distracted me from it, and put me behind. 🙂 I’m also feeling less technical than I need to in order to finish that article today, but wanted to present you something to read. It’s a terribly long post. I apologize for that, but I’m very happy with how it turned out, I think you might be pleased as well.
I traded emails with a lady who had posted in Kijiji that they were having an estate sale that included 4 sewing machines and a bona fide stash of fabric, patterns and other craft items.
As you may have guessed, I was most interested in the sewing machines. I found out that the machines were: 3 Singers, and a new Brother. I’d seen photos of 3 of the machines and knew I was only interested in one but not at the price they’d listed it at, and possibly the “unseen” one.
The interesting one that I’d seen was a Singer 401A. The photos showed it to be in fairly rough shape though, making the $100 asking price a little high. It had the usual grime on it from oiling, but the slide plate had “something” on it that was tan and white. Corrosion? Sewage accident?
Oh I couldn’t have been closer. Continue reading The difference a day makes
We made a trip to Calgary this weekend to see my aunt.
While enroute, I received an email from her saying she was just stepping out to run a couple of errands. We found ourselves with an hour on our hands, and were passing the same Antique mall that I’d found a lovely 1912 model 28 with both hand crank and motor upgrade a few months ago when we came through last.
We stopped and I wandered for a bit, seeing only a Spartan that was somewhat interesting, and completely reasonably priced, but since I already have 2 99s, I was in the process of deciding not to packrat, when I tilted my head toward the ceiling. I spotted it, on top of a China cabinet that was easily 7 ft tall. A featherweight case.
The hinges looked weird though. Ryan and I were standing there discussing whether they’d been replaced or not. I noticed though that the rivets looked identical to the lock side, and something was nagging in the back of my mind about the hinges and the box itself. It looked like it was the “wrong” dimensions. Continue reading Score at the Antique Mall
So, I thought I’d start a feature here on AA where I answer questions submitted by you, the Readers.
I get some questions via email that you would normally never see, but the same questions seem to come up time and time again. In the hopes of addressing some of them in “public”, I present to you:
Reader Mail.
Matt wrote me about his model 127, with a replacement shuttle:
… the stitches don’t always stay tight and straight as I think it should. Maybe it’s the needle size and tension isn’t adjusted right?
How can I properly adjust the tension and what needle size does it need?
