A small update on the eSpinner and a tip for those who want a “remote” for their wheels.
When I built this wheel, I chose a 2.1mmx5.5mm plug. The input power is 12vdc and the tip of the connector is positive. This is a pretty standard setup and it allows me to use an off the shelf battery pack that’s pretty commonly used on many electric spinning wheels. Continue reading Here I go again! eSpinner remote hack and a few improvements
Part of July and sometimes August of most years in this house is dedicated to the Tour de Fleece. It’s a 23 day annual event where we spinners sort of mirror the Tour de France. We spin the same days, take the same rest days and have challenge days. It’s a great chance to dedicate some time to spinning and other related crafting. This year, there was the regular race and the women’s race so we spun from July 1 to the 31st. It’s a great opportunity to try to clear a few UFOs.
I also thought I’d post a few of my new “spinning hacks” and my new favourite tool off the lathe in this post.
Here’s what I committed to working on for this year’s TdF.
From the top:
Back at the end of June, I was contacted by the Edmonton Fibre Frolic asking if I would like to provide 3D printed cross arm (AKA Turkish) spindles for their first Fibre Soiree. I contributed to the Curated Spinner’s box. This is the colourway I had to work with.
It’s an event going on as this post publishes. So hello to all of the Fibre Soiree’s new spindlers/spinners!
On the tags I attached to the spindles, I said the following:
In case the image is too hard to read, here it is: Continue reading Cross arm spindle care tips
Probably every couple of years, I get this question. It goes something like this:
“I opened up the top of my machine, and I found a spring laying in the bottom. Where does it go? ”
The machines in question are usually the Singer 401/403/500/503/411/421/431 and some of the related machines.
This is what the spring looks like.
Continue reading Reader Mail – January 2022 edition – Slant-o-matic spring gone rogue
Some of the most common sewing machine issues I hear are:
Something like this: Continue reading The loosest thread – Those pesky thread nests
A “controversial” post today folks.
Motor Lube for Singer motors.
This one causes a lot of sometimes heated discussion on forums. Many people have done tests and lots of opinions have been stated. Today, I’m going to state my opinion, back it up with my reasoning and testing and then you can decide what you want to do with your own machines.
A couple years back, I mentioned that I could still get Singer Lube that was still suitable for use in Singer motors. In February of this year, that changed. I spent some time posting about it on Facebook.
Because I still get requests for Singer Lube, I thought I’d discuss what happened to make the Singer Lube no longer suitable for motors and what I recommend to replace it. Continue reading A search for things that you can’t see – Singer motor lube replacement
Another edition of Reader Mail:
I get this question probably a couple of times a year, so today I’m presenting a post with a video companion! Jocelyn and I spoke via email but I asked her if it would be OK to use her email for reader mail. I’m guessing she didn’t expect me to get to it almost 2 years later! (I really do get that behind on the site stuff!)
Jocelyn emailed me some time ago to ask:
Hi, I inherited my mom’s Singer 411G. (Lucky ME!). Both spool pins are broken and I am having a devil of a time trying to find replacements.
Any insight/direction/suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
simply re-threading your machine when you have problems with it.
A quick note today folks! I’m inside waiting for the anti-inflammatories to kick in before I go back outside to do some bodywork on the truck so I thought I’d jot down a little note for you.
The traditional advice when you start to have tension problems with a machine seems to be “Re-thread it. Everything, the bobbin case and the top”.
Most of the time that usually means that people yank the thread out from the back – or some will cut it and remove from the front – then they re-thread and…. it doesn’t fix it. Sometimes it will but often it doesn’t.
Some of you might have seen me post on Facebook about my outing on Monday. I finally took my favorite but very abused Gingher scissors in for repair and sharpening. I’m a little embarrassed to say that in the few years I’ve had them, they’ve had a very hard life.
They’ve been dropped on their points, bent and even done a little bungee jumping.
These were my first “good” scissors and none of the abuse was ever intended – it just happened. Somehow, I have a knack for storing scissors on the ground, usually from sewing table height. I don’t think I ever did that when all I had were my craptastic scissors. Figures, right? Of course, at least 2 times they hit the floor they landed points down. Continue reading Cuts like a knife – Scissor care from a sharpening professional
So today I sat down at my industrial to sew a couple of hems. Yes, overkill but I like to exercise my machines a little sometimes. 😉 Immediately after sitting down, I noticed tension and stitch length problems.
Strangely, this photo doesn’t really show that there are 2 hems here. Stitch lines 2 and 4 are the problem hems. The bottom one is the most obvious, you can see loops and the stitch length kept changing. Continue reading PSA: Sometimes it’s not what it seems with your seams
