Sewing Machine Success!
May. 10th, 2009 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sillygoosegirlOn getting the new sewing machine working. I checked for lint all the places the manual said to do so, and removed a little. Looks like it hasn't been used much since the last time somebody removed lint. Then I oiled it in the places the manual said to oil it. Then I ran it a bit and was pleased, but not thrilled with the improvement. It was still very slow. Also, the stitching was awful and bunched up underneath.
So I turned my attention to the detached tension knob. After some inspection of the knob, it looked like there wasn't going to be any removing the metal bit that threads onto the shaft. Damn, so much for being able to hop down to Ace Hardware for a replacement that wasn't stripped out. Next I turned my attention to the shaft that it goes on and started inspecting it to see if I could remove it and hopefully replace it. I removed the plate thing I found below, and the spring, and the plastic shield. In looking to see what to take apart next, I quickly saw that the shaft, which is split up the middle (the plate and spring both make use of this), had it's bottom half visibly bent upward. Ah hah! That's what's keeping it from threading correctly.
So I bent it back, replaced the plastic shield, the spring, and the plate thing. I *think* when I started, the plate (which is a circle with a bar across it through the middle and a stem on the side pointing out of the plain of the circle) was positioned with the stem on the bottom pointing outward. Of course, with the knob as loose as it was, I wasn't placing any bets on the plate still having been in the correct position by the time I got to it. Looking at the knob, which had a plastic stopper bit inside on the bottom, and knowing how the knob is supposed to function, I was pretty sure that the stem should be on the bottom. But it was quickly apparent that the stem pointing out wasn't going to work without some mechanical magic I couldn't conceptualize. So I tried turning the plate over to face the stem in. I must have flipped it up, because the stem was then on top. But I wasn't really thinking and I thought I was just, you know, practicing. Well, the knob went right on and now I cannot get it off (afraid I'd break it). And the middle position is marked 0, with the high marked 4 and the low marked 5. Doh. I guess I will have to re-label it. Which will be kind of ugly, and makes me a little sad, but at least it is functional.
With the tension now set, the machine stitched beautifully. I adjusted the stitch length. It respected the stitch length and gave me nice even stitches! Ah, how wonderful! My previous old Singer, that my mother gave me in college, seemed to take the length setting as more of a suggestion than a specification. However, it was still slow.
I fiddled next with the belt from the motor to the hand wheel, since the manual said to check that for speed problems since a too-tight belt can slow the machine down, and the belt should be only just tight enough to get the machine to work. Well, I loosened it to the point where I had to give the hand wheel a little push to get it going and it was still slow. So frustrated, I put it down for a while.
When I came back I looked through the manual for more possible causes for slowness. None listed. Then I checked online. First thing to check is apparently the pedal. Checked it out and found the resistance went down to about .7 ohms with the petal all the way down. That should be fine. Second thing to check is the belt. Been there done that. Third is removing the needle and/or removing the needle and checking for needle damage that could cause it to catch. Needle looked good but I left it off. Still slow. Fourth suggestion is oil. Did that. Fifth is looking for threads, grime, lint, etc preventing movement. Opened it up again. Didn't see anything. Went and got a flash light. Still didn't see anything. Plugged it in and started stitching (not really stitching since there was no thread or needle), still peering in the top trying to see what might be causing a problem. I looked and stitched for a long time.
And then all of a sudden, it started going fast. I guess my oil finally got where it needed to be. I can't imagine what else the problem might have been to go away like that. Anyway, awesome.
I've been wanting a secondary sewing machine that just does really basic straight and zigzag stitches for two reasons: (1) so I can do projects with embroidery and be able to stitch one part of the project while the BabyLock is embroidering the other (as it is, once my project is all cut out, if the embroidery part isn't done yet I tend to get bored and wander away and then the embroidery doesn't get done because I don't notice when it runs out of thread or needs the color changed), and (2) because the BabyLock's maximum speed is agonizingly slow for long easy seams.
I did some practice stitching on a rag. I set the Singer to 6 stitches/inch and it covered the rag in 11 seconds. I set the BabyLock to 4.5 mm (which should give it the advantage) and it covered the rag in 17 seconds. Yay 35% higher speed!
So aside from putting that knob on upside down and the labels therefore all being wrong, it seems to be in great working order, and will be a useful supplement to my other machine.
Also, it means I can loan a machine to Danielle at work without being without. Or better yet, I can invite her over to sew with me.
ETA: Silly me, the catch on the knob can be uncaught by pinching with pliers just so (think like certain kinds of child safety caps that you sometimes find on household chemicals--remembering those is how I figured it out). It's fixed now too. Perfect.
So I turned my attention to the detached tension knob. After some inspection of the knob, it looked like there wasn't going to be any removing the metal bit that threads onto the shaft. Damn, so much for being able to hop down to Ace Hardware for a replacement that wasn't stripped out. Next I turned my attention to the shaft that it goes on and started inspecting it to see if I could remove it and hopefully replace it. I removed the plate thing I found below, and the spring, and the plastic shield. In looking to see what to take apart next, I quickly saw that the shaft, which is split up the middle (the plate and spring both make use of this), had it's bottom half visibly bent upward. Ah hah! That's what's keeping it from threading correctly.
So I bent it back, replaced the plastic shield, the spring, and the plate thing. I *think* when I started, the plate (which is a circle with a bar across it through the middle and a stem on the side pointing out of the plain of the circle) was positioned with the stem on the bottom pointing outward. Of course, with the knob as loose as it was, I wasn't placing any bets on the plate still having been in the correct position by the time I got to it. Looking at the knob, which had a plastic stopper bit inside on the bottom, and knowing how the knob is supposed to function, I was pretty sure that the stem should be on the bottom. But it was quickly apparent that the stem pointing out wasn't going to work without some mechanical magic I couldn't conceptualize. So I tried turning the plate over to face the stem in. I must have flipped it up, because the stem was then on top. But I wasn't really thinking and I thought I was just, you know, practicing. Well, the knob went right on and now I cannot get it off (afraid I'd break it). And the middle position is marked 0, with the high marked 4 and the low marked 5. Doh. I guess I will have to re-label it. Which will be kind of ugly, and makes me a little sad, but at least it is functional.
With the tension now set, the machine stitched beautifully. I adjusted the stitch length. It respected the stitch length and gave me nice even stitches! Ah, how wonderful! My previous old Singer, that my mother gave me in college, seemed to take the length setting as more of a suggestion than a specification. However, it was still slow.
I fiddled next with the belt from the motor to the hand wheel, since the manual said to check that for speed problems since a too-tight belt can slow the machine down, and the belt should be only just tight enough to get the machine to work. Well, I loosened it to the point where I had to give the hand wheel a little push to get it going and it was still slow. So frustrated, I put it down for a while.
When I came back I looked through the manual for more possible causes for slowness. None listed. Then I checked online. First thing to check is apparently the pedal. Checked it out and found the resistance went down to about .7 ohms with the petal all the way down. That should be fine. Second thing to check is the belt. Been there done that. Third is removing the needle and/or removing the needle and checking for needle damage that could cause it to catch. Needle looked good but I left it off. Still slow. Fourth suggestion is oil. Did that. Fifth is looking for threads, grime, lint, etc preventing movement. Opened it up again. Didn't see anything. Went and got a flash light. Still didn't see anything. Plugged it in and started stitching (not really stitching since there was no thread or needle), still peering in the top trying to see what might be causing a problem. I looked and stitched for a long time.
And then all of a sudden, it started going fast. I guess my oil finally got where it needed to be. I can't imagine what else the problem might have been to go away like that. Anyway, awesome.
I've been wanting a secondary sewing machine that just does really basic straight and zigzag stitches for two reasons: (1) so I can do projects with embroidery and be able to stitch one part of the project while the BabyLock is embroidering the other (as it is, once my project is all cut out, if the embroidery part isn't done yet I tend to get bored and wander away and then the embroidery doesn't get done because I don't notice when it runs out of thread or needs the color changed), and (2) because the BabyLock's maximum speed is agonizingly slow for long easy seams.
I did some practice stitching on a rag. I set the Singer to 6 stitches/inch and it covered the rag in 11 seconds. I set the BabyLock to 4.5 mm (which should give it the advantage) and it covered the rag in 17 seconds. Yay 35% higher speed!
So aside from putting that knob on upside down and the labels therefore all being wrong, it seems to be in great working order, and will be a useful supplement to my other machine.
Also, it means I can loan a machine to Danielle at work without being without. Or better yet, I can invite her over to sew with me.
ETA: Silly me, the catch on the knob can be uncaught by pinching with pliers just so (think like certain kinds of child safety caps that you sometimes find on household chemicals--remembering those is how I figured it out). It's fixed now too. Perfect.
