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[Mayion]

Hi,

I'm a new to sewing, specially with a sewing machine. But in light of the current situation we are facing, I wanted to keep myself busy and learn something new.
Basically my mom has a sewing machine that is really old, it's a very very old off-brand of SINGER. I cannot identify the model since it's not written anywhere (and I also lack the manual for it).
She stopped working with it years ago due to problems in threading clothes. What happens is that everytime you try and sew, the upper thread gets caught in the hook and as the shuttle turns, the thread goes into the bobbin case. This causes the upper thread to pretty much be turning around the bobbin case constantly, as you thread. This happens until either the thread breaks or until the machine jams (since nothing can move in terms of the bobbin mechanism). If you're lucky and the thread doesn't break or the machine doesn't jam, you will turn over the piece you were sewing and you will notice a huge mess of threads in the back.
What I have noticed is that the shuttle hook is a bit loose. If you poke it, it moves a bit back and forth while supposedly it has to be completely still. I'm not sure this is the solution to my problem, I don't know much about sewing machines but this is all I noticed was wrong with this one after long and intense hours of trying to fix it.
Before you suggest any solutions I'll list what I have tried before: re-threading, cleaning, re-threading, lubricating, re-threading, timing the needle, re-threading, changing the needle, re-threading, changing the thread on the spool and the upper one, re-threading...
I'd really appreciate some help. I have called a store and they say they can fix it and should only take an hour (he also made it sound like it was something very easy to solve) but they're charging me 30€.
This machine is extremely heavy, weighting almost 15kg. Taking it to the store would be a nightmare and huge hassle due to the certain circumstances and me not having a personal vehicle.

Thank you very much in advance!

[John]

Hi @Mayion! welcome to the forum! What a great use of this extra time we are all forced to have right now.

I will try to help you but its hard with out know what machine you have. Can you post a picture?

-This is a common problem on industrial machines if you dont hold the threads tight when you start sewing.
- This is also a common problem if the timing of the machine is off. But we need to know the model if you are gonna fix this your self.
- Also make sure the needle is installed properly. On most machines the indent should be installed to the right.

I hope this helps!

[Hope Komla]

@Mayion

I also think you need to make sure the tension on the upper tension disc is set correctly. And you may check to see if the thread is really passed through the tension discs.

All the best.

[Mayion]

Hi @Mayion! welcome to the forum! What a great use of this extra time we are all forced to have right now.

I will try to help you but its hard with out know what machine you have. Can you post a picture?

-This is a common problem on industrial machines if you dont hold the threads tight when you start sewing.
- This is also a common problem if the timing of the machine is off. But we need to know the model if you are gonna fix this your self.
- Also make sure the needle is installed properly. On most machines the indent should be installed to the right.

I hope this helps!

Hi, thank you very much for your answer!
I'll leave a picture here, it is an industrial sewing machine but has been taken out and put in a case.

As for your solutions:
-I made sure to hold the threads tight. When the machine is treaded and I try to pull any of the threads they have tension on them and I can't pull them easily.
-I have spent many hours changing the timing of the machine and tried different positions, it is very unlikely that I didn't "reach" the perfect timing.
-As for the needle I have installed 2 different ones and always with the indent to the right, like you said

Unfortunately there must be something else Hopefully the pictures help!

[Mayion]

@Mayion

I also think you need to make sure the tension on the upper tension disc is set correctly. And you may check to see if the thread is really passed through the tension discs.

All the best.

Hi, thank you very much for answering!
I have made sure that the thread passes through the tension disks and have adjusted the tension many times, but I still run into the same problem
Not sure if the pictures will help, I took them after removing threads out of the machine. You can check them out on my other reply.
Thank you very much for your help

[John]

Hi @Mayion I did some investigating. I think this machine may not be a real singer but an old copy reproduction. I think that because there is no model # listed in the normal spot and the logo on the neck just says "sing" not singer.

To me this machine looks very similar to a singer model 15. Here is a manual that might help. http://needlebar.org/main/sident/15.pdf

Also seeing how the take up lever is on the left side of the machine you may have to install the needle grove to the left. But Im not sure. Is the bobbin on the left side as well?

[Hope Komla]

@ Mayion... I think you just need to also check some few things. Oiling all the parts,also check the threading of the machine and looking at the stitch lock lever,the position could also make it difficult to sew. Sincerely,this vintage machines just need a bit of messaging as you use them. Since you are new to sewing I can understand the fraustration but be rest assured you will come out good.
But try to use all the suggestions. You will get better.

[Mayion]

Hi @Mayion I did some investigating. I think this machine may not be a real singer but an old copy reproduction. I think that because there is no model # listed in the normal spot and the logo on the neck just says "sing" not singer.

To me this machine looks very similar to a singer model 15. Here is a manual that might help. http://needlebar.org/main/sident/15.pdf

Also seeing how the take up lever is on the left side of the machine you may have to install the needle grove to the left. But Im not sure. Is the bobbin on the left side as well?

Thank you so much for the manual. I looked through it and oiled the parts it told me to oil. I also took the day to clean it fully. I had cleaned it before but I didn't go as in depth as I did today. I thought that there might be a piece of dust or thread causing this. Although I did find some pieces of thread and a lot of dust, this was not the solution. Neither was oiling it.
I also threaded it as it said on the manual but that also did nothing.
I also decided to time it again, but to no avail.
Right now the machine is completely clean and perfectly timed but its just broken...

I might as well upload a video of what is exacly happening, because I don't think I am making myself clear.



(This video was taken before today, whilst I was trying to fix it. Right now it is much cleaner than in the video.)
Like you see in the video, the upper thread gets caught where the bobbin is. This was taken without the bobbin in place so you could see it clearly where the thread went. As you might guess, the tread gets even messier if the bobbin is in place.
This happens until the thread breaks or the machine completely jams, like i explained in my first post.
If you wish, I can record it completely built with the bobbin in, although I can assure you it does exacly the same thing and it will be harder to see where the thread goes on camera.

Hopefully this gives some insight.
Losing a little bit of hope here...

[John Long]

Does this machine not have a bobbin or bobbin case? Also, you said the machine is in perfect time but I see nothing in the video that shows the shuttle trying to pick up the stitch. Thirdly, I don't see how it could pick up the thread with that much slop in the shaft.

John

I apologize. I missed the bottom paragraph. I suspect the bobbin case should allow the thread to loop around without hanging on the top of the shaft. It has to be pulled around the hook assembly in order to pick up the stitch. It appears the issue is the shaft protruding up too high and the thread getting hung on it instead of looping on around.

Have you verified whether or not the hook assembly is assembled correctly since you have the manual?

[Mayion]

Does this machine not have a bobbin or bobbin case? Also, you said the machine is in perfect time but I see nothing in the video that shows the shuttle trying to pick up the stitch. Thirdly, I don't see how it could pick up the thread with that much slop in the shaft.

John

It does have a bobbin and a bobbin case but like I explained in my thread, I took them out so you could see things clearly.
I said the machine is in perfect time now and this still happens, so the timing is not the problem whatsoever. You can see the thread being picked up right at the beggining of the video as well.
And like i mentioned before the machine is more clean now than it was in that video and it still happens.

I'll take another video tomorrow with a better angle so you can see how it actually looks now (even though the problem is not fixed yet).

[John Long]

Looking at the video again and realizing this is amvertical bobbin machine it looks to me like the center shaft is not installed correctly. This is causing the hook assembly to be loose as well as allowing themshaft to stick up toomhigh catching themthread as it goes around.

You do realize, of course, that opinions are like noses. everybody has one. I certainly am not a sewing machine mechanic.

John

[Mayion]

Looking at the video again and realizing this is amvertical bobbin machine it looks to me like the center shaft is not installed correctly. This is causing the hook assembly to be loose as well as allowing themshaft to stick up toomhigh catching themthread as it goes around.

You do realize, of course, that opinions are like noses. everybody has one. I certainly am not a sewing machine mechanic.

John

It's okay if it's wrong, as long as you have some idea of what it is since I am drawing a blank with all the other solutions.
How would you go about fixing the center shaft? Assuming there is a way to fix it of course...

[John Long]

I'm sorry. I don't have a clue. You would need to find a service manual for it or what ever machine it was copied from I suspect. John said earlier it looked like it was copied from a Singer model 15. I wonder if you could find service information for that on line?

John Long

[BigRig]

@Maylon,

Welcome to my life! I was cruising along pretty fine until I switched to a different thread and ran into the same problems you are describing. The problem can get reallly bothersome but what I do is tighten my top thread tension a bit sew, tighten it more, sew and eventually it will perform. Check to see how tight your top stiches are against the fabric if they are lifting easly you have to mess around with the tension. I would also oil that machine and just run it threadless to work that oil into it.

[BigRig]

@maylon,

I am assuming you do not have a manual for the machine. I got help from a forum member to find a manual and it will tell you how to manage your thread at hand while sewing. If it says pull to the left and back finishing or pull straight back when starting to sew and you do the opposite you are going to run into problems with a catch, bind or jam.

[John]

Looks to me like the problem is that shaft. It should not get caught around that shaft. Can you post a picture of with the bobbin and case installed. I'm wonder if there is something wrong with that part.

[John Long]

Looks to me like the problem is that shaft. It should not get caught around that shaft. Can you post a picture of with the bobbin and case installed. I'm wonder if there is something wrong with that part.

That is exactly what it looks like to me. Not only is the shaft loose but it is protruding up so far, it is catching the thread as the shuttle loops it around.

John Long

[BigRig]

@John, @John Long ,

If both you guys open your bobin case and flip the lever up to sew your thread will wrap around it exactly like hers is doing. It is a nice looking little machine but do you guys think it is worth fixing? I had a $25.00 Kenmore that sewed like a demon maybe its best to look at an alternative?

[John Long]

@John, @John Long ,

If both you guys open your bobin case and flip the lever up to sew your thread will wrap around it exactly like hers is doing. It is a nice looking little machine but do you guys think it is worth fixing? I had a $25.00 Kenmore that sewed like a demon maybe its best to look at an alternative?

I personally would agree. Especially, as it is not a walking foot machine but I felt like that was not by business and I was not asked for that opinion.

I started sewing about 28 years ago with a Thompson Mini-Brute. Did I sew with it? ..Yes. Was my work the best it could be? ...No. Would I suggest anyone else try to sew upholstery with anything other than a triple feed machine? ...No.

With all that being said $800-1000 for a good used machine is a fortune for some folks and they need all the encouragement they can get. The other side of that coin is, If you sew one interior yourself instead of taking your project to a trim shop, you just paid for the machine. That makes the machine an investment, not an expense.

I do love my $795 Adler 267.

John Long

[BigRig]

@maylon, your mom sewed clothes were you wanting to do upholstery work or clothes? The forum here has a lot of different ways to sew.