IHUK - A day in the life of….
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Looks like it's in good shape. I love those old Singer machines. If you didn't know this already, you can determine the approximate age by looking up the serial number in this database. It wouldn't surprise me if that one is pushing a hundred years old.
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I think the bobbin tension is screwed. It throws a random birds nest on the underside of the fabric every so often.
If I did not have an alternative, I'd spend more time trying to fix it, but I actually prefer the end-result on the old Singer. And, it's very Zen using it….
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Thank you for that website, @Chris! I just looked up my own Singer, and found out it was built in March 1906. It's still working too! Amazing things…
Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A520F met Tapatalk
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Nice! Glad you guys found it useful.
Mine's a relative infant- built in 1930, model 31-15. I have a couple more, but they're still in bins, waiting for me to clean and organize my shop enough to find a place for them. -
I think the bobbin tension is screwed. It throws a random birds nest on the underside of the fabric every so often.
If I did not have an alternative, I'd spend more time trying to fix it, but I actually prefer the end-result on the old Singer. And, it's very Zen using it….
I doubt its the bobbin tension. It will Probably be an issue with the upper tension, either its too low (I suspect not as you will have checked this first!) more likely its the little pin that releases the upper tension to allow thread to run through the tensioner on the downward stroke of the needle, when it gets jammed the take up lever pulls from the spool rather than locking the stitch, leaving a loop under the material, which then bird nests. Can’t hurt to try a few drops of oil on the tension release pin, you could also look for a tread jam in the upper tensioner?
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I doubt its the bobbin tension. It will Probably be an issue with the upper tension, either its too low (I suspect not as you will have checked this first!) more likely its the little pin that releases the upper tension to allow thread to run through the tensioner on the downward stroke of the needle, when it gets jammed the take up lever pulls from the spool rather than locking the stitch, leaving a loop under the material, which then bird nests. Can’t hurt to try a few drops of oil on the tension release pin, you could also look for a tread jam in the upper tensioner?
This is SO COOL! All my respect for your knowledge and helpfulness troubleshooting long distance @Simon
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Blimey, that must be great to finally know Giles.
Not sure a thread exists for this, so apologies for tagging on the back of the current theme. Coincidentally I have been looking lately at getting a second hand machine, mainly to learn a new skill on and to ultimately attempt the odd alteration of the wife's dresses/kids clothes. (WTF has WFH done to me)
Given the multitude of choices, should I…
(A) walk away from the idea and just let the pro's do their job.
(B) venture into old or new Singer machine territory.
(C) Consider something like a Frister + Rossmann Cub 7? (the later I spotted was engineered in Germany, made in Japan, which ticks a lot of reliability boxes for me)If anyone in the know has any advice I'd be very grateful.
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@gc I'm a little biased. I learned how to sew on my Singer. I've made trousers, shirts, hats etc etc…..It does the job (though nothing fancy like buttonholes, blindstitch etc etc, but you can do those by hand if needed) and is very satisfying to use.
@Giles thanks. You biased, really
I'm more likely to cherish something old over new, fleabay here we go.
