mickt

First of all I would like to thank all of you that helped me with the problems I was having with my Consew 226 R. All of you are great in my book, didn't know me and never heard of me until I posted here with a plea for help and you jumped right in to offer great suggestions and ideas. The machine had multiple problems it seems and now most if not all of them have been fixed. I want to say a special thank you to Bob Kovar of Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, the man went out of his way to help me with all the problems the machine had. I called him so many times he had me on his speed dial and when I called he would answer "Hello Mick" and when I did not call him for a few days he would say " I thought you were mad at me because haven't called for a few days". When I first bought the machine I decided that I wanted a sewing machine mechanic to go over it and another machine I have. There is a guy that comes around my area from about 150 miles away every few weeks, found out about him from a friend. Called the guy told him what kind of machine's I had and set up an appointment and he made a house call. When he got here and after talking to him it was pretty clear he had not worked on very many commercial machines. I asked him how long he had been working on machines and his reply was about 51 years. Too make a long story short after he left the machine was no better then when he came. He was better off to the tune of $100.00 thou. Anyway after making the call to Bob and him walking me through different issues with the machine, we were able to get the old gal working like a sewing machine again. The problem with the clutch popping out was operator error and a little bit machine. The stitch adjuster needed cleaning since it was frozen up. But the biggest problem was I was not adjusting it the right way. I was doing it by the book I thought but failed to read to turn the wheel forward or backward to find the stitch I needed, I was only trying to turn the wheel forward and that was what was popping the clutch, so the clutch was doing it's job. Again thank you all for the support and help getting this old gal running again. Wife's even happy now that it is running right so I guess I'm out of the dog house for now. Now it's time to start using and getting use to it, to start making some stuff. Thanks again for all the help. This is a great board with lots of great people, something that is hard to find in this day and age. Mick

Hi Steve, sorry it took so long to get back to you. I believe we got the probem fixed. You all can slap me silly if you want to but I need to do it to myself first. It appears that I did know how to work the stitch selector the right way. Thanks to Bob Kovar and his putting up with me and picking his brain. I'm sure he stayed awake at night trying to figure it out also. Thanks for your help and concerns in trying to help me. This is a great board, with all the folks here trying to help each other, and everyone is soooooo nice, I'll put up another post and let everyone know what went wrong and what went right. Thanks again Mick

Maybe I did not get it fixed afterall, to be honest I don't have a clue how to fix it. I'm not really sure how it works, all I know is the stitch changing part moves now where before it did not. Maybe it's moving but not like it should be! Mick

Sandy Yes it appears that there were multiple issues, Seem it had alot of built up gunk on the stitch selector not letting it slide. At this time the machine only stitches 6 stiches per inch probably good for most anything I would sew, but since it has a selector I would like it to work the right way. Thanks again Mick

Hi Gregg Sorry to just be getting back to you,I just now found your reply to help and my day job has been getting in the way of fun time. I think you may be right about the clutch. I ordered a new clutch spring today hoping that it may be the problem. I was able to get the gib out and it had a few bad places rough spots on it as well as some built up gunk, cleaned it up and filed down the high places, as well as cleaning up the whole stitch selecter area, the cam was not moving before the clean up and now it is, so I think that was part of the problem. It still pops the clutch when trying to select a different stitch and tigthing the tention spring screw on the clutch makes turning the hand wheel really hard whitch can't be right. The clutch having a problem is the only thing I can think of, but I am no expert on this. The machine works great after everyones help on timing the machine, makes nice neat stitches. I also put a 13/4 inch pully on the motor today and that slowed the machine down to a speed that I like making it more controlable thanks to reading about doing it on this board. When you say you don't like this type clutch, does that mean that there is a different type/model clutch that this one can be replaced with? If anyone has any other ideas to help I could use them. Thanks Mick

Hi Sandy, Thanks for the concern. I'm sorry to get back to you so late, but my day job and other tasks have gotten in the way of my play time. No haven't fixed it all yet but have the gib and stitch control part freed up and working. Thinking now I need to get a new tention spring for the clutch. Thanks again Mick

Thanks Gregg, I find it easyer to use this book, then the Consew book, it does have better information to better understand the workings of the machine for those of us that don't know much about them. I'll put the link in here the case someone would like to view and print it. ( I think it is ok to put the link here?) Now if I could only figure out how to keep my clutch from popping out all the time I would be a happy camper or I should say happy sewer. http://parts.singerc...als/111w156.pdf Thanks again Mick

Hi Sandy, thanks for the reply. Yes I think Bob has forgotten more then I could learn in a life time. I believe he may have photograpth memory , seems to see every every nut, bolt, screw and spring on my machine as I'm talking to him on the phone. Here are a few photograph's of the areas of concern on my machine. (if I can load them right) The one with the yellow arrow shows the gib or wedge sticking up and not flush with the rest of the unit. This was sticking up this way at first and then I set it flush and tightened the allen screws, on the first attempt to set my stitch length it resumed the out of flush position again. The clutch is something I have not messed with since I don't know how to take it out and clean it and adjust it and put it back in. The only thing I have done is turn the screw back and forth. Mick

Does anyone know if a Singer 111W156 is the same as a Consew 226 with reverse? I found a copy of a manual on the singer web site for the 111w156 and looking it over it appears to be basically the same machine. If they are about the same then this manual is a lot better then the one floating around on the internet about the 226, 225. The photographs or better and it has more information on how to service the machine. Thanks in advance Mick

Hello, I hope someone can help with another problem I'm having with my Consew 226. The problem Is this, Every time I try to change my stitch length, my safety clutch kicks in and puts the machine in free running mode. Bob with Toledo Industrial sewing machines has worked with me for the last 10 days or so off and on trying to help me correct this problem, but I apparently am not understanding his advise or the machine has other problems. I've called Bob so many times that I am feeling guilty about it, so I thought I would throw it out here and see what happens. What I have done so for, is to loosen the allen screws on the feed eccentric to hopefully free up the screws from the "GIB" thinking they were holding it to tight to be able to work. It was first suggested that I back them out about ¼ turn. I did that and there was no difference. I then backed them out ½ turn and still no difference. Today I released the spring and collar that holds the cam in place, slid the cam over to inspect it. I found the cam had some dirt but not much inside the groove. I cleaned all the parts of any dirt or grime. All parts looked good to me including the little pin, After cleaning all the parts I oiled them and placed them back as they should be or at least the way I found them. I then went to test my stitch length by pushing in the button on the left until it dropped into the groove and by turning the hand wheel towards me, after it dropped into the groove I gave it a little harder turn and the clutch popped just like it did before. I was able to see the cam rotate so I believe it was working, I assume the cam rotates since there is a groove in it that the pin rides in on the eccentric body? I have set the allen screws all the way from tight to backing them off one full turn a quarter turn at a time with no difference as the clutch still pops out. It was even suggested that I adjust the clutch screw so as to set the sensitivity of the clutch. I tried that by turning the screw just a little at a time in both directions and the only thing that happens is when turning the hank crank to change the stitches it gets harder to turn to the point I am afraid I may break something, and also I don't believe it should be that hard to turn under normal use. When I bought the machine it was set at 6 stitches and has remained this way, and I have not been able to change them. I'm sorry for the long post, but I am trying to describe the problem as best I can. I feel this is a pretty simple fix but for some reason I am not getting it. If anyone can throw in their thoughts it would be very much appreciated. Have a great weekend and thanks in advance Mick

Thanks Bob, These links are great just what I was looking for. Like I said on the phone today I am trying to put together a pamplet on just the singer 111 W 155 since a lot of machines are clones of it. I'm hoping to make it advalable to others here on this site thinking it would be useful when working on thier own machines. Thanks again Mick

Thanks Bob, Took me a few trys but worked out fine, not skipping now. I think it just took the curage to dig into it. Mick

Hi Busted, Yep the link worked this time. However it is the same users manual that I have and the only one I have been able to find on the internet. I have found 4 or 5 different sites for a 226 manual but they are all the same one. I would think that there is a repair manual out there somewhere, as service repair people had to work and repair these machines at some point. You would think that Consew would have these in a dusty back room on a shelf. Thanks again for the help and your time Mick

Hi Gregg, Thanks for replying! It appears from your's, Trox's and Busted's replies that the problem is with the timing. My thought on the presser foot was maybe the materal was not feeding right. Ok, so can anyone tell me how to time it in simple words ( I under stand this may not be simple) and a step by step way to time it? I'm up for trying if I could understand how. Some times the names of the parts are confusing so that makes working on it a litte harder not knowing just what they do and me not wanting to mess it up any more then it might be. When I look at the neddle and hook, it looks to me that when the needle is all the way down, the needle starts to rise just a little bit maybe a 16/th of an inch and at that time the tip of the hook is at about the midde of the needle and just above the needle thread and is picking up the bobbin thread. Questions about timing: #1 It's my understanding that the needle is to be all the way down and then bought up about 3/16 of an inch before starting. Is this right or wrong? If i bring my needle up that high then the hook will be past the needle. The other day while timing it we moved the hook back but I can't remember how I did it. I remember taking one or two screws loose and tapping something? #2 At what point should the hook make contact with the needle? #3 How close should the hook be to the needle? Should this be done with a feeler gauge? #4 In my case should I use the needle bar to lower the needle all the way down, rase it the 3/16th, place the hook next to the needle, loosen the needle bar and lower it to the position it at the scarf area and retighten the needle bar? Or something else. In any case it appears that the hook needs to be ajusted back I think. Bob from Toledo sewing machines LTD in Toledo has been a big help, helping me walk through the problems with the machine and I thought I had the timing right but may not have got it just right and it may need some small adjustment to keep it from skipping. Thanks in advance for any help Mick

Thanks busted I cannot get the link to open. It does sound like what I need thou.