matthew123

You guys rock! Thank you so much for all the amazing advice. Friquant, thanks for the heads up about adjusting that clamp screw in back. I did try that one first, but I ended up with the machine binding before I could get enough lift out of it, so I figured the next step was the stripped screw "C" in question for the eccentric. Great point about extending the filing to the edges of the screw...I think that should help a lot. I will try a flat sided carbide burr! I posted a pic of the screwdriver in the screw groove. As you can see, it's not quite tall enough and definitely not thick enough. I will either search for one or work on filing down a piece of metal to serve as the new driver. Dikman, I love the idea of drilling out the center of the screw with a small bit but still keeping the flathead groove on and use that to loosen it. I never thought of "coring" out the inside of the screw to relieve the pressure like that, but it totally makes sense and sounds like it will work! I think laying the machine down on its front is a great idea and will be very helpful. Alzilla and Friquant, do you think the impact driver is too much force against the shaft that this all rests on? I have one of those things but hesitated to use it. Thank you all again!!

Thanks Constabulary! I agree that the screw extractor could work. I'm trying to postpone that option because I feel like maybe deepening the screwdriver groove might still be a viable option, but I admit it's hard to get the contour good enough that a screwdriver will really bite. I appreciate the suggestion! Anyone know if replacements for this screw are available? I'm open to any and all ideas! Thanks again

Hi All! First I just want to say how grateful I am for this forum. I've learned so much from you all. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise! I just picked up my first compound feed machine, a Singer 111w155. It sews OK, but the outer presser feet don't lift up enough to accommodate thick material. Based on the manual (see pic attached), it seems that to adjust the relative height of the outer foot with respect to the inner (needle) foot, one has to use the lifting eccentric. However the set screw is stripped and very stuck. See the pic attached. I believe the stripped screw is "C" in the manual screenshot. I also noticed that screw "D" (which I think is the one people call the worm screw) spins freely, which seems weird. It appears someone may have ground away part of the machine casing to get better access to this screw in the past...can anyone confirm from the pic? So far I have tried: spraying the screw with PB blaster nightly for a few nights using a Dremel with a small pineapple burr to deepen the flathead groove gently tapping the screw with a screwdriver and hammer heating it lightly with a mini butane torch I got the screwdriver to bite better when I drilled out the groove, but when I applied force, it again started widening the screw groove again and eating away at the screw head. Can anyone offer other suggestions? I am considering taking it to a local machine shop to see if they can rescue me. I am hesitant to try a left hand drill bit and screw extractor, because the option of deepening the flathead groove further with the dremel seems like a good one and I don't want to burn that bridge. Help!! Am I missing something? Thanks! Matt