gottaknow

Nicely done Brian. Regards, Eric

It is actually possible on the 153, but it requires several additional parts that would make it cost prohibitive. It also requires removing the top shaft. Regards, Eric

Wow. He actually claimed 277 on a 153 huh. That I'd like to see. Regards, Eric

The specs you have to know are looper gauge, looper avoid, looper travel, and synchronization. Each Union Special machine in this general chainstitch class ( of which there are several hundred variations) , have specific values. Some do overlap for sure. I have a lot of US manuals, so I'll wade through them and see what turns up. If you know what the looper gauge and travel is, you at least have a starting point. The other issue is these machines are capable of being set with two needle classes. 128 and 108. The 108's are shorter. It's likely class 128 which requires a different looper avoid setting than the 108's. So I guess I need to know which needles you're using first off. Also, here's some general information. It covers the style of looper in your machine "across the line of feed loopers", it's pretty close to the beginning. Regards, Eric Loopers and hooks.pdf

Setting a chainstitch properly is nothing like setting a lockstitch. There is an entire different set of parameters, terminology, and troubleshooting requiring a different skill set. There are manuals still available from Union Special's website, however without a basic understanding of how a chainstitch works, you will likely struggle. Before you do anything, I'd get a different foot to eliminate the flagging issue. After that, I can give you an outline of how to proceed. There are some general guidelines that are common to all chainstitch machines. One thing's for sure it will never be the fault of the bobbin case. Regards, Eric

Here is a PDF to show you how to change the stitch length. I haven't had a chance to look for a foot yet. Regards, Eric US51900BH.pdf

That lower timing cog is the most important that it's correct, as it's the starting point for setting the entire machine. But make no mistake that they all matter. Anything that is on an eccentric needs to be correct. The feed dog eccentric, the eccentric on the upper shaft that coordinates the presser feet motion, the orientation of the needle bar driving cam. Also, flat set screws tend to come loose in a v groove and pointed ones slip on flat shafts. Singer did that for a very good reason. These are at the heart of correctly setting a machine to run trouble free. Your mileage may vary. Regards, Eric

Keep in mind that if/when you determine the correct orientation of the lower timing belt cog, your machine still may not operate correctly. You would then need to do the same for the feed dog eccentric and the stitch change mechanism. To a lesser degree, the hook driving gear can function correctly as long as a set screw (keeping the pointed one in the groove), which prevents it from slipping. At least these machines are easy to access all the lower shaft components. Machines of that age have had countless folks with screwdrivers moving stuff around. If you can puzzle your way through each component, you can set these machines to sew extremely well, staying within their limits of needle and thread size and thickness of goods that you're sewing. If the settings have been fudged to compensate, the machine will be quirky and you'll get frustrated, as did the previous owner. You'll hear different mechanics tell you there are many ways to set a machine, which is usually an indicator that they are unable to set it correctly. In reality, there's only one correct way. This happens in factories too, as not all mechanics have the same level of expertise, just like most trades. Regards, Eric

Welcome! Upper and lower shaft timing is accomplished by turning the upper shaft until the take up lever is at top dead center. Push up on the take up lever as you rock the hand wheel back and forth. This will allow you to feel when it's at its highest point. Then check your arrows. They should line up. Forget any other references. This is completely dependent that the lower shaft belt cog is in the original factory set location on the lower shaft, as well as the upper shaft belt cog. Singer was good about using two different styles of set screws. The screws with a point are meant for the "v" groove milled into the shaft. The other screw will be flat, often with a concave line where it sits on a round shaft. You can't take anything for granted in a machine of this age. Every upper and lower shaft component must be in it's original factory location. You start with the timing belt cogs. If the cog set screws have been mixed up, you can remove the lower cog to examine the marks on the shaft. You should be able to see the mark where the flat set screw was at production time. A lot of "hack" mechanics will set an entire machine with components in the wrong orientation on both shafts because they never checked the timing belt cogs. If the previous owner kept having to take it to the shop, the mechanic was ignorant on the correct way to time the shafts and didn't know how all the components interacted. A service manual will assume that all shaft components are in the correct original factory positions. I have gone through many machines of this era and a lot of them have been really messed up by amateurs. I wish you well! Regards, Eric

Those part numbers I mentioned were for the machine as it came from the factory. In your case, a 3 needle chainstitch flat felling machines. There are no less than 20 machines of this same casting. Union Special never intended a machine to be modified, so there's no part numbers for variations, except for gauge size. It's true a lot of the parts can interchange, including the presser foot. The foot you saw on eBay isn't for any of the sub-classes. If the needle slot is centered for your needle, then great. Most chaining feet have a small groove for proper thread chaining. Also, you should be able to change the stitch length. I'll try and attach a PDF with how to do it. All these subclasses use either class 128 or 108 needles available in many point types and size. Regards, Eric

Ok, that ebay presser foot #52820 is for a Union Special 51900BZ, which is a chainstitch machine with an optional top cover hook. It's used for sewing pocketing on jeans. I have two of them. The correct part # for your machine is either 51905 A-7 for 6 and 7 gauge or 51905 B-9 for 8 and 9 gauge. You can tell the gauge by the part number on the throat plate. It will be stamped either at the beginning or end of the plate part number with the gauge size. Those two feet may be obsolete. By looking at your picture closer, someone removed a bunch of the foot material which will definitely give you looper skips due to the foot not holding the fabric secure so a loop can be formed on needle bar rise. There is no cure with the exception of a new foot. With thicker material, it has a better chance of not skipping. There's a good chance I have a foot around that will work. I just need to know the needle gauge as I mentioned above. Let me know if you like. Regards, Eric

Greetings. I work on Union Special chainstitches every day. I'll check those part numbers for you and can help with trouble shooting. Regards, Eric

Welcome to the forum! I've been an industrial sewing machine mechanic for 37 years. I use manuals nearly every day. I learned the most from studying parts books in the evening, then studying the machines with the parts books and service manuals. Singer did publish a wide range technical manual for most of their different machine classes all in one 3" thick book. They actually have step by step instructions for several machines. I don't recall if the 153 class is covered, but I'll check. It was printed in the early 70's. Cowboy Bob has probably seen it. The 153's a good machine. I still use 3 for binding. They have some inherent design flaws, but I've never seen a machine without that didn't. Regards, Eric

Original Singer needle for all 144W class is 7x3, all 144A class is 7x23. Depending on what the previous owner had available, if it was the 7x23 the needle bar was adjusted accordingly. Both needles are available in Groz Beckert. Regards, Eric

I set all my double needles the same. I retard the timing on the left hook a little as bonded thread, (and most others) form the largest loops just above the eye on needle bar rise. You also want a very sharp hook on the left side so it can be set as tight as possible. Lots of folks ruin their hooks when they break thread and promptly sand their hooks dull. Dull hooks break thread. The newest Juki double needles (I have the 3578-A's) the timing marks are now placed so the hook comes in right above the eye. A significant change over earlier machines. They seldom break thread. Regaeds, Eric

I'll take a look through all the parts I have for these types of machines. Honestly, if it were mine I'd braze it back together since it's a non-stress part. Even silver solder would hold it. I use a 00 or 000 tip for brazing on small parts like this. Regards, Eric

I've got a Singer 231-25 that I'll be scrapping out soon. Post a picture of your take up lever when you get a chance. Regards, Eric

Brother made a DT6-B926 that should be the same machine. The Brother part # is 182108001 for the take up assembly. My supplier shows it's available for around $170 usd. If you can get a close up picture of the take-up lever I can compare it to the one in the Brother parts book. Regards, Eric

Do you have a part number?

I have original Singer manuals dating back to the 30's. Which machine class? Regards, Eric

For sewing our heavy Pendleton wool, I dip the entire cones in liquid silicone I purchase by the gallon. I do it to reduce needle heat and thus thread breakage. You have to test it on the material you're sewing. About 5 years ago we made 1,000 welding jackets for the Navy. We were using T90 Kevlar thread on several different chainstitch machines. The leather was chrome tanned suede with a total thickness of about 3/16". The silicone prevented the needles from sticking (titanium needles) as well as preventing thread breakage from needle heat. The leather was grey in color and it left a bit of residue along the stitch line, but by the time we shipped them, it had evaporated. I've used the spray, but it's really inefficient. The dipping method stays in the cone for quite a while. On machines where I don't want to gum up the tension units, I use a saturated felt reservoir and place it after the tension discs. Regards, Eric

As Bob said, it's a copy of the Singer 231-7, 231-8. I still use one for felling medium weight fabric. Not built for denim because there is no front needle guard (important to chainstitch machines for heavy work). Fairly easy to work on as chainstitch machines go, but without a manual, you won't be able to make all the settings. Nothing at all like a lockstitch machine, but as Uwe stated, for the price it could be an interesting challenge. Regards, Eric

Glad that worked out for your. I still use a couple machines with Quick Rotan set ups. They seem to just keep going! Regards, Eric

I've seen one of those machines at a dealer in Seattle. It wasn't for sale, he felt sorry for the guy and took it on trade. There are a large number of Russian immigrants in the Northwest. Apparently this guy hauled this head with him. It went to the scrap yard as we figured the best place to get parts was in a landfill in the former USSR. Regards, Eric

Hemming folders come in two styles. Turn up and turn down. The turn up are the easiest to use, but your outside of the hem ends up with the bobbin thread. It can be more challenging to make it look good on canvas. Turn down folders create beautiful hems, but have a steeper learning curve. What ever you decide, make sure the folder is big enough to handle any seams you'll need to cross. A way around that is to use a swing away mount to pull it out of the folder in order to cross a seam. As a general rule, I always mount hemming folders on swing away mounts. When ordering, specify the desired finished width and the turn under amount. On a typical 1" folder, you'd typically specify the turn under amount as half the finished size. So for a 1" hem, your turn under would be a 1/2". That means you'd need to add 1 1/2" to your desired finished project size. Regards, Eric