miaoreo

OK... I am learning.. I watched this video on youtube very carefully, and you can see the disks "open" when the foot is raised... Mine does not do that... I didn't know. Now the question is, or are, Why not? and How to fix it?

Question, I have not taken it apart, but behind the black Y shaped piece of metal that the disks are attached to there is some sort of lever. Is it supposed to move or do anything? Mine does not. Thanks for any help. Mia

The total thickness is only about 3/8 not compressed. Thank you for the tip Wiz.... but I may have bigger issues I find. I cannot see or feel that raising the feet with the knee lever releases the disks or changes the tension at all.... I am afraid something is not right in there. I really didn't think I was going to have to disassemble this machine to be able to sew.... And I am already using 190 needles, they were the ones that were long enough to pick up the bobbin thread. And since what I am sewing is only about 3/8" I would think the machine should sew it without modifications (?) I am trying to use 69 or 92 thread only. (and the black worked better than the tan)

Well after all my tension and needle woes I thought I had it all worked out. New needles (longer), new tension disks and spring, all the little missing thread guides in place. Take a old pair of denim jeans, double them, and the machine walks thru 4 layers of denim like butter... as long as you can keep the upper thread between the disks, it does seem to want to "jump" out. Now what I really want to sew is Navajo blanket and soft garment leather... 4 layers thick, two layers of each... It barely fits under the raised walking foot. NO DICE, the thread either breaks at the needle or it skips stiches badly... So, do I have the wrong machine for the job? or am I still doing something wrong? Any advice is appreciated... I have now invested a lot of time into this machine and want it to work. Mia

Thanks Bob.... and I just spent about an hour on the phone with Cut and Sew Services in L.A. who handle vintage singer parts and they are sending me the correct needles. Very Very nice folks. I should have asked here first and ordered from someone here. my bad.

Wiz! you are a Genius! That worked! It sews! Thank you! But.... and don't you hate buts.... only with the original needle that was in the machine. Soooo it took it out and with a magnifying glass read the tiny tiny print on the shank. it says "SINGER 130/21" My new needles won't pick up the bottom thread. Same size, same everything, except brand. These are ORGAN brand needles.. I laid them side by side and the ORGAN brand needles are 4mm SHORTER! They won't pickup the bobbin thread. OH GOOD GRIEF! Is this some evil plot to save 1/100000 of a bit of metal? Or is there some secrect code for "LENGTH" of the needle? I cannot find anywhere it says they come in different lengths. I ordered them as SINGER 211 needles. just sign me "Totally Frustrated"

Well things are a little better but not perfect. New needle, new bobbin, new thread... the machine will sew for about 6-8 inches and then the Upper thread tension seems to "relax" ??? and I get the loose stitches on the bottom, then usually the thread breaks near the needle. I discovered I was (also) missing the thread guide on the needle bar and the thread guide up on top of the machine. Those have been ordered. But I am beginning to think I might need a new upper tension assembly. Any thoughts?

Thank you both.... and we may be on to something now... the Chain that runs from the knee lever mechanism that raises the pressure foot had to be unhooked when we transported it. I may have that hooked improperly and not allowing the pressure foot to come all the way down... I will check that tonight when I get home. that could certainly cause my problem It never dawned on me until you both mentioned having the foot all the way down. Mia

I don't quite understand what you mean by " When you have the foot down on the work is there any tension on the top?" The machine sewed my material perfectly when I purchased it. We were very careful with it in transport (I thought) so nothing should have been jarred loose. The only thing that has changed is the thread, and my tinkering around with the upper tension. I do think I read a post somewhere here about the timing? And that getting a thread jammed in the bobbin can upset the timing?

Thank you Dirtclod... I will try another spool.. Although this is a brand new spool of thread.. and I don't have the original spool that was on it when it was demo'd for me.

Hello all I am new here, been reading the forum trying to solve my problem.... I recently purchased a 211G155 to sew purses and leather with. I am not new to sewing but this machine has me baffled. I too have this thread tension issue resulting in a rat's nest on the bottom of the material... I have checked and double checked my threading, there is a killer video on youtube about how to tread thru the tension disks. So I am pretty sure I have that correct. Wizcrafts wrote " A thread rat's nest under the material is usually caused by a total lack of top tension. However, the bobbin thread is usually picked up in those situations; it's just tighter on the bottom than the top my a magnitude." And this goes along with sewing machine common sense. What I cannot figure out is HOW or HOW TIGHT the tension should be.. There are no markings or adjustment indicators on the tension disks. It seems that there is quite a bit of tension on the thread, it is hard to pull so I know it is not an issue of no tension at all. The machine seemed to work perfectly when I bought it. It was set up and sewed a sample of my material just fine. All I have done is brought it home and wound new thread on a bobbin and threaded it with new #92 nylon thread and have a singer 130 needle properly installed. So I guess my question(s) would be, how tight is enough tension? How hard should it be to pull the thread thru the tension disks/spring? Do I just keep cranking the knurled nut down? Or does anyone have another opinion of what I am doing wrong? Thanks a bunch. Mia