Kwild

Bob, The "bar Spring" (thing that activates the thread tension release) was no longer available, so I made one out of some 16g stainless steel I had in my scrap bin. Apparently the original was 18g. It needs to flex, but not bend, because the bar travels too far for hard contact between the two parts. The main "Knee Lifter Lifting Lever" I made from scratch as well. I was supposed to be 3/16" thick by 3/4" wide bar stock, but I could only find 1/4" x 3/4", so I adapted the height of the stabilizer post to accommodate it. The only parts that I ended up ordering for it were the return spring and the pivot bolt. Together they were under $20 CAD. I ordered the little screw that holds the bar spring to the main lever too, but it turns out it was a completely obscure thread pitch, and I didn't have the right tap. I didn't use it at all and ended up drilling and tapping it for a M5 x 0.8 machine screw. That's the phillips-head one you can see in the picture. I too was frustrated by the lack of linkage between the manual lifting lever and the thread tension release. You can reach through and push it up with your finger, bit it's really small and you're doing it completely blind. In a previous lifetime I sewed on several industrial Juki, Cansew, and Pfaff machines making industrial rigging equipment and backpacks. All of these machines were equipped with knee lifters, so I got very used to that technique. I definitely like being able to keep both hands on the workpiece, and only lift the foot as high as necessary to make the turn or get the work under there. Whatever you're used to really. I can almost guarantee that if you did get used to it, you'd never go back! It would be interesting to see one of these machines set up with the foot lift lever linked to the pedal. I see that in the manual and parts diagram as a possible option, but I haven't quite wrapped my head around how it would work. Apparently that is the reason for the little through-hole in the back of the base casting. K

Hi Bob, I just replied to your other question in the thread I started about the knee-lifting arm for the 211 G 156. If you do end up removing the thread lube felt block and it's housing, keep them around. Those parts are no longer available. Someone might want them for a completely original machine. I was looking for those bits until I realized that the machine ran perfectly fine without them. The plate that they mounted to can get a sharp lower edge from the thread rubbing it, so you may need to polish it off. I assume this is the thread guide you're looking for for your machine?

The first of these pictures is the most revealing. It shows how the little "L" shaped arm reaches inside the machine and pushes up on the mechanism to lift the foot. (Poor terminology, sorry) What I didn't realize until I built it, was how it reached right inside to lift up the foot. I had thought that it pushed up on the same little knob that the hand-lever did when lifting the foot. The other two photos are rotated 90 degrees, but I'm trying to get you a bit of a view inside to where it makes contact. Let me know if this helps, or makes things more confusing Kris

The first picture shows an overview of the back of the machine. The second shows a close-up of the little bracket that activates the thread tension release. My pen is pointing to where they contact. Lifting up on that little lever on the back of your machine with your finger should spread the plates of the thread tensioner. I have to go back for more pictures. The files were too large of the other ones I got. Standby...

Hi Bob, another helpful member here (Skylark53) helped me out by making a very detailed drawing of the missing parts from a friend of his who owned the same machine. I suggest asking him if he'd share the drawing with you too. His drawing appeared a bit different than what was visible in the parts diagram for the machine, but it worked out with only a tiny bit of modification. I'll try to get you a few pictures of how the mechanisms interact. K

Update: I tested the machine on a 15 amp circuit that had nothing else on it, with a 50 foot 10 gage cord. (Only 5 feet of 14g wire from breaker panel to receptacle. I had no dimming of lights anywhere else and things fired up just fine. My conclusion is that there is not only too much on the other circuit, but also a really long run of 14g wire supplying that end of the house. when the house was renovated, the new electrical panel was moved further away and a large conduit installed feeding the old panel, which essentially became a large junction box. That way the walls didn't have to opened up and the wiring rerouted directly to the new panel. The result of all of that is that there is probably over 100 feet of 14g wire feeding all of the lights and receptacles in the two far rooms of the house. VOLTAGE DROP! I'm going to put in a 120v 20A dedicated circuit directly to where the machine is likely to live. That way I'll have plenty of capacity within the CB and the wire to handle the heavy jobs. Thanks for playing along! Kris

Thanks Eric! Interesting tidbit I had no idea about. I wonder if the previous owner ever figured out why the 110v receptacle they installed from the "light" leads on the motor couldn't power a desk lamp. I think I'll tuck away those leads inside the motor cover plate to avoid any future confusion. K

Great additional thoughts. I suspect that there is too much on the circuit supplying that end of the house. I believe the lights and recepticals in the bedrooms are on the same circuit. I think I may have wrapped my head around the wiring to and from the capacitor. I'm used to dealing with single phase motors that have a start capacitor mounted right on them. In that configuration I'm never seeing the connection between the power supply and the cap. With the cap far away from the motor, there must have to be an extra wire to feed the start windings from the cap. Once it's up to speed, the run windings take over, and the start cap is isolated from the system. At least I hope that's the invisible magic that's happening... I've traced the voltage from the wall to the motor and get a solid 120v the entire way Here's an unusual addition: beside where the leads connect to the motor, are two connections to feed a light. Presently they are connected to a standard receptacle mounted under the table. My lamp is not plugged in there. When I check the voltage across those two points I only get 7v. Wha?? I'm going to try running a heavy extension cord (10g) down to a dedicated receptacle in the garage and see what happens. I'll report back. Kris

Thanks for the heads-up. I guess I hadn't considered a dangerous possibility, since I wasn't even tripping the 15 amp breaker that I'm on. K

I have an electrical question that i could use some help with. I'm running a Singer 211g with a 1/2hp Singer motor, through a Singer switch. When I turn the machine on, I cause a brown-out in my house with the current draw! Strangely, once it's up to speed, it still causes the lights to dim every time I start sewing. I can't find any information online in regards to the singer part numbers on the starter box, or what I believe to be a capacitor inside that box. Here are the motor specs: Motor Singer K-432161 Voltage 105/115 HP 1/2 Phase 1 Rpm 3450 Amp 5 This seems like a very low amperage draw for this motor, But I am no motor expert. The starter switch is located in a singer box labelled 1/2hp, 250 VAC, 1phase, part no 198843. Inside the box is a square black thing that I believe is a capacitor. It is marked with part number 198841. Above that is written 12MF 330 VAC. On the bottom of this thing is written STE 61 335 17A The thing that seems odd to me is that although this is a single phase 115 V motor there are four wires coming off of the switch to the motor. It is wired with a regular 110 V plug and three wire cord to the switch. On the motor side of the switch there is a black and a white wire going to the motor. There is also a wire coming from the same terminal that the white is connected to, going to the capacitor. The other lead from the capacitor goes to the motor. I can understand the peak amperage draw required to get the heavy clutch spinning. Maybe I'd be better served with a dedicated 20 amp circuit for my machine. What confuses me most is the way it is wired, and the heavy draw every time I begin sewing. Any insights would be appreciated. Kris

Thanks to the generous assistance of another member here, I've fabricated the missing parts and have a fully functional lifting and tension release mechanism. Thanks for the suggestions and support. Kris

Will do. Thanks. I'll update if I actually manage to track one down. Kris

Great tip. I hadn't considered that repair shops might keep a boneyard of donor machines around for parts. I'll seek some of my more local ones first. Kris

Thanks for the link to those options. They look similar, but there are definitely some subtle differences. I'd hate to order one just to find out it didn't work. Maybe some more homework into the exchangeability of this part with other manufacturers in in order. Kris

Hello everyone, I'm newly signed up here, but have been admiring the work many of you produce for some time. I've been searching for a while for an affordable workhorse of a machine, and finally found an old Singer 211 G156 close to me that is in excellent working order (and was within my budget.) The previous owner of this machine removed the knee-lift lever arm from the back of the machine, and subsequently lost it and all of it's hardware. All of the screws are still available for this part, but unfortunately the arm (Singer Part # 508274 Knee Lifter Lifting Lever) and bracket that screws to it (Singer Part # 508270 Tension Release Actuating Spring) are not. I've ordered the small bits for it from a local industrial supplier, and I'm hoping that someone here who has this, or a similar machine would be kind enough to give me measurements of these parts so that I could fabricate them. They're relatively simple bits stamped and drilled from flat steel plate. These parts are interchangeable between several of the 211 sub-models such as the G155, G156, G255, G256, This is a picture I pulled from the internet of the back of a machine just like mine. The long pivoting lever across the back is what I'm hoping to find, or get the dimensions of. The small bracket attached to it at the central pivot screw is hard to see in the photo, but is the other part I'm looking for. If you click in the image, it will pop up full size. Thanks for any assistance or insight you're able to provide! Kris