Bugstruck

Sew classic site has free downloads for vintage singer home machines including lubrication including those gears. They are greased by packing the cups Koreric mentioned. If you remove the handwheel you will get a much better view of how all that works. The Sew Classic site advises using vaseline if you don't have the old style singer grease. Does seem strange that a composite gear needs grease but they do. You are limited to sewing only rather thin leather on that machine.and it gives it a workout. Not something I'd recommend doing with any regularity if you want the machine to last. HTH.

Guy selling responded that the embossing wheel on it is the only he has. I'm not chasing it due to effort and finding the wheels may be impossible. On the Washington DC Craigslist @ $199.00 if someone has a desire.

Okay, what your are all saying was my line of thought as I could not wrap my head around that being a sewing machine. I saw the embossed roller and wandered where that fit in. Makes sense now. They had one that looked just like it with a slightly different setup embossed wheel and shaft arrangement (best recall) listed as a sewing machine on Pinterest too, and that had me at Huh? Not sure if you can still get those embossing wheels/rolls to fit that shaft though, that company has been out of business for ages. I'll check into it a bit and post back up what I can find out. Bob or Gregg were who I was thinking might know something on this and they may come across this topic? Might warrant a call to them. I like some automation and I can think of one other use for this machine, now that everyone got me straight on what this actually is. Thanks for all the responses!

I saw this on Craigslist. They are describing it as an "iorn (iron maybe?) Bubrow & Hearne sewing machine. I may have seen plinkers by them somewhere. Looking at it I'm wondering how it would possibly sew and what. I can think of a few here who could know. We'll see.

Uwe, I know this topic is a bit dated but I wanted so say thanks. I knew I needed to do something with my 4500 as I did a quick adjust out of the box about a year ago to get it sewing reasonably right. Basically that was nothing more than advancing the timing more than it should be as it was lazy and catching the loop (more in reverse) and fraying thread. That temporary fix shouldn't have but it worked as well as it did but it was always noisier on the business end than I thought it should be (thread take-up mostly, like it was fighting the hook and shuttle to some extent) and I knew I needed to get back to it. Busy with other things. I was also using my Adler 067-373 (wish I'd seen your video on that before I overhauled mine) for some projects I'd have preferred to be on the 4500 with because I trusted it more. Watched your video (a few times or more) and dug in. Took the better part of the day (I'm not fast) and I stripped one of the small feed cam screws breaking it loose. You are right, those top end screws are tight. Don't use the allen set that comes with the machine. The ball end did that screw in (not enough surface bite). Anyhow, got that resolved for the moment (I'll need a new screw) as it's more of a temporary torx screw now. Anyhow and to my point, that video is awesome. I have zero reservation going to that machine now and it is as quiet as I imagine one of these workhorses can be. I knew it needed work but the change surprised me, absolute pleasure to operate now. My needlebar did the same left to right movement you had in the video and you were absolutely correct, that ex-centric adjustment is sensitive/testy. Didn't take long but it was (4) times before I had it right. One thing I noticed being relatively new to this machine that anyone experienced would know..... Leaving any tail of thread on the bobbing after clipping it off causes it to drag on the frame below and jumps tension about pretty hard as the bobbin rotates. Leave a little tag, watch the open end of the bobbin case and pull some thread, you'll see and feel what occurs. Less than peanuts compared Uwe's contribution but it may help someone. Used your degree wheel, nice. Brake on the motor was my eraser. My handwheel sets much farther from the machine end than yours. I don't know what you use to film (can we still call it that?) but the clarity is unusually high quality. Thanks again Uwe. My machine thanks you.

Thanks Amiigo. I checked that kangaroo out and that may work okay. I measured the thicker leather I'm using for the wallet and it is closer to 2.75 oz. So a little thicker than I thought. Hey Stormcrow. That's a little thinner as the leather I am working is 1.09 mm. I assume you are sourcing that on your side of the pond. I recently bought my first micrometer that measures in mm. Work in architectural millwork and we yanks convert from metric to imperial all day long.... on the calculator and not the converting type. Habit and necessity as the hardware is all metric and near everything else imperial. When I started the wallet I picked up my steel rule that has both. Decided to do my first all metric job ever. Much easier and you are working in 1/25th of an inch increments (near enough) so the accuracy is better than 16ths. Was nice keeping the accuracy tight and not converting for a change. No fractions or even a metric decimal point shift to contend with on a wallet. Liked that. Funny, it is easier for me to convert your mm to oz. than going opposite. Had to think about that reverse direction some seconds to invert that calc. Yeah, we were going to be all metric within a decade when I was in high school 40 odd years ago. I hate change but we yanks are plain crazy for holding onto imperial. Keeps our math sharp though. Endless. I'm diverging here so I'll tighten it up and thank you both for your help!

Forgot to second Wiz's comment on the check spring. Seating as the needle enters the fabric. Then tension.

As someone mentioned that can occur with ballistic nylon but that is largely fabric driven and duck does have some cavity to it bit I haven't experienced it with that other than very limited/rare. I'd say bobbin or bobbin tension to start and I would be inclined to tighten it up to start (if that doesn't bunch the fabric) and then go opposite if that doesn't help. If that didn't improve things then I'd eye the top thread action below the needle plate as possible. A top thread intermittently catching or hook timing on the edge of right can cause some variance with how that top thread snaps up on pull. I assume you aren't novice enough to put the bobbin in backwards like someone I am. Fought a stitch balance isse for half an hour one evening before I figured that one out??? Plain stupid. Work back towards the spool from there. I also assume you are having the problem across multiple fabrics. Punching holes one size over the recommended needle size is rarely but sometimes revealing too. Helped balance the stitch on that ballistic material.

When I got home, measured the thickness and determined the leather isn't as thin as I stated. Measures .020 to .022". So a little light of 1.5 oz. is what I am looking for.

I'm making a wallet now with some 2 - 2 1/2 oz. veg tan. Learning process but already, even with plenty of skiving this is going to have more bulk than I'd like. I'm not stacking and burnishing components (yeah I know) but folding the edges. Does anyone know what type of leather they use in the thin department store wallets? That is what I'm looking for but haven't located any material even close and I've looked for some time now. Even the exotics, calf, etc. don't seem nearly thin enough. I carry a designer leather wallet (well a poor man's version anyhow), store bought, and like it, so that's what I'm ultimately chasing to imitate on this project. My guess is that with fabric backer that wallet leather is coming in just over 1 oz. Less than 1 oz. without the backer. No need to skive if I can locate similar material and too thin for that anyhow. I know it's not the type of leather we usually work with here but in the off chance someone knows or has experience I'd appreciate it. Open to suggestions. I'm not likely the first to have tried or thought this and if I'm headed the wrong way, let me know. I did some searching here and didn't find the answer. Thanks for all the good work up here. Great resource. Chris

Sounds like a generic issue but the guru's here might want to know the machine and thread.weight. With near 200 posts I doubt I need to mention this but for a novice the eyelets on the thread stand need to be directly above the cone. I doubt you found a spool of reverse twist thread. Not sure this is a great approach but I'd make sure the check spring is set right and then I'd have thread in the left and right hand through the entire thread path and see what it feels like under my normal tension, pulling both ways. If that checked out okay I'd straight pull on the bobbin thread to make sure that pull is consistent. Backyard mechanics for sure but you could spot something there. From there forward it gets more involved and I'll let the talent speak.

Bob, Whoever you used for my shipment (I'm not recalling) had the 4500 to Frederick, Md. the next morning. They had it moving through the night to do that. They did have a small forklift punch in the box but never touched anything thanks to the foam. Your packaging is well thought out. I wish more people would give that the attention it needs and the shippers had more respect for their work. We'd have fewer damages in receiving (where I work). We receive a lot of products and many are long-lead, nothing messes a job up faster than a damaged delivery can. As an aside, my 4500 throws a nice tight straight stitch on the S type needle. Second to nothing for stitch quality that I sew with, Adler included.

If the feet are not lifting the same amount (almost certain they are not as I had the same issue with my 67) then what Uwe said is occuring. Here is what I did and I don't have a manual but it worked well. Put the actiator adjustment in the center of it's adjustment range. Then look at Uwe's photo. See the two screws on the shaft just above the actuator? Leave them alone and move to the two screws at the opposite end of that shaft. That is where you ultimately make the adjustment. First though, drop the presser foot and turn the handwheel until the center foot is at the bottom of the stroke and hard against the feed dog. Then turn the hand wheel until the center foot is at the top of the stroke and make note of the he maximum rise distance of the center foot. Now you are ready to adjust. Move the center foot back to the bottom of the stroke and leave the handwheel position alone (parked] for ths entire process. Loosen the two screws I noted at the opposite end of that shaft above and don't panic when the center foot dances off the feed dog and that linkage comes free and moves. Now put pressure on the (now free) linkage arm to move the center (inner) foot tight against the feed dog. At the the same time have the sloted screwdriver close and raise the outer walking foot/ presser foot up using the presser lift lever........to a distance above the needle or dog plate that equals the center (inner) foot lift height you noted earlier. What you are doing is holding the inner foot tight against the feed dog via the loose linkage arm and raising the outer foot above the lowest position a distance equal (you can eyeball this adjustment) to the inner foot rise. You will figure out how to do noth with one hand to free the other hand to tighten those shaft clamp screws. Now you can check it to see if the inner and outer feet are raising an equal distance. Took me a couple of trys. Then try that jeans loop decent. Problem should be solved.