kiddcaprix

I will back up what CowboyBob says and check the hole of the feed dog. Mine was a combination of the feed dog hole being a bit too small for the thread and needle I was pushing through it (#138 bonded polyester). Luckily my machine came with a few sizes and so I changed out to a bigger hole on the feed dog. Also, I noticed that my hook wasn't as close to the needle as it should have been and actually pierced the thread as it tried to hook it. That was causing breaks and also binding on my hook. Re-timed the needle and hook and changed the feed dog and have been running good since (Thanks to Uwe's videos for timing, huge help). -Adam

Thank you all for the info. This is awesome that all of this knowledge is finger tips away. Really truly appreciate it. I am going to see what I can do with what I have right now. I think I am going to machine the surface of the fork to accept a shim of sorts. The cam is galled, but I mic'd it and it seems to be consistent diametrically along the width so I shouldn't have to replace that. Might just try and clean the galling up with some emery cloth. Eric, great idea on the TriFlow. I will defiantly be trying that out. Might throw a piece of felt back in to help hold some of that grease. Cant hurt. If I fubar it too much, I can grab a replacement. But why not try and fix it first. Here is a better shot of the cam itself. I have a cast on my left thumb until Monday, so the machining fix will have to wait a few days. Again, thank you everyone for the input and advise. Eric, do you use the TriFlow on the gears as well? Seems like a good candidate for that. Thanks. Kind Regards, Adam

Uwe, fantastic. Thank you for that. I haved watched your videos and they have helped me tremendously to get my 111w155 back in sewing conditions. I uploaded a video of my cam slop (I know, I did it in portrait and not landscape but it gets the point across). My felt is non-existent and has some decent wear. I didn't gauge it before i took it off, but that sound of it "slapping" in the video is what I am hearing. Looks like it has run dry for quite a while. I have been oiling since I got it earlier this spring. Attached are the pics of the cam fork. I might try to shim it or see if I can just flip it and use the bottom side that dosent have much wear. Again, thanks for the video. Kinda cool that I maybe sparked a Uwe video. Ha. Regards, Adam

I have been oiling that fork since I got the machine and never noticed the movement I have in the tolerance until the other night. I will see if that felt is there tonight. It looks to be a big undertaking to get to the cam. I can get the fork off reasonably easy but may have to pull the entire shaft out to get to the cam. Henderson sewing claims to have the fork and cam on there website. So that is a good thing. It's also about $75 worth of parts. Or, like I mentioned earlier, I can maybe make a sleeve to go over the cam with an interference fit and machine to a decent tolerance after (I have a machine shop in my barn!). Still have to get the cam out though. Thanks. -Adam

Thanks Floyd. I know in the service manuals I have riffled through, that screw is to adjust the exposed tooth height above the throat plate. I keep leaning towards the fact that I might have lost the felt oiler (223655 shown below) somehow. I will have to check tonight. Don't know how bad the cam fork or cam would wear over time. I guess maybe pulling some heavy fabrics through over time would wear that especially if the oil wasn't staying in place with the felt. It just started making the "slapping" sound. I assume I would have heard that for a while if that oiler was gone. Thanks for the comments. Regards, Adam

Good call Uwe. This is not my machine, just an image of a 111w online I found quick (best one I can find since I'm not at home). I have added the arrows to show the parts I am talking about. Hope that helps. The lifting cam fork rocks on the lifting cam by quite a bit. Regards, Adam

Thanks CowboyBob, I wasn't aware of a gib in that area for any adjustment. I will look at it more tonight. Looking at the parts manual, there is a felt oiling pad that goes on the cam fork that I don't recall seeing on mine. That might be causing the tolerance issues for sure if that thing is MIA. Appreciate the responses. Great knowledge here. Regards, Adam

Thanks Floyd, what I assumed was A LOT of slop seems to be the case. A decently tight tolerance is what I figured it should be with respect to oiling tols. Not knowing the history at all of this old girl, it seems that I might need to tighten that tolerance up. I am wondering if I can "sleeve" the eccentric if it is just an offset diameter with something like an oilite bushing and then machine to correct tolerance. This Singer does not see any production type work, so that "fix" might be good enough until I can procure some replacement components. Thanks, Adam

Hello all, Can anyone tell me what kind of clearance should there be between the feed lifting cam fork and the feed lifting cam? I have noticed a new sound coming from the feed mechanism area and noticed that my cam fork is pretty loose on the cam. I think as the machine cycles through a stitch, I am hearing the fork "slap" the cam for lack of better words. I have no reference to the correct clearance between the two components. I may be able to get a video tonight of the "slop" that I have. I would probably say that I can rock the cam fork about +/- .030" (.015" per side) about the cam. To me this is way too much and probably causing the noise. The machine seems to be stitching fine still. If anyone can tell me how tight their cam and lifting fork is to each other, I can determine how I want to proceed with fixing it. Appreciate any experience, info or links to discussions about this (I have searched for anything on this and can't find much). Thanks. Regards, Adam

Well, I got the Singer all together with the Rotan on it. Gotta say this thing is a joy to sew on now. The ability to do a single stitch with a button push is awesome. With a tap on the pedal, it buries the needle and allows me to get situated. From that point I can do about a stitch a second up to 3000 spm (wont ever run it that fast, no need). I have it programmed to bury the needle after I let off the foot pedal which is really nice with the knee lift (with a press of the button under the F1 key pictured above I can have that lift out at the end of the stitch on the fly). Makes directional changes super fast and easy. With a heal tap, it will lift the needle out and I can pull the work piece away with a quick knee lift. I am super happy with the out come. Thanks for the comments. -Adam

Sandy, here are some pics of the Quick Rotan you asked for. And anyone else interesred for that matter. I ended up swaping it onto the Singer 111w. It made sense to move to that one because of the things it can do. And I am a sucker for incorporating newer(ish) technology to old equipment such as this. In doing so, i noticed the tension release plate on the presser foot (the one that pushes on the pin that releases the thread tension) looked to be broke or really worn down. So in taking that off, I also came to the realization that the presser foot bar was bent pretty bad. I had to straighten it the best I could just to get it out. Well, now the machine is in pieces and waiting for replacement parts. If anyone is interested, I can show some pics or maybe a video when its all working. Regards, Adam

Awesome info all, to be honest the serger (overlocker) is only going to be used for making clothing like dresses for the wife and tshirts/clothes for my toddlers and some workwear. I picked up a cheap Janome and decided to make a dress for the wife with it. It came out well and decided to bid on the Brother thinking I wouldn't get it for cheap. To my surprise I did. So I will sell the Janome desktop and keep the Brother. Too nice of a machine to not keep. I played with the Quick Rotan tonight on the Imperial and got a better grasp on it. I really like the control and ability to put in stitch lenghts and it will run the stitch then stop until I cycle the treadle. Also, i can slow the stitch way down which will be a big help on the sheaths. The other thing I set up was a button to advance one stitch at a time. That really is a nice feature. I like the ability to run say 3-4 stitches, raise the needle (at some point control the presser foot to lift), all automatically so I can run a lock stitch on the 111w155 without reverse. All I have to do to make the swap is machine a collar that will fit the tone wheel to the hand wheel. Will do that tomorrow at lunch. I will put the clutch motor on the serger (overlocker) and probably keep the Imperial and build that up with the missing parts and servo motor at some point. If this Rotan didn't have all the features that seem to be beneficial for future use (compared to a "standard" servo) I would leave it on the zigzag but I see more use out of the 111w155. Appreciate all the insight. So much experience and knowledge floating about, this is why Al Gore invented the internet! JK. FYI, the quick rotan in question is the Q40SE plus. The motor is QE5542 at 550w (~ 3/4 hp I believe). I will grab some pics. Also, I found the manual (parts 2 and 3 can't find 1) and have them as a pdf if anyone needs them. Any clue on the 111w155 backlash issue I stated above? I'll probably start another topic for that. Regards, Adam

Thanks Uwe for the reply. The Imperial is incomplete (no bobbin or carrier) and the serger didnt come with a motor that was the primary reason for the motor swaps. Forgot to mention all that first. I was going to put the Rotan on the singer 111w and then put the clutch motor that came off of that onto the serger. My wife already thinks I have too much into a "new" hobby so to buy another servo motor is not really in the mix now. I would like to leave well enough alone but would have to put more money into the imperial to get it sewing. I may try and sell the zigzag to recoup some initial investment. Regardless the direction chosen, i at least have some options. I may start another topic, but anybody have any info on how much backlash is acceptable in the spiral bevel gear that drives the hook on the 111w155. I dont see anywhere where I can tighten the backlash up and it seems quite a bit. It may be in an acceptable range, but I don't have experience on these machines so am not sure. I may be able to get a video of the backlash. In timing the hook, it seems that the backlash has a huge impact on the timing. Maybe the gears are wore out. I need to lube that gear set and maybe that will help a bit. What lube to people suggest? A heavy weight gear lube I presume?!. Appreciate any insight. And please let me know if I should start a new thread about the backlash. Thanks in advance. Regards, Adam

Hello all, just wanted to say hello and see what suggestions people have on some thoughts of mine. I just got into sewing and purchased a 111w155 in good shape for $250. Has a good clutch motor on it. I will be using this machine for knife sheaths and some upholstery work. However, I got lucky at an auction and got an Imperial zigzag (not much info online but its identical to the singer 143 models) with a Quick Rotan setup for $70. Also got a Brother MA4-V61-98-5 serger for $25. I think I got a pretty good deal. Anyway, im thinking of switching the quick rotan setup to the singer 111w. Primarily for slower control and the needle up and down options that the rotan controls offer. Do you guys think this will do well on the 111w? It took me 3 days of scouring the web but managed to find pdf manuals for the quick rotan setup. Not sure what the pulley ratio would be but I can machine a correct pulley if needed. Appreciate any thoughts. Didn't find any topics with anyone doing this on an old singer 111w. Thanks, Adam