sewingfarmer

Ended up locating a plate through Pennsew along with the two screws. Easy and fast shipping. about $20 in total, but worth it from an aesthetic standpoint alone. The previous owner had somehow sheared off both screws so i had to do an extraction. First one came out like a dream after some penetrating oil and an extractor bit. Bottom one wasn't so easy. Sheared off the extractor bit in the hole. I should have been more patient and waited for the oil to work. Oh well; live and learn. Unfortunately since it was hardened steel i wasn't able to drill it out. Ended up having to grind the lower screw short and epoxy it in place. Not ideal, but looks fine and i don't foresee having to ever remove that plate.

Lower the presser foot when sewing, but: It seems like every time I have this problem it comes from threading the machine with the needle presser foot accidentally DOWN. Easier to do with a knee lift because your tendency is to "store" the machine with the presser bar down rather than up. If the presser bar isn't up when you thread the machine, then the tension discs aren't open enough for the thread to slip between them.

That's a great idea @dikman! And you are right that the lines are pretty much arbitrary. I was thinking to include the lines so then I can reference stitch lengths quickly for different projects. If i make my own I can probably dial them in for more exact SPI.

Hello All! What an awesome forum. So excited to have discovered it and hopefully i can contribute to the knowledge as well as reap some of the amazing knowledge on here. I have a Consew 206rb1 that is missing its stitch length indicator plate. I was going to try and make one up or 3d print one at the local library but I need some dimensions of the notches. Could someone with a machine please photograph their indicator plate with a Metric ruler next to it so i can determine the location of the notches? Or if you have one off of a machine you could photocopy the plate with a ruler for scale. I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you. #24 in the image is the part i am talking about

I know this is an old thread, but for those who discover it after trying to solve their own tensioner release issue on their 206rb(like myself), I wanted to post what i have found out and maybe help someone along the way. I purchased a 206rb-1 and shortly thereafter realized the tension release wasn't working. Pretty obvious because when you raise the presser foot and try and remove your work you usually shred you thread or spend extra time trying to pull thread through the tension discs and release your work. You can still sew just fine, but it is a complete pain to actually get any work done. I watched the majority of these amazing consew 206rb maintenance videos (Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ACNMX65zE Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ROVK2bKObU) and it part 2 at 26:59 I discovered what I think is a major issue for many people with this problem. In the thread tensioner assembly there is a tiny piece called the tension release plunger-25 (10793) that is easily misplaced. Many people complain that the tension release lever rod-11(10720) doesn’t seem to be long enough(and this is possible) but it is likely due to this little plunger not being inside the tension stud-22(10789). You can get a replacement from south star supply (http://southstarsupply.com/product/26-tension-release-plunger-10686-10793/) Another thing that could be interfering with the tension release is that tension release lever-13(10678) could be bent and not transferring the action of the rod to the discs. You can either get a replacement, or try bending it back into shape to confirm this is the problem before ordering another. Both of these are super easy to remedy, but in my case the tension release slide-11(10546) was broken(see photo) and needed to be replaced. This actually isn’t too difficult if you are mechanically inclined and enjoy a project. Also gave me a great opportunity to clean up lots of grime in my machine. I also discovered that the plunger was indeed missing from my tension assembly so I am happy I checked! Anyways, I hope this helps someone in the future! Link for parts diagrams I am referencing in my post http://www.supsew.com/download/Consew/Consew%20204RB-1,%20206RB-1,%20208RB-1.pdf