cynthiab

shoepatcher Thank you I'm seeing that it is the case

Thank you Wizcraft, That's pretty interesting. The worst trouble Ive had was with my 138 white thread. It almost gritty feeling when unwinding from the base, and on all my cones, regardless of thread type, it is much harder to pull thread when its at the bottom of the cone. Is that a standard thing? I buy all my threads from The Thread Exchange. Do you have another place to suggest?

Thank you all for your very astute suggestions... From needle selection to tension suggestions, all are very valid and I looked into all of them. However, last night I removed the cover plate to watch the bobbin threads in action. What I saw was the thread was getting hung up on the little tab on the bobbin case that goes under the feedog plate. Which got me to thinking about this ole machine. When I bought this machine a few years ago I was told it was a 115.... I'm pretty sure is not. I'm not 100 percent sure what machine this is. The stitch length selector starts at 5 . So, maybe it is a 153 or 154? So do I have no business trying to run a T208 through this machine? This leads me to my next question for you wonderful people is... How do I find out what machine I have? The serial numbers have been removed. I have heard that you can tell by the height of the foot lift. But, if I'm measuring foot lift... Is that measuring done when the presser foot is lifted to move the fabric (lower lift position) or when it is at the high lift position (to disengage the tension disk)? Or is it the height the walking foot lifts while working? LAST question, I promise. I use 16oz and 8oz size cones of 92 and 138 thread and I have noticed that the thread spools out with VERY uneven tension from my cones. I have a net on the cones and when the thread is coming from the bottom of the cone it is VERY hard to pull off. I have experimented with sliding the net all the way down until there is only 1/2 inch of net just at the very bottom. That didn't help. Ive tried to raise or lower my cones to see if that would help, nope. So is there some magical position I should have my cones set at to get a smoother and even pull off? Or are there special cone nets that are better than others?

Hi guys, I don't know if I'm posting in the right place, but here goes. I have a singer 111w155 I'm using T208 thread with a #23 leather needle on 1/8 thick chrome tanned leather and thick poly webbing (about 1/8th thick) sewing them together. If I stitch at a faster speed I get little if any looping underneath. I would prefer no looping of course... Here is the real problem, if I slow down or stop or just stitch slower I get big loops underneath. Also if I turn a sharp corner, you guessed it, I get a loop. To fix this I have replaced the tension group. That helped a little bit, my old tension was pretty beat... but I still have the looping just not AS bad. I have fiddled with the tension spring, that didn't cure it. I tried different sized needles, nope, didn't work. I have re-threaded the machine, nope, didn't work. In the photo you can see where I slowed down, loops, and where I sewed faster, no loops. I know someone posted about this a while back but I cant find that post. So... Any ideas on how to get this machine to stop making big loop underneath? Thank you for your time.

Hi guys, I don't know if I'm posting in the right place, but here goes. I have a singer 111w155 I'm using T208 thread with a #23 leather needle on 1/8 thick chrome tanned leather and thick poly webbing (about 1/8th thick) sewing them together. If I stitch at a faster speed I get little if any looping underneath. I would prefer no looping of course... Here is the real problem, if I slow down or stop or just stitch slower I get big loops underneath. Also if I turn a sharp corner, you guessed it, I get a loop. To fix this I have replaced the tension group. That helped a little bit, my old tension was pretty beat... but I still have the looping just not AS bad. I have fiddled with the tension spring, that didn't cure it. I tried different sized needles, nope, didn't work. I have re-threaded the machine, nope, didn't work. In the photo you can see where I slowed down, loops, and where I sewed faster, no loops. I know someone posted about this a while back but I cant find that post. So... Any ideas on how to get this machine to stop making big loop underneath? Thank you for your time.

If your LZ1 is a Chinese clone of the sailrite LZ1, the working parts/castings are very weak. I have hade to replace a ton of parts in mine ( with sailrite parts) so that when I tighten a screw it dosent strip out ( I'm not that strong) or when I sew through tough stuff the mechanics don't snap. Just my experience...

Nice machine, I'm jealous, lol. You might start your search for information in this group. They are a very active group, at least they were when I was digging around a few years ago. https://necchisewingmachineclub.groups.io/g/main

Hi guys, I have 5 boxes of 100 - NOS vintage Singer round point (standard) size 20 needles made in Germany. This is more than I could ever use, so... Im asking $20 for 1 box of 100 needles plus shipping. Let me know if you are interested.

Look at this add on Ebay. Good price even with the shipping -- SCHMETZ:328D/TRI triangular point 135x16/DPx16D,Nm:200/25 Sewing machine Needles or look at this one 135x16TRI Industrial Sewing Machine Needles-Sz16,18,19,20,21,22,24,25-Box of 100 here is another SCHMETZ:328D/TRI triangular point 135x16/DPx16D,Nm:200/25 Sewing machine Needles Just copy and past the above titles into ebay and search

Looks great! Plus its nice that you made a straight edge guide to switch out when needed. Good job! Can you give a close up shot with the guide down so we can see the feed dogs?

I'm interested in this too. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I'm all ears! I have also noticed the screw hole is pretty big. Edit: I just found this - I think it will help some... I htin

MtBiker, Thank you for your advice. This little clone is just like the Sailrite LSZ1. But as expected it is made with poor quality pot metal, even the working parts. I have replaced a ton of the parts with Sailrite parts and she sews nicely, except for the reverse being small. I might just have to live with that. I have owed a proper Sailrite brand LSZ1 and there is SUCH a difference in the quality of the machine. I would advise all to --- avoid these clones. They are frustrating money pits. The only reason I have this is I bought it for $20 at a yard sale...(thinking, wow what a deal!) I have pumped hundreds of hours fixing the darn thing (over and over) and MANY hundreds of dollars in replacing parts. She at this point is a keeper.

kgg, Thank you for the links for the Sailrite Fabricator, unfortunately, unless I'm missing something, my machine the LZ1, and the Fabricators mechanics are different. Bummer. I wish I could use that resource. I will fiddle around with the other link you sent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z93bfzwAHP4 and get back to you. In the mean time ... Does anyone else have this problem? How did you fix it?

kgg Great, keep us informed!

Hi guys, I hope you can help. I have a Sailrite LZ1 clone that I picked up in a yard sale for $20 US. Couldn't resist. Its green and looks like the old Thompson machines. It however has all the bells and whistles of the LZ1. The problem I'm having is that the REVERSE stitch (at its greatest length) is about half the length of the forward stitch. Has anyone come across this? Is there a way to remedy this?