Quade

Is there a good way to measure top tension to get some idea where you are compared to a "standard"? When they made these machines, did they have some max top tension in mind? Some number we can note and compare to the tension we have set? I guess what I mean is how can we know when we have too much top tension and it's then time to mess with needle sizes and/or lube?

Did you notice whether his presser foot was all the way down when he lowered the foot? On my Singer, the lower position of the rear foot height is controlled by a clamp that clamps over the lifer shaft. The clamp is what the manual lifter engages to lift the feet. I could imagine loosening the clamp, pulling the shaft up and clamping on a lower position so the foot never rested on the lower section of the machine but dangled in the air. Then when you lifted it would lifter higher because it started higher. Since you're pressing on something thick, it would still press on it but it would simply start in a higher position. Would probably have to adjust the inner foot and needle bar position too. I've never actually done this. I was just imagining how my 211 linkage works.

I dread running out of bobbin thread. It always happens 1/2 way through a seam. if I had a choice, I'd get the large bobbin. Still that just puts off the problem.

Knee lift always seems to be higher than manual lift. My manual lift is something like 3/8" whereas my knee lift height is more than 1/2" (13mm). My machine came with a little solenoid that would bump the lift when you encountered a thicker part. It connected to the lift arm that sticks out the back of the machine to give an temporary additional lift. There are mechanical limits to lift which seem to be different from machine to machine. I doubt mine will go any higher than 13mm by the knee lifter.

If you set your stitch length to the minimum does it still bounce? What servo are you using? My servo had a built in brake that made it near impossible to manual turn the cranks unless I was pressing on the pedal some. I removed the brake. I have my machine speed reduced so even the fastest speed isn't that fast. If you take the belt off, can you feel it binding when you manually cycle it? If yes, I might experiment by maybe disconnecting the upper from the lower section of the machine and see if the upper still binds.

Seiko STH-8B Maybe? It looks very similar. I prefer it to my singer. Uses gears instead of a belt drive.

Looks good. If I could I'd replace every screw in my machine with a decent metric screw.

My Juki had the bouncing stitch length problem. It turned out the feed dogs were contacting the top plate on one end of the travel and that was enough to make it bounce the lever. I was able to tell by taking the screws out on the plate over the feed dogs then manually advancing the machine. At part of the cycle I could see the plate being pushed up. That's where the dogs contacted the plate. Adjusting the feed dog position and re-centering it made this problem go away. On my Juki, it wouldn't bounce on short stitch lengths but would bounce more, the longer the stitch length. That's because with short stitch lengths, the feed dog travel was also short so it didn't contact the top plate.

It you take the front cover off and look at the shafts for the needle bar and the center presser foot, you can see they both feed through a cast iron arm. The arm pivots at the top. The point is that you can't adjust the relative position of these two shafts. They're fixed in relation to each other. So, Kgg's method of loosening the foot and re-positioning it is probably your only way to tweek the position. I'd probably want to verify the needle isn't bent. You might want to pull the cover off and then try to determine how much slop there is in the center presser foot shaft. The 211 I have apart now is pretty worn but the inner presser foot still doesn't have any slop as it passes through the arm. I was wondering if the whole cast iron arm that holds both the presser and the needle bar might have slop in it? There's a pin the arm pivots on at the top of the arm which goes into the machine body. It's held in place by a set screw. Might want to make sure it's not loose and that the whole pivoting arm doesn't have much play.

Dooh! Thanks. Too many cowboys....

800 watts = 110V * Amps Amps = about 7 amps. https://www.tolindsewmach.com/motors.html I believe this is his site. I can't find the motor he showed us in this ad.

Is there enough sticking out to put a sleeve or socket over it and unbend? On my Singer, the needle bar runs inside a sleeve and the sleeve is held in place with a set-screw. If yours was the same, I might remove the set screw and tap the needle bar out sleeve and all. I'm thinking you're going to have to replace the bar so nipping it in two to get it out is probably not a bad idea.

745.8 & 1/3hp = 250 watts (or so). I use a 3/8" rubber belt on my Juki. It's a cogged car belt. I believe the cogs just make it more flexible, there are no teeth that engage them. I'd say 550 watts on up would work fine. 550 is the smallest servo watts I remember seeing. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079P8RQRQ/ I have this one and don't particularly like it. There's a large dead space on the pedal before it actually starts moving the machine. It's also hard to control it stitch by stitch. I have the small pulley on it so, it's relatively slow. Knowing what I know know, I''d probably pick one of the DC servos. https://www.amazon.com/Consew-CSM3000-Sewing-Machine-Electric/dp/B01N1L1P7G/ Maybe this one.

http://hensewfiles.com/PDFs/SINGER 44-10.pdf Found a parts list. I guess they didn't do parts blow-ups back then.

Roll pins are spring loaded. Tapered pins are keyed so they and the shaft can only go together one way. I've never seen a tapered pin in a sewing machine though. The problem with a bolt might be that you get some slop on the joint. My singer 211 uses a roll pin to hold the lever for the walking foot movement to the shaft.

Which oil to you use? I was thinking sewing machine oil is designed to be easily washed out. I always accumulate a little on my needle between sewing session. The pump pumps it up into the front of the machine.

It's cute. You mean something like a roll pin or is it a tapered pin?

Many of these machines are just clones of other machines. For example my Singer 211 shares components with a Consew and Juki model. Once you dig in you'll probably be able to find manuals for a near copy.

I was able to watch the video so it seems like you got it right.

Not yet. I was just curious so I looked up the parts diagram. I looked on YT for how people removed their projects and that part seemed to be missing from the video's I watched.

I looked at the parts diagram and it looks like the primary and secondary tensioners are simply bolted to the frame with no kind mechanism that presses them open, when you lift the foot like you'd find in other machines.

I agree it's a bit risky. Someone more skilled than me on a lathe could cut you a bolt with this thread pitch. Choices seem to be: 1 - Find the bolt 2 - Make the bolt 3 - Rig something up (tap or timesert). Or else not use this machine.

I have the stitch length button out on my Singer. It's just a button with a spring and a C clip to hold it in place. When you press it down, it engages with a disk on the shaft. It holds the disk in place. When you turn the hand wheel, the shaft turns, this changes the "gear ratio" by lengthening and shortening the stroke of an arm. I'd flip her over, then look at the center shaft which is either belt driven or gear driven. Press the button down, turn the hand wheel forward and see if the center shaft turns. You should see the eccentric mechanism and arm and you should see the disk which has a cut-out the button is supposed to engage. I'd see if the button seems aligned with the cut-out. You can hold the disk in place with a screwdriver or pliers and try turning the hand wheel to make sure it actually adjusts and isn't stuck. You can see it on page 3 of the parts manual posted above.

Thanks for the feedback.

I have a singer 211 here. I've had to cut come bolts loose for things like the need position adjustment. I plan on re-tapping so I can use an Allen head or torx. I figure if I have enough meat, I can re-tap to something more common. I ran into this with a 120 year old lathe. I converted it the metric where I could.