wombat57

The arrows line up when the thread lifter is at tdc, just as info. wombat

Pictures, hopefully:

Hello all, I've already been helped a bit (thanks! ) in another thread, and have done a TON of reading in the past week, but naturally still have many questions. First - the spooky action at a distance. I am a retired Mech Engr and have been wanting to be able to sew thick material, esp leather for a while, and have been channel surfing looking for (obsessing on) machines. I've found several on FB Mktplace, and Craigslist, but none complete enough, close enough for a quick look, and cheap enough to warrant a possibly unrewarding trip. Last Saturday I pull into the local recycling center w my trash (close enough at 1.5 miles) and notice a guy with a really nice '88 Ford Ranger like I used to have. I mean really nice, with 234k miles! I compliment him, and we start talking, and he says he only had to replace one significant item which was patching a panel in the driver's seat. It looks perfect, so I ask him who did it, and he says his father who just died at 97 years old had an upholstery business - naturally I ask if they have any old machines left, and he says yep an old Singer 111. So $75.00 later, I own a Singer 111w155. His dad bought it new in 1957. Complete, close, and cheap! And spooky how sometimes things happen. After about a gallon of mineral spirits thru spray bottle and gun scrub brushes, it is getting fairly clean. Servo drive. leather needles and thread supposed to be here from Bob Kovar today. I've read thru the 11 odd pages of an excellent old post mostly fed by "gottaknow" from about 10 years ago, and several others, and learned a lot, but still have questions. In that post "gottaknow" said he was going to consolidate his knowledge into one place - does anyone know if he ever did? 1) tried to get pics and somehow had to start over, and now says I'm exceeding size limit so I'll just sent these questions, and try pictures in second post. Several places that I was going to clean of "fuzzles" and dust, are I think felt oil pads correct? 2) timing looks good by arrows, with newer belt. 3) the bobbin case drive gear set screw has a slot on the shaft - what is the slot for? Isn't it supposed to be locked down with centerline axis aligned with drive shaft? The screw holding the gear axially on the shaft on this machine was loose, so the gear could slide back and forth, varying timing and adding a ton of slop between needle and bobbin. 4) it came with a Hiroce bobbin case in a box - the case has been used - how do I inspect it to determine if it is just a good used spare, or if there is something wrong with it? 5) I couldn't wait so after figuring out how to thread it, I tried rolling it thru two layers of denim (Levis) - but the drive flywheel slips on the drive shaft with relatively low torque - I checked by looking from below while rolling by hand, and the wheel obviously slips on the main shaft, without disengaging the overload clutch. Approximately how much torque should the drive wheel be able to transmit before the overload clutch jumps out? Is this just a matter of tightening set screws on the wheel? 6) the needle hole in the lower dog is a bit beat up - do I need to replace it? Thanks very much for any help. I'm very happy with the condition of the machine otherwise, and think like has been related in many places, it will outlive me. Wombat

New toy! This pic after first cleaning. Going to do second cleaning now. It has a newer belt, no visibly broken parts and at first hand rollovers seems relatively tight. Any recommendations on near original hammered finish paint ( other than Home Depot rattle can?). Ordering gear motor drive.

Thanks again Uwe - ironically, at the local recycle center this morning after my first post, I met a guy with a really clean '88 Ford Ranger like I used to have - we started talking about it and he showed me the only work it has required in 35 years - a panel replacement on the front seat - which he did using in his words "an old sewing machine my father had." I asked him what kind it was and what were his plans - Singer 111w155, and I'm going to pick it up now. $75.00 :-) I'm sure I'll be back with more questions! And thanks again! Wombat

and yes, in the US - missed that. thanks wombat

Thanks Uwe, btw are you originally from der Vaterland? My wife is German - Siegen area. We lived over there 8 years - Stuttgart, Braunschweig, and Baden-Baden areas. What a great experience. And thanks for help. Regards, Chip

Hi folks - brand new here and planning in my retirement to get into leatherworking, mostly upholstery. I have a possible line on a United walking foot, possibly triple feed, with a tag WE 8410084. Do any of you machine guru's have any info on this? It is just another Singer111/Juki clone, or something else. Any info appreciated. Thx Wombat