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Good afternoon, Brand new to me Singer 211G165 I've acquired as a very dirty barn find. This is my second machine, but first industrial. I previously refurbed an old Singer 403A and it is performing flawlessly. I'm a newbie overall - worked on a few creations on the 403A - and I'm interested to begin crafting heavier items including canvas, leather, and vinyl. This forum has been invaluable already and a prime source for great info on these older industrial machines. I already have several manuals and the parts list downloaded and have begun study. My first step is some heavy cleaning which is in process, followed by a thorough lube and setup audit. I've yet to try to sew. Any input on best steps forward is welcome! I have a few questions already that could help me quickly finding parts and information: 1) the 111W155 seems to be the grandfather of many of these machines and I see references to cloned models by other makers. Are there any direct clone brothers to my own Singer 211G165 from Juki, Brother, TecSew or others that I can freely interchange parts from? Which of their models? I do see there are G, U, and A versions of my 211 and I have their materials. 2) I've already noticed that the presser lever in the rear is gone. It has a pedal lift but I would really like to reset it to stock and have something that can lock it in the raised position (the pedal doesn't lock when raised). I've done a ton of online parts searching for presser lift lever part #508309. I can't find it anywhere. Can anyone help with best sites or where to try to find one? If not could the sister machine's levers work on mine? 3) I have a lot of screws that are chewed up and a couple are missing (e.x faceplate only has 1 screw intact). Are these pretty generic or do you need to find every nut, screw, and set screw by their specific location and part #? Again I'm worried about sourcing these. 4) Adjusting the stitch length per the manual works OK but doesn't appear to be changing the motion range of the feed dogs or needle.... will need to look at this one for sure. Something locked up maybe? Thanks for sharing your experience as I get underway! Bruce

Hi All! So I'm relatively new to my Singer 211G165 and honestly purchased it with only a little research on what I needed (walking foot) , but luckily so far it's been "OK" for me. I use it to sew chromium leather handbags. (sometimes up to 3 or 4 layers thick) Sometimes it works well, other times it does not, and I'd love everyones feedback on the best needles, thread, etc to use. Lately I've been having problems with stitches skipping, bobbin thread breaking, or getting tangled in the bobbin case. While trying to investigate, it appears that the little square tab that sticks off of the side of the bobbin case is not where it should be? I am wondering if that little tab is supposed to be underneath the needle plate? It looks like it was at one point because the needle plate is worn down... I will post a picture this evening! Also my hand wheel is very hard to turn... is that normal? In some videos i've seen, it looks very easy to them.. I also just realized that the "Swing away guide" thing exists and I am SUPER excited to get one of those! I have tons of questions, but that will work for now. I really appreciate everyones responses! best, erin