First industrial machine Singer 211G256

[Narf]

Hi all,

 

I mainly do small leather goods like wallets but mainly upholstery. I have been killing my old Bernina domestic machine and have wanted an industrial machine for a while to take on bigger upholstery projects and this one came up locally for £50 and I couldn’t pass it up.

I have used many domestic machines old and new, I have replaced a few cams and adjusted timing on older domestics but never an industrial let alone a walking foot so I know I have a large learning curve ahead of me and I’m pretty clueless but have downloaded the manual and parts list to get reading but I am hoping that you will lend me a hand in getting going. I have been lurking the forums for a long time so I know you guys know your stuff.

 

the machine is a singer 211G256 and is fully free. It currently has no oil so I only checked it wasn’t,T seized and went no further. Unfortunately I managed to snap off the take up lever when collecting it but can see I can get a replacement. I am able to weld and braze but I’m glad it will be easy to just replace. The oil pan seems to be missing the bolt to close it up also and the hinges are also missing but other than that it seems good. I had a quick look to see the size of bobbin but couldn’t work out right away how to remove the Bobbin, I pulled up the lever but it didn’t want to pull out so I need to give the manual a good read.

 

sorry if some of these questions are silly but I just want to be sure I know what I’m doing. And tips or info about this machine is welcome. I have attached some pictures but my order of business is

* Get it oiled. The pan is missing a bung or nut it seems, does this get filled with oil or is it just a drip pan? I found a dip stick in by the bobbin

* Replace the belt - the current belt has a metal hook joining it together is this normal for leather belts or do I need to replace it?

* Replace the take up lever - I knocked the guard which snapped the lever so may try a temporary repair to check everything else works or just replace it.

* Check timing

I have a question about the stitch length options, I have seen there are a couple of push buttons on the bed which I believe it to change the cam for the stitch length but at the minute the stitch length dial seems to turn with the hand wheel, but again I want to make sure it’s oiled  before I mess too much.

I know that the clutch motors can be a pain in the butt but I want to see if I’m able to feather it and get it up and running well before considering a servo motor.

many thanks in advance I hope to learn from your experience

 

 

[CowboyBob]

Yes,this is a drip pan that catches the oil that drips off of the machine,the hole had a jar to catch the oil,if you put some newspaper or paper towels on the bottom of the it will keep it from running out ntil you find something that will fit on the hole or else plug it.

The button on the left is for stitch length,the other one is for the safety clutch.

That belt will work  but they do stretch after a while & might need to be shortened.

The takeup can be brazed & would be alot easier than trying to replace it,a good braze job will hold for years.

Here's a manual for it .

211g165 manual.pdf

[Narf]

55 minutes ago, CowboyBob said:

The takeup can be brazed & would be alot easier than trying to replace it,a good braze job will hold for years.

Thanks, I will braze it then if it will last that long.

 

is there a difference in oil used in the industrial machines? I have a load of good quality singer oil but it’s for domestics so I’m guessing there is a difference? 
 

any idea what the box is on the front also? It looks like it could be a voltage switch maybe? I’ve not seen it on any others I’ve seen pictures of and I keep whacking my leg on it and it’s not too sturdy 

thanks for your help and the manual

much appreciated

[DonInReno]

That’s a great machine for a first industrial - you will really enjoy it.

Any good sewing machine oil will work just fine.   As a general rule of thumb you just add one drop of oil to all the moving parts - your machine automates some of that with the oil reservoir at the hook and up above.   With a new old machine it’s a good idea to remove the top and end covers to make sure the automatic oiling wicks are in place - I’d just manually oil everything while it’s open.

The upper reservoir probably works and feeds oil to the wicks just fine, but there’s no guarantee.  Not everyone understands how they function and someone may have disabled it.   Mine over oils things so I tend to not fill the reservoir, but rather take the cover off and manually oil the wicks once each time it’s used.

The hook reservoir is similar - there’s nothing wrong with filling it with oil, but it might leak heavily.  I manually oil the hook each time it’s used and don’t worry about the dip stick.    

Many of us don’t use a metal drip pan under the machine, but rather use a rectangle of heavy canvas or leather draped underneath and held on with clips of some sort.  Of course there’s nothing wrong with the metal tray.

Cowboy Bob has a good suggestion with brazing the take up arm - it’s a challenge to get the old one out and new one in, not to mention replacement part quality  won’t be as good as the original singer part.

Enjoy your new machine!   

 

[Narf]

15 hours ago, DonInReno said:

With a new old machine it’s a good idea to remove the top and end covers to make sure the automatic oiling wicks are in place - I’d just manually oil everything while it’s open.

Thanks for that suggestion that sounds like a good thing to do so I’ll get that done. The whole reason I was thinking of filling any reservoirs was as it’s been sitting for a long time and I have no idea how often it was oiled before but the insides look quite clean and there’s no gum or anything I can see on the cogs or cams.

 

15 hours ago, DonInReno said:

Many of us don’t use a metal drip pan under the machine

I think I will just plug up the hole and let it drop in the pan. I think it might have had canvas in there before as there was a lot of deteriorated material in the pan when I cleaned it out and stuff that looked almost like straw.

I’m trying to work out the thread lubrication. The manual says it is a place to add the thread lube oil (I have no idea what type of oil to use and it doesn’t say) and the nipple looking thing on the front adjusts the dripping of it on to the felt pad. I won’t be sewing at high speeds so don’t think this will be a major requirement and I’m guessing I can just manually add oil to the felt pad when needed.

is there a trick to getting the bobbin out of these? It takes me forever to get my nail hooked under enough to pull it out. Might find a magnet or something to help get it out but I might be missing a trick that makes it easy.

once again thanks for the help. I’m waiting on my tank being refilled to braze the take up arm. But I’m considering maybe brazing it with silver solder so I can use a butane torch and not have to put so much heat through such a small part and it should be plenty strong enough.

once again many thanks for the help.

[AlZilla]

3 hours ago, Narf said:

is there a trick to getting the bobbin out of these?

It looks like the 111w bobbin case, with a little latch across the bobbin, Mine jump up when you flip the latch up quickly. A little practice, luck and speed you can catch it.

[dikman]

They're a nice machine and it should serve you well. As for oil, if you've got sewing machine oil that will be fine. The commonly use Lillywhite oil is basically ISO 32 hydraulic fluid, it's main advantage seems to be that it doesn't stain material (so they say). Other than that any light oil will work.

That metal box looks to me like it was the original switch mounting (in the hole in the front) and for some reason the switch was removed and the push-buttons added. If you are comfortable with electrical work it could probably be removed. Take the cover off and post a photo of the innards, we'll soon be able to tell you.

Personally, based on past experience, the best thing to do is replace the motor with a servo and not mess around with the clutch motor. I wasted a lot of time on mine until I saw the light!

[Narf]

20 hours ago, dikman said:

Take the cover off and post a photo of the innards, we'll soon be able to tell you.

I have attached images of inside the box, it’s a big capacitor. Not sure what it’s for as the motor is 240v.

 

I have double checked the oil tubes and both the ones on top are there and not main felt pads up top are there. From what I can see all the felt pads elsewhere are also there. Am I best off saturating the wicks and pads of oil or just adding the 1 drop each use? 
 

I may check the auto oil of the hook but I may just oil it manually as suggested.

 

any idea what these 2 small depress-able buttons are on the bed? I can’t find what they are for.

 

thanks

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Narf

[Narf]

[dikman]

It's a capacitor start/capacitor run motor and needs that capacitor to work. You could move the entire box somewhere else as long as the cables are long enough but honestly just do yourself a favour and replace it with a servo, you will be able to start sewing straight away without wasting time trying to tame a clutch motor.

The two "buttons" are spring-loaded oiling points, push in the ball with an oiler and drip the oil in. As for all the wicks, if it was me I'd just learn to oil it manually, just oil any parts that move!

[Narf]

22 hours ago, dikman said:

The two "buttons" are spring-loaded oiling points, push in the ball with an oiler and drip the oil

Ah that makes sense. I have just oiled everything that moves and given it a good run.

 

22 hours ago, dikman said:

just do yourself a favour and replace it with a servo

I was going to just replace with a servo rather than screw around with pulleys and bar extensions etc but it’s actually super easy to control already. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m used to driving stiff clutched cars or it’s just an easy clutch motor but I can get it going a snails pace easily.

The biggest issue is that it’s loud and takes a while to wind down but It will do for now. I won’t be using it every day or anything but I will be getting a servo motor eventually.

thanks for all your help.

[dikman]

If you can control the clutch motor straight off then you're a better person than me! I was raised on manual cars and drove trucks too but the clutch motor was too much for me. It would only take one slip and a piece could be ruined.

Sounds like you're off to a flying start.

[Narf]

22 hours ago, dikman said:

If you can control the clutch motor straight off then you're a better person than me! I was raised on manual cars and drove trucks too but the clutch motor was too much for me. It would only take one slip and a piece could be ruined.

Sounds like you're off to a flying start.

Well I may end up eating my words but it seems very controllable, not sure if somethings been done to it but I’m not complaining…yet.

 

I have brazed the take up lever. It was a bit awkward so it’s not the neatest but it’s straight and strong. I probably won’t even bother cleaning it up as the excess doesn’t fowl on the casing.