Bobbin holder gets stuck on Consew 226R-1

[cst]

I bought this machine a while ago and it sat (well oiled) in my garage. I brought in to work to see holsters and belts and swapped the clutch motor for a small servo motor. I’m totally new to sewing machines, I’ve been hand sewing everything for twenty years and just don’t want to deal with my arthritis anymore. At least while sewing. So enter the machine. 
I sewed three lines of stitches on a belt blank just get to the feel for it. It is made of two layers of 8-10 oz bridle, which is the average for my holsters and some belts. Got the tension adjusted just fine and realized I needed to load up a bobbin to continue. Did that and when I went to reinstall the bobbin and begin the fight to get the bobbin thread in place (I struggle with this) I realized this little tab on the bobbin carrier was locked into a notch in the bottom of the bracket that guides the bottom feed foot. Don’t know what it is called. Vibrating presser foot? Don’t know. Anyhow the machine is locked up unless I lift the walking foot and take that bracket out. 

[cst]

What does that notch do? Can I grind it off? That tab on the bobbin carrier fits it perfectly. It will either hit the forward end of the protrusion that forms the notch or sometimes get all the way into the notch. At either point there is no more sewing. There has been some strong language and teeth gnashing, but I don’t feel as though that is appropriate in my store. 

[TSquared]

CTS, there are many more people on this forum who are way smarter than me. I can tell you that you need to put the tab into the notch.  The bobbin is held in place by the tab. The photo looks like a Singer 111W155. If you search the web for the 111w you will find many good manuals that have great troubleshooting guides.  

[cst]

Thanks for the reply. I will look for those manuals. The machine I have came with two manuals, I guess a new one and an old one. I will re read those. With the tab in the notch, nothing happens. If I take the bed slide out, the machine cycles. I haven’t threaded the needle or the bobbin with the bed slide out, so I cannot say if it all works correctly. As you can see in the attached photo, that tab wants to rotate. Do you know the function?
 I got to a point this evening where frustration was overwhelming common sense and courtesy and decided to leave it for tomorrow. 

[cst]

I just watched a video of a lady loading a bobbin into  the machine and the tab definitely stayed in that notch, so I’m wondering why everything spins as it should when the the tab is out of the notch and locks up tight when it is in place. 

[Wizcrafts]

The tab on the bobbin case must go into the detente under the throat plate. When you secure the tab, you'll notice that it has lateral clearance. This is for the top thread. There is a missing case "latch opener" lever that is supposed to screw onto the moving block shown in your photo. Its job is to pull back the case and its tab to make it easier for the top thread to flow around the bobbin case. Without the latch opener in place, the top thread gets pinched after being picked off of the needle and has a hard time forming stitches.

[Uwe]

Your machine may bind up because the bobbin case opener is not properly adjusted. This videos explains some of the details around that issue. Your “finger” that’s pulling back on the bobbin case looks different than the one in the video, but the concept is the same.  On your machine, you can adjust that finger position front-to-back by loosening the screw that holds the finger in place. 

 

 

Edited March 18 by Uwe

[toxo]

Another excellent job Uwe. I always wondered what that part did. Thank you.

[cst]

Thanks for the replies fellas, I had taken that lever or finger out to see into the area thinking maybe something had come loose, I’ll put it back and try again. 
After a lot of reading I was wondering if maybe the safety clutch hadn’t engaged. Didn’t have a thread jam, but I don’t know what all can activate that. I’ll try those adjustments and see how she goes. Thanks again for your replies, now I won’t have to resolene my leather goods to protect them from tears as my old arthritic fingers pull all those stitches tight.