Singer 211 G 151--Asked to fix -have questions

[HeatherMom6]

Hello, I am new to the world of Leather Machines and Industrial machines in general. I have repaired and re-furbished many domestic machines and am a member of several Vintage Singer and Vintage sewing machine sites. 

So, while my husband was out looking for dimensional lumber from the Amish community near us, he was asked if I could try to fix an "old machine" one of the families had. Turns out, it is a Walking foot Singer 211 G 151 industrial leather machine. I have never worked on a leather machine before, but thought I would give it a shot. The Amish man said that he never had gotten it working bc of timing issues. I have re-timed the hook, had to  adjust the needle bar height, and have it stitching a bit. The issues that remain are related to the upper tension.  I would like some guidance if possible with some pics (visual learner here). 

The tension mechanism does not seem to be releasing the tension discs on the upper tensioner then you lift the presser foot. Before I take it all apart and start down that road, is there a release pin that should be getting pushed like in domestic machines???? It does not appear that the upper tensioner goes into the head, so I am a bit confused about how the discs are pushed open. If there is a pin, how do I go about getting to it? I have one pic of the machine before I got it home not sure how to upload it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get this machine working for this man. 

 

 

 

[AlZilla]

Well, until the big dogs stop by and give real advice, the following thread is for a 111w machine, but I think it's close enough to yours that it should get you pointed in the right direction:

Good luck with it. I dealt with a similar problem on one of my machines.

Edited April 9 by AlZilla

[Quade]

Quote

The tension mechanism does not seem to be releasing the tension discs on the upper tensioner then you lift the presser foot. 

There's a pin the goes from one side of the machine to the other. When the foot is lifted, a wedge pushes against the pin which presses on a lever on the back of the tension unit to release the tension.  If you look on the back of the machine.  To the left of the foot lift lever you should see a large diameter screw head. The pin is behind this head.