Singer 300W194 Feed?

Skizzle · April 4

Hello all,

So I bought this 300w last fall, and I have put many many hours into reading manuals, thinking and correcting all the adjustments the last owner messed up. I finally got it stitching within a month. I have two older mechanics who I’ve talked about the machine with, along with some Facebook users who agree that this machine is a hassle. I only have two questions left about this thing:

1. The walking foot. Even though I got the machine stitching, when I turn the hand wheel towards me and watch the feet move, it seems like the feed dog is moving backwards (up and towards me). Obviously I tried turning the hand wheel opposite of me, in which case the feed dog moved correctly, but then the vibrating (inner) presser foot is walking backwards. Is this normal for walking foot machines, or is the feed timing completely off?

One thing that really makes me think it’s wrong is that when I lowered the feed dog height, the right looper began to hit a right side loop deflector screw (located on bottom of feed dog). There is a sheer mark on the screw where the looper obviously contacted the screw head repeatedly and drilled a path through the head (argh it was the last owner). The only reason the machine was working before I adjusted the feed dog height is because the previous owner maxed out the height of the feed dog so that the looper would make it past the screws without contact.

Is my feed backwards? Feed dog too low?

2. The machine seems to be stuck on one of the longest stitch length settings. Despite following the manual, I cannot change the stitch length. The manual mentions adjustment between 4-12 SPI, but my machine is stuck at 6. What’s the problem?

edit: Video of feed was taken while pressing lifter pedal to hold lifting presser foot out of the way