Singer 31-15 Bobbin Race And Hook Help

[Oldstuff]

Hi Everyone,

I just bought this 31-15 yesterday. What a beast. A very filthy beast. I have spent my day digging crud out of the oil ports. It is so dirty I really thought I'd find Jimmy Hoffa in there! I got completely fed up and bought a gallon of denatured alcohol, took the machine head outside and doused it. The Denatured Alcohol made very short work of cleaning it up the rest of the way. I should have thought of it at 8:00am!

I have a couple questions and a problem.

My problem is I can not get the bobbin race and hook re-installed. I have tried 7 ways to Sunday to get it back in. I know it fits because the machine sewed yesterday when it was demonstrated and I briefly sewed on it last night. I got it in and it seems to work!

My questions:

1) While cleaning it up I have found 4 oil ports that have what appear to be wicks. Two are at the front behind the presser foot pressure adjustment screw and the needle bar, One is on the top near the hand wheel and seems to provide oil to a fork and block type mechanism inside the machine head. The fourth one is at the bottom - again in a fork mechanism - this one looks like the wick is inserted in the fork itself. The wicks are nasty. Can I remove them and replace them with some new wool felt or roving, or, since the machine is not going to be used in an industrial setting, can I just remove them and not repack the ports? I did not expect to find oil wicks on this machine.

2) There are 2 very deep oil ports or wells near the base of the pillar. What a fun time I had cleaning them out by scraping them open then filling the wells with alcohol to dissolve all the old oil and dirt and using Q-Tips to absorb all the alcohol since there is no way to get inside from underneath. Anyway - How much oil should I put in them? Should I fill them up or just add a few drops?

3) The belt was slipping yesterday. I have not tried it today, It may no longer slip since I have the machine cleaned up. If it does slip, is there a belt adjustment from, or on, the motor or should I just take 1/4 inch off at a time until the machine runs without slipping? The belt that came on the machine is a round, 3/8 inch, hide belt - it still has cow hair on it - at least I hope it is cow... It fastens just like a treadle belt.

4) It has a Westinghouse clutch motor. I believe it originally came off a Boeing 737, the thing is huge! Is there any motor maintenance I should know about? I have never used a clutch motor so this should prove interesting.

5) Last one for now. I would like to order some smaller needles other than the Harpoons that came with the machine. I know it originally took 16x87 needles. What is the correct number designation for Organ or Schmetz?

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Tracy

Edited June 27, 2010 by Oldstuff

[CowboyBob]

Wow, I hope I can answer all your ? Just put a4-5drops of oil everywhere then 1 drop each time you oil in the future.I know the wicks are dirty but just oil them too & they'll be ok.

Leather belts will stretch so yes ,you'll need to shorten it alittle.

There is usually an oil post on each end of the motor & probably a couple more holes on the clutch shaft & on on the pivot arm the runs the clutch just a couple of drops in each.

We do stock the needles in both leather & round points for this machine & also have all the parts,feet & etc for it too.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Bob

[Oldstuff]

Good Morning Bob,

Thank you for taking time to help me out. I really appreciate it.

I'll leave the wicks alone {{{{shudder}}}}

I'll look over the motor for the oil posts.

I will call you tomorrow to order some needles. I need them for sewing cotton. I don't do anything with leather. This site is the only place I found online for any information on industrial machines that has a forum. You and this site are wonderful!

Thanks again,

Tracy