Country Singer Needs Help!

[suzelle]

She's a damsel in distress and her parts are all a mess! LOL!

Meet the new COWGIRL! Our new Singer 31-15. Manufactured in 1937, I think!

She moved in with us last week and I'm so happy she's here!!! But she doesn't do a darned thing around the place to earn her keep! She's got issues, but we are going to get her all fixed up and she'll be singing again very soon!!

I'm hoping you experts that have gone before can help me out once the new parts arrive. This is a list of what is wrong:

I cleaned her up already, and filled up a trashcan with dirt soaked rags. Boy was she every a dirty girl! Cowgirl decal added after her bath! : ) I'm not planning on painting her, I like her just the way she is, a little broken in! She has lots of character.

1- Needs complete race and new hook

2- Needs new needle plate - the one installed is pretty beat

3- New tension know coming, just incase! Not sure if the one I have is good or not yet.

4- New Bobbin already purchased, but it will not stay in, keeps popping out.

5- Will probably need to have the motor all reconditioned and rewired. It looks very cute with the sewing machine, but it doesn't look too safe with some exposed wire, and it's pretty crusty cording.

Thanks ahead!!! Parts should all be here this week some time.

I'm about out of sewing machine oil too! Gotta get some of that.

Okay, that is about it for now and thanks for taki'n a peek!

Edited December 5, 2012 by suzelle

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

Talk to Bob at Toledo about parts.

If you have to replace the needle plate then replace the feed dog as well.

If the bobbin will not stay in then the pin it mounts on may be worn - this is a very high mileage machine- so talk to Bob.

Do not pay to recondition the motor. Buy a new servo motor.

[suzelle]

Talk to Bob at Toledo about parts.

If you have to replace the needle plate then replace the feed dog as well.

If the bobbin will not stay in then the pin it mounts on may be worn - this is a very high mileage machine- so talk to Bob.

Do not pay to recondition the motor. Buy a new servo motor.

Darren,

Thanks so much for the response, I do appreciate it!

Got her running yesterday after spending most of the day playing and used only a couple of the parts purchased. At least I had everything on hand. Lots of things needed to be unstuck. The little pin in the tension knob was almost glued in. I had removed that, cleaned it all nice and shiny, put that back together and re-installed it. Then I was getting good upper tension.

The bobbin that kept popping out wasn't helped I'm sure by the thread wrapped around the end of the bobbin post. Also, the bobbin finger wasn't being held in by the little piece that is supposed to hold it in place. I replaced that little part from another shuttle race, then had to do a little fancy bending of the top of that part in a vice grip to get it to do a better job of stopping the finger. That worked!

I sanded down lots of rough edges wherever I found them, if I thought that it might snag thread anywhere. A thread tree or commercial thread stand was added, looks like it never had one installed. Bobbin winder was adjusted to work.

My needle stash included boxes of various sized needles I'd inherited when I bought a Bernina 217 a couple years ago. Those needles worked just fine in this machine.

Most of the newer clone parts that I purchased did not work so well. So, that is why I made the decision to just fix the old original parts if I could. They all fit better. As much as I would have liked to have the brand new parts, why replace the old ones if they are made better and if you can get them to work somehow? The needle plate I purchased really needed replacing! I believe the replacement I bought is a real Singer part. It does not say SIMANCO on it, but it does have a Singer part number on it and the metal feels like the older machined SINGER parts.It fit perfect, just like the original needle plate, and it looks like the previous owner of the machine had already replaced the feed dog, so that is new and didn't need replacement by me.

Didn't have to fuss much with timing, got lucky there! I replaced stripped screws wherever I had replacement screws on parts.

So happy! This is one smooth running machine. I decided to keep the motor in. Upon closer inspection, not as scary as it first looked. Yay! But I do have a couple motors laying around that I could use to swap the old one if need be. I agree on servo motor recommendation though, I had one of those and loved it, but unfortunately it gave up the ghost early! Since the Singer 31-15 head lifts out of the machine so easily, I'd really like to get a treadle base too, that way I can work it the old fashioned way when I feel like it.

This is going to be a really fun machine. Incredible how many layers I could get through it without skipping a stitch. I did of course switch needles as I went with thicker layers of materials. It even sewed through the bill of a baseball cap. Although I don't plan to use it much for work as heavy as that, at least not on a regular basis.

If I could have the things I really wanted added to this machine, I'd go for longer stitches, as I like to use a long stitch when making aircraft covers or boat covers. Keeps the needle penetrations down to a minimum, so less chance of water getting inside the canopy covers. Also, I'd like a jumb size bobbin, or at least as big as the 31-20. Haven't seen one yet, but if it's close to jumbo size, I'd be happier. Oh, and reverse!!! I can use the "0" setting effectively for locking in stitches. But sometimes I just like a back tack!

Okay, there! Maybe Santa will bring me a 31-20!!! LOL! No, no more machines!

Thanks for reading!

Edited December 10, 2012 by suzelle

[suzelle]

She runs now!!

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

I would probably be looking for something more like a 31-18 roller foot/roller feed and 31k47 walking foot versions as the -20 will not do anything you cannot do with the -15

[JerryWotz]

Hi Suzelle - I'm a new member with a newly acquired 31-15. I enjoyed reading your posts because they give me renewed hope that I'll be able to get my old machine looking and running good. It does run, but because I'm new to sewing I didn't know where to start with getting this machine in useable condition.

I've learned through this forum that I was pretty naive when I bought this machine. I thought I'd like to sew some canvas and leather, therefore I thought a machine called "industrial" would do it all. Now I'm learning that my 31-15 will be quite limited in the leather sewing area, and if I want to truly sew leather I'll have to purchase a differrent machine. Have you used your 31-15 on leather, and if so, what are your experiences?

I'm still OK with my purchase of the 31-15 - I've got about $100 into it with the nice table and an extra extension to it - and since I approached this as a learning experience I'm enjoying doing just that.

Good luck to you, and if you want to share any further experiences with your 31-15 I'd enjoy reading about them.

[Wizcrafts]

I have a 90+ years old Singer 31-15 that I rebuilt. I finally decided that it worked best on leather with a roller foot drive. These are three piece conversion kits that include a single row feed dog, matching throat plate and a flip-up ball bearing roller wheel. The machine accepts up to #92 bonded nylon thread.

To use the 31-15 with cloth would require the removal of the roller foot parts and reinstallation of a flat foot, multiple row feeder and throat plate.

[JerryWotz]

I have a 90+ years old Singer 31-15 that I rebuilt. I finally decided that it worked best on leather with a roller foot drive. These are three piece conversion kits that include a single row feed dog, matching throat plate and a flip-up ball bearing roller wheel. The machine accepts up to #92 bonded nylon thread.

To use the 31-15 with cloth would require the removal of the roller foot parts and reinstallation of a flat foot, multiple row feeder and throat plate.

Thanks Wiz - any suggestions on where I could order a roller foot drive for the 31-15?

Another question. I think my machine has the original motor. I have a bigger 1/2 horse motor that runs 1725 RPM that I could possibly use on it, but would the additional torque make it better for leather, and/or is 1725 rpm too fast?

Thanks for your help.

P.S. I read your posts on machines for sewing leather. Great stuff and I'll be revisiting it to soak more in.

[Wizcrafts]

Thanks Wiz - any suggestions on where I could order a roller foot drive for the 31-15?

Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines and other dealers sell the roller foot conversion kits.

Another question. I think my machine has the original motor. I have a bigger 1/2 horse motor that runs 1725 RPM that I could possibly use on it, but would the additional torque make it better for leather, and/or is 1725 rpm too fast?

I used to use 1725 RPM clutch motors, until I discovered the SewPro 500GR, which is now sold as the Toledo Sew Slow. I have one on my 31-15 and another on my flat bed walking foot machine. They are easy to control at any speed.

[suzelle]

Hi All,

Sorry I hadn't posted for a while. I had problems signing in to the forum and recently updated information so I could log in again. I'm a little challenged in many areas. LOL!

Anne, Thanks for your advice on the 31-18 and 31K47. My reason for thinking I might want to move from 31-15 to 31-20 (I think) was because I read that the 31-20 had the larger bobbin. The small bobbins drive me nuts when I am using thicker thread, they simply run out too fast and that is very aggravating when you are in the middle of a seam on a canopy cover or something big and hard muscle around to sew. You want to get it right the first time and with a big bobbin, I just check it every once in a while to see how much bobbin thread I have left. With small bobbin, I usually run out before I think to check.

Jerry, congrats on your 31-15. Hope you got her running! So I will look for your posts now that I am logged in again. Do you plan to use it for garment construction, quilting? If so, your small bobbin will probably be just fine. These are such beautiful machines, and they run so well.

Wizcraft, sounds like you and your 31-15 are very well acquainted. I was too easily drawn to this machine because I learned on an old black Singe 201 machine and the 31-15 felt so much like it. But it just didn't do all I needed it to do. Thanks for sharing your experience though. If I had enough space for all the machines I wanted, the 31-15 would surely be in the lineup. But space I am lacking, so it had to go.

After I got this machine running and looking better, I decided to sell it because I simply needed reverse and a longer stitch, and a bigger bobbin. What I mainly need a big Industrial for is for hemming 60" wide banners that we print, they are made of vinyl. I put about $100.00 more into the 31-15 than I got back out of it, but I feel good that I got a nice old machine running and in service again. The woman who purchased it was thrilled and she got a steal of a price from me!

My Tacsew T111-115 machine was also sold. This machine and the Singer 31-15 were running well when I sold them. I ended up getting a Pfaff 545 High Lift, it is an older machine, made in West Germany. This machine will better suit my needs, but it isn't stitching well, yet. I have to learn more about it before I can adjust it. If I cannot do it myself, I'll take in it to get a mechanic to make it stitch better. Anyhow, it will be able to handle all the stuff I do, and give me reverse, big bobbin, long stitches.

Thank you all for your input!