211G Presser Foot Sticks In Up Position...

[Skylark53]

Hi all,

Hope someone can help...

I'm in the process of cleaning and refurbishing a Singer 211G156 and I can't get the presser foot to operate properly. As soon as I bring the lever near the top of its travel, it jams and I have to use a drift and tap it lightly from the top for the presser foot to drop back down.

I have cleaned everything I can and oiled it thoroughly and it still jams. I even used a mechanic's stethoscope to listen at different moving points and the loudest noise comes from the top of the presser foot rod in its tube. Needle moves freely, no problem there.

When I opened the front cover I noticed right away that someone had pried the legs of the presser bar position guide (a tuning fork looking thing). I should have taken a picture of the distorted guide. Once I figured out how to remove the position guide, I straightened it in my vise and filed off the damage the bending had done to the part. When I reinstalled the guide, it didn't make the movement any worse which tells me it wasn't the problem in the first place.

One thing that still puzzles me though is whether it's a hard job to dismantle/remove the presser bar, that way I could lightly ream the tube and reassemble the unit. I'm sure THAT would solve the problem but I'm at a loss on how to dismantle it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Skylark53

[sandyt]

Don't know that machine, but it sounds to me the presser bar is bend. Reaming the tube would ruïn the machine. You would still have a bend bar. Cousing more problems in the near future.

[Skylark53]

... and I guess the only way to ascertain that I do have a bent bar is to take that part of the machine apart which is why I was asking for dismantling instructions.

Any ideas?

Skylark53

[Uwe]

The Singer 211G156 Service manual would be a good place to start figuring out how to take things apart and put them back together. Often the presser bar/rod/shaft is held in place by a clamping block, which allows adjusting the presser bar height (or removal of the bar/rod/shaft).

The Singer 211G156 Parts Manual will tell you which part numbers to look for. The presser bar is part # 208566 , which is available and cheap in case you need to replace it.

Edited December 10, 2015 by Uwe

[Darren Brosowski]

First question is inner or outer presser foot bar?

In both cases you need to look for build up of old, hardened, oil that can cause issues.

The outer presser foot has multiple linkages so pull the lot apart and clean them out. Look for any scoring of the metal and when you have it apart test the rotation of each part.

I have found with some older machines that bolts have come loose and cross threaded. This causes parts to be out of alignment and jam up. The problem can be less than 0.25mm or 0.0020" but is enough to cause grief.

Do not be scared of pulling it apart as it does not work now so you cannot make it any worse.

[Skylark53]

Hi Darren,

It's the outer presser foot that jams as it nears its uppermost position.

You seem to be familiar with this machine or similar machines, what I'd like to know is how many items I'll have to remove to get the outer presser foot bar out of the machine?

One more thing I noticed... When I reassemble the machine after the thorough cleaning, I hand cranked the machine though a full revolution and the feed dog wants to push up the needle plate. If the two screws that hold the needle plate are snugged down, it then becomes a binding situation. Is this a timing problem?

Thank you very much for your time Darren, much appreciated.

Raymond, aka Skylark53

[Uwe]

The feed dog can be adjusted sideways to center it with the opening in the (fixed-in-place) throat plate. If the feed dog is not centered it may hit the edge of the throat plate opening and push up on the throat plate.

You can also adjust how high the feed dog moves during the stitch cycle. If it is set too high, it will touch the underside of the throat plate and bind (the AZ adjustment screw in Figure 22)

[Skylark53]

Thank you Uwe...

I don't think it's a sideways interference but I will definitely adjust the height as you suggested (Thanks for the instructions too...)

Skylark53

P.S. : Today I replaced the Arborite table top, now I'm refurbishing the legs... Can't wait to try it out with the new servo motor.

[TinkerTailor]

Does the presser bar stick when sewing? If you are lifting it higher than it was in its service life, the shaft may be on a spot that wasnt used much, thus is worn lots less and may have more buildup on it, just a thought.

[Skylark53]

Hi Tinker,

I'll be able to assess that better tomorrow...

Just got a belt of the proper length tonight, I still need to fabricate a drip pan, I think I've found a source for felt, I have an old typewriter pad I've kept for years thinking I'd find a use for it some day. Then it'll be a thorough oiling and a dry run with the new servo motor.

I only heard the machine run once when I bought it and only for a short time. It did have the sticking problem but not when sewing, only when using the lift lever.

To be continued...

Raymond, aka Skylark53