rac1812 Report post Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) Two "newbies" here have just acquired "2" older 211G156 and are dtrying to make them work properly. We have found manuals for the parts and operation of the 166 series which seems close enough for our immediate needs. However, the user manual downloaded, repeatedly" with very dark pictures making it almost impossible to see what they refer to as screw AB abd nect BB as the arrows are blacked out by too much contrast. By luck I stumbled on this site. So far we have cleaned the inside/underneath with cans of brake cleaners, scoop out the lint and blown dry with low pressure air compressor. Then with proper sewing machine oil lubricated everything top and bottom and made sure all the felts were loaded with oil. We also inventoried what was missing such as thread guide on the tensionner and the needle bar thread guide, etc. Parts are on order and await delivery. I have replaced the 3450 motor with a 1725 rpm motor and still find it too fast so may migrate to a servo motor. My questions....... I read some of the forum a few weeks ago around 3 am as I could not sleep and found a series of posting that involved "Eric" or "Igotaknow" who was helping a woman who was just short of throwing out her 211G out the window from total frustration..... I can identify with her feelings. Eric was very patient and very informative........ BUT.... I did not save the information/ guidance you offered the lady and now can't seem to locate it on the forum..... I think it dated in 2013 ????? not sure..... Eric also mentioned that he was just about finished making a tutorial video for Utube posting..... again I have not found it yet. Eric can you jump in here to help sort us out??? We are both inexperienced and you may need to talk slowwwwwly. We are primarily interested in sewing heavy canvass for seat covers with edge piping, bags for the side curtain, reproducing the side curtains, eventually tarps for the cargo area and attaching leather strap to the canvass. Our main hobby is restoring WW 2 Canadian Military Pattern trucks. We do ground up restoration, mechanical, electrical, welding, repro new parts, body sheet metal...... and are now approaching the seat covers. My truck is a 1940 Chev, 4x4, right hand drive, 6 cylinders ( rebuilt circa 1959 engine) top speed after 4 non-synchro shifts is about 45 MPH. As we progress no doubt we will have more specific questions such as the knee lift, needle to thread sizes, type of thread, etc. and will surf the forum for info and answers to our questions. Thanks for any and all assistance. Bob C. Ottawa, Ontario Canada Edited January 31, 2016 by rac1812 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stelmackr Report post Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) I have trouble with the "search" function at leatherworker.net. I get too many unrelated entries. I use Google's Chrome browser and type something like: site:leatherworker.net eric + 211G + 2013 ...which searches leatherworker.net for any entries with these three words: eric and 211G and 2013 Could this be the article?: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=48303 In fact, there are dozens of tricks to fine tune a search. Below are some I've found: - - - - - - - - - - - searching tricks - - - - - - - - - filetype: -filetype site: site:. text: allinanchor: link: 1) Explicit Phrase Place inside double quotation marks Example Search: "inbound marketing" 2) Exclude Words Simply use the - sign in front of the word you want to exclude. Example Search: inbound marketing -advertising 3) This OR That Looking for any one of one or more terms to match, then you can use the OR operator. Example Search: inbound marketing OR advertising 4) Words in the Text If you want to find a webpage where all the terms you're searching for appear in the text of that page (but not necessarily beside each other), type in allintext: followed immediately by words or phrases. Example Search: allintext:vermont ski house lake 5) Words in the Text + Title, URL etc. If you want to find a webpage where one term appears in the text of that page and another term appears elsewhere on the page, like the title or URL, then type in that first term followed by intext: followed immediately by the other term. Example Search: neil diamond intext:red sox 6) Words in the Title Want to find a webpage with certain words contained in the title (but not necessarily beside each other)? Type in allintitle: followed immediately by words or phrases. Example Search: allintitle:wine club 7) Words in the Title + Text, URL, etc. Want to find a webpage where one term appears in the title of that page and another term appears elsewhere on the page, like in the text or the URL? Type in that first term followed by intitle: immediately followed by the other term. Example Search: flu shot intitle:advice 8) Words in the URL If you want to find pages with your search query mentioned in the URL, type allinurl: immediately followed by your search query. Example Search: allinurl:hubspot blog 9) How to Search Within a Website Often, you want to search a specific website for content that matches a certain phrase. Even if the site doesn’t support a built-in search feature, you can use Google to search the site for your term. Simply use the site:somesite.com modifier. Example Search: site:www.smallbusinesshub.com "inbound marketing" 10) Related Search If you want to find new websites with similar content to a website you already know of, use the related:somesite.com modifier. Example Search: related:visual.ly related-google-search.png 11) A Page That Links to Another Page Let's say you want to search for every website that cites a BuzzFeed article on their website. To do this, use the link: command, immediately followed by the name of a page. Google will give you all pages that link to BuzzFeed's official website. The more specific the URL is, the fewer, more pointed results you'll get. Example Search: link:buzzfeed 12) Similar Words and Synonyms Let’s say you want to include a word in your search, but also want to include results that contain similar words or synonyms. To do this, use the ~ in front of the word. Example Search: "inbound marketing" ~professional 13) Word Definitions If you need to quickly look up the definition of a word or phrase, simply use the define: command. You can listen to the word's pronunciation by pressing the megaphone icon. Search Example: define:plethora google-word-definitions.png 14) Missing Words Ever forgotten a word or two from a specific phrase, song lyric, movie quote, or something else? You can use an asterisk* as a wildcard, which can help you find the missing word in a phrase. Example Search: much * about nothing 15) News in a Specific Location If you're looking for news related to a specific location, you can use the location: command to search Google News for stories coming from that location. Search Example: star wars location:london 16) Specific Document Types If you’re looking to find results that are of a specific type, you can use the modifier filetype:. For example, you might want to find only PowerPoint presentations related to inbound marketing. Example Search: "inbound marketing" filetype:ppt 17) Translations Want to translate a simple word or phrase from one language to another? No need to go to a translation website. Just search translate [word] to [language]. Example Search: translate krankenwagen to english 18) Phone Listing Let’s say someone calls you on your mobile number, and you don’t know who it is. If all you have is a phone number, you can look it up on Google using the phonebook feature. Example Search: phonebook:617-555-1212 (Note: The number in this example doesn't work. You’ll have to use a real number to get any results.) 19) Area Code Lookup If all you need to do is to look up the area code for a phone number, just enter the three-digit area code and Google will tell you where it’s from. Example Search: 617 20) Zip Code Lookup If you need to look up the zip code for an address, simply search for the rest of the address, including town or city name and state, province, or country. It'll return results with an area code (if applicable), Example Search: 25 First St., Cambridge, MA 21) Numeric Ranges This is a rarely used but highly useful tip. Let’s say you want to find results that contain any of a range of numbers. You can do this by using the X..Y modifier (in case this is hard to read, what’s between the X and Y are two periods). This type of search is useful for years (as shown below), prices, or anywhere where you want to provide a series of numbers. Example Search: president 1940..1950 22) Stock (Ticker Symbol) Just enter a valid ticker symbol as your search term, and Google will give you the current financials and a quick thumbnail chart for the stock. Example Search: GOOG 23) Calculator The next time you need to do a quick calculation, instead of bringing up the Calculator applet, you can just type your expression into Google. Search Example: 48512 * 1.02 24) Tip Calculator Along with a normal calculator, Google has a built-in tip calculator. Just search tip calculator and you can adjust the bill, tip %, and number of people splitting it. Search Example: tip calculator 25) Timer Don't have a timer handy? Google has you covered. Just type in an amount of time + the word "timer," and the countdown will begin automatically Search Example: Search Example: 20 min timer 26) Stopwatch Search "stopwatch" and it'll bring up a stopwatch for you to start when you're ready. Search Example: stopwatch 27) Weather Next time you're looking for quick weather stats or a forecast for a certain area, search for weather followed by a location. Google will give you both before the first search results. Search Example: weather cambridge ma 28) Sunrise & Sunset Times If you're curious when the sun will rise and set that day at a specific location, do a simple Google search with the word sunrise or sunset along with the location name. Search Example: sunrise acadia 29) Flight Statuses If you type in the airline and airplane number into Google, it will tell you the flight information, status, and other helpful information. Search Example: BA 181 30) Sports Scores & Schedules Want to know the latest sports scores and future schedules of your favorite teams or match-ups? Search a single team name or two team names and Google will use Google Sports to spit out scores and schedules before the first search results. Search Example: manchester united 31) Comparing Food Believe it or not, if you're ever curious how two types of (fairly generic) foods compare with one another, you can do a quick Google search to see how they differ in calories, fat, protein, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, and other nutrients. Search Example: pizza vs broccoli Edited January 31, 2016 by stelmackr Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rac1812 Report post Posted January 31, 2016 (edited) Thanks Bob. That is the thread I was looking for and will now play with your search routine to see what more I can find. Thanks also to Eric for finding the time to write all this wonderful information. I think I have some serious reading to do. Will come back after reading hopefully with intelligent questions. One comes to mind just having read Eric 2013 information. Why was the thread oiler device used? is the type "E" oil still available...??? when did it become unnecessary? I am considering ordering the lower thread guide and removing the oil felt/box permanently. Just read that Dikman acquired a Singer 331K4 ....... so did I........ I fear I have been infected...!!!! the 331K4 also has issues!! Bob C Edited January 31, 2016 by rac1812 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) Yep, so does mine. My hopes that it would work straight off have been dashed somewhat! One consolation, compared to a walking foot it's a pretty simple machine. Edited February 1, 2016 by dikman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rac1812 Report post Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Slowly following the guide layed out by Eric in the May 29th 2013 for tune up of my machine. so far timing is correct........ timing mark do line up with take up arm being fully up. the cover plate for the bobbin is the correct one with the underside scallopped for clearance. Now moving to the hook/needle set up. ONE THING..... I can't seem to find any reference/set up mark on the shaft of the needle bar???? could they be worn out or worn off??? Slowly learning how it works...... now I know about the thread lub, why it is no longer necessary and will replace with a thread guide in place of the felt/metal box. Still have lots of reading to do of old postings on this forum Cheers Bob C Edited February 4, 2016 by rac1812 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dikman Report post Posted February 4, 2016 Not all needle bars have the timing marks on them (one of mine doesn't). Usually the manual will explain how to adjust it if there aren't any marks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoepatcher Report post Posted February 4, 2016 rac1812, Needle bars used to have two timing marks on them. The top mark was the bottom dead center mark (BDC). the mark just below that was the timing mark meaning you ran the needle down to the top mark which was bottom dead center than raised it to the bottom mark which was the timing mark for the needle bar that you used to time the hook to. sadly, almost nobody puts those in anymore. Adler on their new M series, i..e. 867, 868, 869, 969, has a pin that you can put into the front of the machine . One place gives you top dead center for the take up lever, one for bottom dead center and one for timing the hook. This makes it so much easier because you have a point of reference to start with. glenn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rac1812 Report post Posted February 5, 2016 (edited) Thanks guys....will go back to reading that section of the manual...... may try to make a mark(s) on the bar with a diamond file........ ever so lightly for future reference. will keep you posted. Bob C Edited February 5, 2016 by rac1812 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kwild Report post Posted February 5, 2016 (edited) Hi Bob, I just replied to your other question in the thread I started about the knee-lifting arm for the 211 G 156. If you do end up removing the thread lube felt block and it's housing, keep them around. Those parts are no longer available. Someone might want them for a completely original machine. I was looking for those bits until I realized that the machine ran perfectly fine without them. The plate that they mounted to can get a sharp lower edge from the thread rubbing it, so you may need to polish it off. I assume this is the thread guide you're looking for for your machine? Edited February 5, 2016 by Kwild Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted February 5, 2016 You can replace the thread oilier with a lower thread guide if you don´t need it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SINGER-111W-THREAD-GUIDE-LOWER-PART-224040-/300720931294?hash=item46045d41de:m:mQDFu8iuoO6yz9TOrG558sA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rac1812 Report post Posted February 5, 2016 (edited) I am getting so much valuable information here that I have decided to subscribe to a one year paid membership Thanks all. Bob C Edited February 5, 2016 by rac1812 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted February 5, 2016 Those supposed to be thread lube pads are pretty useless. It was a good concept by Singer, but if you need to lube your thread, lube it like a boss and soak the cone in silicone. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rac1812 Report post Posted February 5, 2016 Hi Eric Under what circumstances would lubrication (silicone soak or otherwise) be needed....? My heavy sewing needs will be to primarily deal with canvass tarp material referred to as 18oz. The tarp is made but will need some modification to repro a 1940 style tarp with roll up sides. That implies adding leather straps to allow the rolled up side to be held securely in the up position. Said leather straps will need some canvass reinforcements to be sewed in where the straps will attach. In lighter canvass, probably in the range of 12 to 14oz, we will need to make individual seat covers and back covers with a small piping around the edges. We have original canvass covers but do not wish to actually use them but prefer to make new covers for everyday use/wear. Those NOS dated 1940 covers will be the basis for making patterns. Our first run will be using plain white canvass of same thickness so we can learn and possibly have proof the paterns are accurate...... then will tackle the real ones. We also have numerous other canvass items to reproduce such as transmission shifter boots.... truck has 2 tranny towers, 2 emergency brakes and a starter lever that all need boots to control dirt/water from entereing the cab. Also need to reproduce bags to store the canvass side door windows and that includes reproduction the canvass side windows with new vinyl inserts. Will be wroking from some NOS and some tattered remains. Any suggestions regarding thread type....size... needle style and size would be appreciated. We have ordered some small quantity of 18 to 21 regular point needles and some similar size leather wedge point which we will use for our set up and testing of the machine. Trying to get it to work reliably before sinking more money for a servo........ which form what I have read should be brushless and at least 755 w to insure proper torque at the bottom speed range. I have already changed from a 3450 rpm motor to a almost new 1750 motor and it is still tooooo fast for good control. Bob C Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoepatcher Report post Posted February 5, 2016 rac1812, You can either get a speed reducer to go with your new motor or get a servo motor that can be turned down as tot he speed without loss of torque. As to thread, I would think you would want to use #92 or #138 for sizes. I would use a cotton wrapped polyester which is a more waterproof thread. I would use #21 or #22 round point needles. Size #22 is about the smallest needle you can use with #138 thread. Just suggestions. glenn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Brosowski Report post Posted February 8, 2016 Or just use high end bonded polyester which feels like it is lubricated! Those supposed to be thread lube pads are pretty useless. It was a good concept by Singer, but if you need to lube your thread, lube it like a boss and soak the cone in silicone. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gottaknow Report post Posted February 8, 2016 Even when running bonded polyester in a 4000 spi chainstitch, there are times you still need to soak the thread in silicone. Last time was joining nylon flag stripes a 100 yards at a time without stopping. Air cooling helps as well. Regards, Eric Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rac1812 Report post Posted February 10, 2016 Thanks for all the advice guys. As they say information is priceless. Will focus on #92 thread size to start with..... have a variety of needles coming off Ebay from 18 to 22 in regular point and leather chisel point. I did not buy the round point needles as I was under the impression those were used with synthetic fabric and you would not want to pierce the woven threads. Was I wrong???? Now is the time to find out before I bugger up good Olive drab material. Following a suggestion for doing the set up using a 1/4 in drill depth guide I cornered a set of doeas at Lowe's.....now I can move on to the needle/hook/needle guide part of the process. My sewing machine work is done in a heated garage/barn right now and the night time temperature willbe around -25 Celsius which means at least 4 hours of blazing fire in Lucifer to bring the ambient temperature to about 45 Farenheit........ hard to work on those small screws with gloves and wearign a parka. So I am spending my time doing door skins on the 1940 Chev...... at least the heat from moving around and using the Oxy - Acetelyne torches helps a lot. I have on order a needle bar thread guide and was thinking of modifying another NOS thread guide to fit the existing screw hole where the oiler felt was installed. Looking forward to properly setting up the needle/hook/bobbin when the weather gets a little milder. Still playing with setting up a knee lifter bar at the back at least so the lifter will actually release the tension on the front thread tension set up. Will be down loading some of the videos and still pics that you have sent or found on ther web onto a laptop so I can have the information in the shop close at hand. Again thanks for all the help and will post my progress or frustrations as they occur. Bob C Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
