Singer 111w113

[Terburn]

Hello everyone. First post and need a little guidance if you could help me out. I just ran across this 111w113 at an estate sale and thought I would add it to my collection. ( Here is where my husband rolls his eye's.) I got it home and put back together, gave it a good oiling and away we go. Well almost, except for the nest of thread on the underside of my jean material. Bobbin thread looks good. The machine sounds good just cant get the tension on that top thread figured out. Im not familiar with these work horses. This is my first one. I have the manual for it and have checked and double checked that its threaded correctly. A few things I noticed while working on it that may or may not make a difference.

When trying to adjust the upper tension the nut you turn to adjust it turns to a point then just pops back forward. Im thinking either the nut is worn or the threads on the post are worn. I took the nut off and was going to take it apart and give it a good clean and see if I could see anything but the spring is not loose. Seems like it is stuck on something. So I have stopped there at this point because I'm not sure if it should just come right off like I think it should.

There is a new number 22 needle in the machine. (That's all that came with it, the lady did upholstery with it.) The heaviest thread I had was Tex 70. Not sure if that would make it bunch at the bottom.

So, I have ordered a thread tension unit. If its not too difficult to change the whole thing out that would be best I guess, if not I can take parts off it. I have ordered a variety of size needles, Im guessing 18 for the jean material im practicing on. I ordered bobbins as it only came with one.

I would appreciate any help on this. Would eventually like to sew some leather items but want to start on the jean material for practice. Sorry for being so long winded. Just wanted to provide as much info as possible.

Thanks, Terry

 

 

[CowboyBob]

Yes,the split threads on the upper tension got pinched together alittle & the nut won't grip it good enough now.If your real lucky you might5 be able to pry it apart to work,it might break but it needs replacing anyways .You probably aren't getting enough upper tension so it loops underneath.

[Terburn]

Is it difficult to replace the whole thread tension unit? That would solve the problem I suppose. Do you know of any tutorials or video's? . I can't find the Service manual for this machine. Is the spring supposed to be lose and just slide off?

Edited September 1, 2016 by Terburn
additional question

[Wizcrafts]

If it's anything like the 111W105 I'm rebuilding, the entire tension unit is secured with two screws. One is on the upper front left of the unit. The other is underneath it on the body and holds the bottom check spring shaft in place. Loosen that bottom screw and remove the top screw. The entire unit will lift out. Fit the replacement unit in place and set the top left screw to secure it. Use a flat blade screw driver on the bottom split shaft and turn it counterclockwise to get some tension on the check spring, then tighten down the inside set screw.

[Terburn]

Thank you very much. That was what I thought but didn't know about the turning the split shaft to get tension. How much of a turn do you think on the shaft? Don't want to overturn. Sorry for all the questions, don't want to mess it up. 

 

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, Terburn said:

Thank you very much. That was what I thought but didn't know about the turning the split shaft to get tension. How much of a turn do you think on the shaft? Don't want to overturn. Sorry for all the questions, don't want to mess it up. 

 

When you get your new tension assembly it will have the check spring installed on the bottom shaft. All that holds that spring in place is the round nut on the split shaft. Hopefully, it will arrive preset with some amount of spring action. Before changing anything you should first remove the old unit and install the new one. Leave the lower set screw going into the underside of the body finger tight. Tighten the top screw all the way. Use a finger tip to pull up on the check spring, then let it go. It should snap down until it hits the movable stop bracket that is attached to the body with a set screw of its own. If the spring doesn't have enough tension to make it all the way down, back off a tad on the nut and use a screw driver to turn the split shaft counterclockwise, until the spring goes all the way down on the left side. Tighten the nut on the shaft, then tighten the set screw that secures it to the body. This ensures that the spring action won't change on its own.

The check spring has a job unique to itself. It should move far enough to keep the top thread taut as the take-up lever moves down. Once the point of the needle has entered the material the spring should stop moving down.

[Terburn]

Thanks again. I will give this a try for sure.. I did try prying it apart a little. It worked for a while and then started acting up again. It just wont hold. I will have to be patient until my part comes in.

[Terburn]

 

On 9/1/2016 at 10:59 PM, Wizcrafts said:

When you get your new tension assembly it will have the check spring installed on the bottom shaft. All that holds that spring in place is the round nut on the split shaft. Hopefully, it will arrive preset with some amount of spring action. Before changing anything you should first remove the old unit and install the new one. Leave the lower set screw going into the underside of the body finger tight. Tighten the top screw all the way. Use a finger tip to pull up on the check spring, then let it go. It should snap down until it hits the movable stop bracket that is attached to the body with a set screw of its own. If the spring doesn't have enough tension to make it all the way down, back off a tad on the nut and use a screw driver to turn the split shaft counterclockwise, until the spring goes all the way down on the left side. Tighten the nut on the shaft, then tighten the set screw that secures it to the body. This ensures that the spring action won't change on its own.

The check spring has a job unique to itself. It should move far enough to keep the top thread taut as the take-up lever moves down. Once the point of the needle has entered the material the spring should stop moving down.

Installed my new unit. The spring was all the way to the right so when i came around the bottom and up to the left and past the stop there seems to be quite a bit of resistance. I didn't adjust it at all. I am still having a lot of bunching under the fabric. At least the new tensioner is working. I can feel the difference when adjusting. Any thoughts on what to try now? Using jean material with a 22 needle and tex 70 thread. Not sure if that would make a difference. Waiting on new needle sizes. 

Thanks again.

 

[Wizcrafts]

Back off the bobbin spring tension screw (middle, not right end) to reduce the tension of the bottom thread.

[Terburn]

ok. Will try that. I did blow out under the feed dogs and around the bobbin case, There was a little burr I filed off on the feed dogs underneath, I eased off on the pressure on the foot and seems a lot better with a loop hear and there. The lady that had the machine did upholstery work so she may have had it set a lot different than I want it.