Singer 111W155 presser foot adjustment

[Uwe]

Have you tried these steps I had listed above?

1. Turn the handwheel until tip of descending needle is level with top of throat plate

2. Loosen purple arrow screw (Both feet will drop to be level with throat plate)

3. Tighten purple-arrow screw again.

4. Verify full turn with no bind

We'll need to see some pictures or a short video to see what's going on. We're just doing a lot of guessing based on vague descriptions.  

 

[Ole South]

Yes Uwe, That's what led me to where the bind actually was.  Brmax, I've shimmed both feet and used that as a starting point too. I'll try and get some pictures. Ty all. 

[Ole South]

Okay, with the help of a friend of mine (real live Sewing Machine mechanic) I got to work on the beast today.  She's lifting both feet now, not quite as high as spec says but we both learned a lot about the 111w155.  Our pdf doesn't give a starting point for the adjustment but it is correct.  Turning the eccentric worm gear counter clockwise creates a "cam" effect off the motion of the upper drive shaft resulting in a greater range of motion of the (exposed) lifter rocker/swing arms (visible in Figs 4, 18 & 19) which drive both presser feet bars via the Lifting Bell Crank Lever(Simanco p/n 240205 plate 16993, Consew #2 pg 5).  This results in a higher lift of one or both feet.  Since the presser foot basically pivots off the vibrating foot you only see vibrating foot rise or fall as you are making the adjustment at screw D.  There are a lot of moving pieces to getting the machine to lift both feet as you desire.  Basically this is a complex equivalent of the 29-4 L-M-H wingnut setting.

We got both feet lifting about 3/8", synchronized correctly and sewing well.  All the settings are not perfect as the needle bar now impacts and binds the top of the vibrating foot when the Presser Lift Lever is up and the hand wheel is rotated but sews well.  The major culprit appears to be the Presser Bar Spring Bracket wasn't set properly.  As brmax noted shimming or prying one or both of the feet up/down is necessary to accomplish adjustment if the machine is too far out of spec (I used a stack of pennies or dimes as a shim).  It would be nice to create a beginning to end procedure for setting the lift.  The pdf manual assumes a correctly adjusted machine, I'll try and come up with written procedure but finding a set starting point is the trick.

Set screws involved (ref: INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING AND ADJUSTING SINGER* SEWING MACHINES CLASS 111 VARIETIES 152, 153, 154 and 155 {pdf}):
G (Fig 4 pg. 5) -Positions rocker arms and releases feet
C* (Fig 19 pg 17) -Supposed to lock Eccentric Regulating (worm) Screw
D (Fig 20 pg 17) Lift Eccentric Regulating Screw - Sets lift height
Pinch Screw 200086c & Presser Bar Spring Bracket (Simanco p/n 210949 Part Manual Plate 16693, Consew #15&16 pg 7) Sets the height the Presser Foot rises

Additionally I discovered why the tension release bar comes flying out the back of the machine or may lock both presser feet it the UP position when the Presser Release handle is hyper extended. Either the Tension Release Slide (Consew #11 pg 7 or Simanco p/n 264527 plate 16693) is binding and/or gummed up or the Presser Bar Spring Bracket is set too high.

I've included a link to the Consew 206rb parts manual as the exploded diagrams (similar tho not exactly the same) show relative positioning better than the Singer Parts Lists

Reference: http://consew.com/Files/112347/PartsBooks/206RB-5.pdf

* On my 111W155 there are two screws on Fig 19 instead of a single "C" set screw as shown.  Neither seem have any effect on locking the regulating screw adjustment on my machine (too much wear??).  The one on the left (as you are looking from the back of the machine) is the Eccentric Body Set Screw (I assume locks the eccentric to the upper drive shaft) and the right-most is the Lift Eccentric Set Screw (locks the Regulating Screw??).

Edited March 4, 2017 by Ole South

[bj139]

I know this is an old thread but searching for 111w155 foot lift led me here. 

Isn't the maximum foot lift limited by the needle bar coming down and hitting the top of the foot?  I have mine adjusted so I can fit about 7/16" of material under the foot and the needle bar comes down and barely touches the top of the foot.  I don't know if  sewing 1/2" is possible because of the needle bar hitting the foot. 

It looks like I am getting a tiny bit less than 4 SPI at maximum stitch length.

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by bj139

[bj139]

Here is this solid cardboard thickness I sewed.  The servo motor had trouble sewing this but I helped with the handwheel.  A larger handwheel would work better.  I tried pushing another layer of cardboard under the foot but no go.

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by bj139

[mjskier]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but since there is a lot of knowledge about the 111G15* I thought that would be a good place rather than starting a new thread.

I bought a 111G156. It works fine. But, the presser foot lever is extremely stiff (at least compared to other sewing machines I have used)
Nothing binds. But it just require quite a bit of force to bring the lever up and down.

Is that common for these machines, or is there potentially a problem with mine?

Thank you

[Wizcrafts]

6 hours ago, mjskier said:

Sorry to revive this old thread, but since there is a lot of knowledge about the 111G15* I thought that would be a good place rather than starting a new thread.

I bought a 111G156. It works fine. But, the presser foot lever is extremely stiff (at least compared to other sewing machines I have used)
Nothing binds. But it just require quite a bit of force to bring the lever up and down.

Is that common for these machines, or is there potentially a problem with mine?

Thank you

I have a 211G156. The foot pressure is adjustable via a screw over the long pressure spring. Try backing off that screw and the foot pressure should ease up.

[mjskier]

Is that the screw you are talking about?
It is almost all the way out. The pressure did ease up a bit. Still stiffer than say a domestic sewing machine.
I don't have a point of reference for these all machines, so I'm not sure what "stiff" really mean for them.

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, mjskier said:

Is that the screw you are talking about?
It is almost all the way out. The pressure did ease up a bit. Still stiffer than say a domestic sewing machine.
I don't have a point of reference for these all machines, so I'm not sure what "stiff" really mean for them.

No, it isn't. But, it does have a strong effect on the force needed to turn the machine it it is all the way down. That spring and screw affect the inside alternating/vibrating foot.

The spring I was talking about runs along the back side of the machine. It is a long, flat bar, about 1/8 inch thick, 1/2 inch wide and maybe 10 to 12 inches long. There is a screw about half way along the back side that pushes down to add pressure to the outside foot.

[mjskier]

I see, you are talking about the long bar that acts as a seesaw when pushed by the knee lifter.
I did loosen the spring on the vertical shaft that gets pushed up by the knee lifter, but didn't think to look for a spring on the flat bar itself.

That spring and screw affect the inside alternating/vibrating foot.
Oops, I should have left it alone. How do I know how far to screw it down? I haven't seen it mentioned in the service manual I found online.