Singer 111W155 presser foot adjustment

[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.

 

[Wizcrafts]

10 hours ago, mjskier said:

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.

That spring pushes down on the inside foot, which pushes down on the material under it. Under that is the feed dog with its hole or slot for the needle. If you get prominent pock marks on the bottom from the hole in the feed dog, back off that top screw and let the main pressure spring on the back exert most of the foot pressure. I've attached a manual for the Singer 111w155 and 156 that shows the various views of the parts, including the rear pressure spring. It also contains valuable usage details.

111W156.pdf111W152_W153_W154_W155.pdf

[mjskier]

Thank you so much!