Brother LS2-B837 tension

[pogo]

Hello,

I'm a nubie who's been lurking here soaking up much incredibly valuable info about the mysteries of industrial sewing machines. I recently acquired a Brother LS2-B837 that seems to be in pretty good condition. It was owned by a man who had a canvas business, so it has seen regular use until its owner retired a few years ago. Since then, it's pretty much been unused.

I gave it a good cleaning to remove as much of the varnish and stuck-on lint that I could get off from the underside. Then I oiled it and made a few test runs. It worked pretty well until I changed the bobbin thread and realized I had no idea what I was doing. The bird's nest I got when I tried to sew reminded me. I have almost no experience with full-blooded industrial machines. I do have a Singer 20U73 which comes close, but still falls short of the category. I tried to download a manual from Brother but their manual is really for the LS2-B837-300A, a variant with a thread cutter, synchronizer, and other control features. I have some basic questions the manual doesn't cover--probably because Brother assumes anybody buying one of these machines already knows the answers. I thought someone here might be able and willing to offer some advice. My questions (so far) are:

1. How do I set the lower (bobbin) tension?

2. What it the correct procedure for loading a bobbin (direction of rotation, what should I do with the tail, etc.)?

3. How can I check the machine's timing to be sure it's right or needs adjustment?

4. How do I put oil into the reservoir that lubricates the hook? How much?

5. How much oil should I put into the upper reservoir?

6. What kind of oil should I use?

Many thanks. I appreciate anything anyone can offer.

Edited February 28, 2017 by pogo

[Zambezi]

No 1, I find it best to leave the bobbin tension until all the options in the top tension is exhausted. 

No. 2 as I understand it, the thread should unwind anticlockwise. 

No3 I'll leave that one. 

No 4 Just to the right of the rotating hook is a small dip stick. Remove this and put the oil in the hole or came out of. Fill till the dip stick shows enough. 

No 5 in the top cover is a viewer with two horizontal red lines. The oil level should be between these two lines. 

NO. 6 plainight sewing machine oil.