Wobbly feed dog consew 227r

[JeannieH]

Hi! So I noticed my feed dog has a lot of play in it. I will attach a video of how loose it is. Should it be this loose? What do I need to fix it?

 

 

[plinkercases]

I'm sorry I cant help but I had to mention that that is a great name for a band...the "Wobbly Feed Dogs".

Hope get some helpful feedback....

[Uwe]

Yes, that is definitely way too much play in that feed dog. Either there are some screws loose or parts are worn and/or misaligned. Exactly which is the case is hard to tell without sitting in front of the machine. 

Based on the video, here's my take:

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Uwe

[Uwe]

I remember making this adjustment described in the Singer 153W manual  on my Singer 153W102, which is very similar to the Consew 227 in this mechanism:

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Uwe

[Singermania]

agree with Uwe, the screw or at least the part looks loose.   the 227R is a great machine we do the Cowboy version here in Australia called the CB227R so the machine is still healthy and going into the next decade.

[JeannieH]

Thanks guys! I made those adjustments and I have no more movement! I tightened until I did bind the machine..then backed of until it had movement again. I will see if that solves the problem of me having skipped stitches sometimes. I’m enjoying working on this machine lol! I’m glad I’m mechanically inclines because the nearest shop is 3 1/2 hrs from me. Singer mania you are right, this is a great machine. To think I almost sold it to get a new white consew 227r made in China! Thanks to Uwe I thought again and kept my machine. My husband and I came up with a make shift speed reducer for me. Now I can sew a little slower when needed. It adds some noise but it’s worth it!

Before I end this, any tips on the type of needle that works best for my type of sewing? Leather bags with leather 4-6 ounce chrome mostly..haven’t ventured to anything else yet. I have been using size 16 with a round tip and size #18 tri...

[JeannieH]

Well I’m getting skipped stitches. I will look at the timing again..but I just did it yesterday when the skipping first started...

 

[JeannieH]

Sorry..looks like now my hook is too far from my needle. It wasn’t like that yesterday..not sure how it moves but I will try moving it back over.

[JeannieH]

8 hours ago, plinkercases said:

I'm sorry I cant help but I had to mention that that is a great name for a band...the "Wobbly Feed Dogs".

Hope get some helpful feedback....

Lol yes that is catchy!

[CowboyBob]

If the screws the hold the hook saddle in position aren't tight enough it will move do to the force of the gears as your sewing.

[JeannieH]

I moved the hook over to where I think it should be. But I think the hook is slightly hitting the inside of the dog. This reminds me that when I first got the machine and took the feed dog off..there was a piece of metal wedge in the cut out where the hole is. Later I figured out that when I used a bigger needle..the machine would  make a metal hitting sound where the feed dog was..I had removed that piece.

maybe I need to put another piece in there to see if it solves the problem of the hook hitting the feed dog. It’s a seiko brand feed dog. Is it possible that buying another feed dog will be best? Maybe this one isn’t compatible?

 

2 minutes ago, CowboyBob said:

If the screws the hold the hook saddle in position aren't tight enough it will move do to the force of the gears as your sewing.

Thanks. I did notice the back screw under the arm was a little loose when I went to loosen it. I will go back and tighten as much as I physically can.

[CowboyBob]

Maybe the hook guard(metal under hook) is hitting the needle causing you to move the needle a little too far left.

[JeannieH]

It moves it very slightly..hard to tell really. I made a little piece from paper stiffener to put inside the feed dog. If that doesn’t work I will look closer at the hook guard. Doing it now.

[Uwe]

You may also be able to grind the feed dog a little with a Dremel style tool to improve clearance for the needle.

As Bob mentioned, the needle guard should just brush up against the needle, not deflect it much to the left. At some point you will just run into the design limitation of the machine, which only has room built-in for a certain size needle.

Here's a video snippet I made when we first talked about hook timing on this machine. I thought I'd share it here again for all.  It shows how the needle guard should brush up against the needle and protect it when the needle gets deflected towards the hook.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Uwe

[JeannieH]

I put the paper in. Now the needle makes a sound and slightly moves when the hook comes around to it.

[JeannieH]

4 minutes ago, Uwe said:

You may also be able to grind the feed dog a little with a Dremel style tool to improve clearance for the needle.

As Bob mentioned, the needle guard should just brush up against the needle, not deflect it much to the left. At some point you will just run into the design limitation of the machine, which only has room built-in for a certain size needle.

Here's a video snippet I made when we first talked about hook timing on this machine. I thought I'd share it here again for all.  It shows how the needle guard brushes up against the needle and protects it when the needle gets deflected towards the hook.

Yes I remember that video. Very helpful. The needle barely moves..not as much as in the video from what I can tell. I will take the paper out and try to grind it some. The needle is just a size 18. The biggest I’ve tried to use was a 22 and boy need metal start hitting. That’s when I saw that having something wedge inside the feed dog and moving the hook assembly over to the right some stopped that.

[JeannieH]

Should the feed dog be centered in the opening?

my guard isn’t moving the needle at all.

 

[Uwe]

The Consew 227R is supposed to be able to use up to size #23 needle, according to the Consew 227R manual  (spec table below.) Feed dogs from other machines or manufacturers may fit the machine but may not have quite the right shape to allow for the same needle range. If the feed dog is cheap, a Dremel may fix that problem. 

You may also be able to adjust the position of the feed dog carrier slightly to the left to provide a little more clearance. It's important that the needle stays centered with the hole in the feed dog, otherwise it'll start hitting the feed dog when it gets deflected. 

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Uwe

[JeannieH]

Thanks Uwe. So....my problem is fixed. Here is what was wrong...this whole tim I had my bobbin in the machine. I forgot about it and thread had nested all around the assembly..so I removed that mess..put the paper wedge inside the foot..now everything is sewing fine. No skips and no hits. Uwe I will look into getting another feed dog. In the meantime I will try What you and the other members suggested to give me more clearance. I appreciate you guys taking the time to help me!

[JeannieH]

FYI the thread didn’t cause the skips the first time..I believe it was the hook position and the loose feed dog.