Something to Sing(er) about! :)

[suzelle]

Well, I found a little time today to get the singer 20U out again and still haven't found the rod I need to get the motor properly hooked up. I've been to the hardware store and poked around a bit, just hadn't yet found the right bolt/rod. I did find a sewing machine shop that may have the part I need though, and I would prefer to just buy that if I can.

So in the meantime.... I decided to install a couple of parts on my machine to beef it up a bit. I found the parts on the sailrite.com site for my machine. I added a heavier duty beehive spring in the tension knob, a heavier duty take up spring, and a heavier duty spring for the presser foot. These three changes will allow me to work with thicker/heavier materials. It took some doing, but I got the stitch looking good. I tested the stitched by turning the handwheel manually, which took some time! 

Since I don't have an actual manual for this exact machine (which is a 20U33) I downloaded the closest one I could find, which looks slightly different than my machine and older. There are a few things that look a little different on my machine, and the stitch widths on the 20U's can vary from about 9mm to 12mm. My machine does 9mm zig zag at best and I'm happy with that. I'm guessing that most of the 20U machines are capable of 5 stitches per inch, which I wish mine could do. I'm getting close to 6 stitches per inch. This is a bit shorter stitch than I thought this machine was capable of.

Anyone know how to make the stitch longer? I've got the stitch dial set to it's longest, which says "5" on the dial, so I'm certain that's not the problem. This machine is older, but it is in like new condition. So the parts are not worn out. Is there something I'm missing or something to learn about how to adjust the machine to make it stitch longer? Please let me know if you have the same machine I have and if you are able to to get 5 stitches per inch.

Thanks so much!

[Constabulary]

if you can´t find a pitman rod buy 2 feet of chain and 2 S-Hooks.

[suzelle]

Constabulary, thank you for that idea! Yes, I'll be needing a pitman rod too. Wasn't sure what that was called, so thank you again!

[suzelle]

Okay, I think I figured out my stitch length problem!

The stitch length problem is really a math problem.

Since I don't have the manual for this machine, I was guessing based on what I found on internet that my machine would do 5 stitches per inch. Well, after finding some more info (brand new 20U machines for sale), I think the longest stitch on the machine would be 5mm, not 5 stitches per inch!

Conclusion: This machine is now sewing the longest stitch possible, unless I can find a trick to make it sew longer stitches than manufacturer intended.

Sadly, this won't do for some of my heavy duty sewing. I do like that it can easily sew the v69 poly bonded thread and I can use it for upholstery work, sewing denims and that type of thing. I can also use it as a portable machine, but this thing is heavy! I think I found out it's limitations! I still like it though and it's in great condition.

Thank you all for reading and for you input.

[suzelle]

I got my first project done on the machine with the help of a small motor (1.5 amp) attached to the machine. My project the repair of my Greenhouse Cover. I have well over 1,000 Japanese Maple trees that I've been growing and my poor Greenhouse Cover that I bought Spring of last year was falling apart. My young trees still need protection from the heat and direct sun in the warmer months. The webbing reinforced plastic was still very usable and functional, only the manufacturer used a very cheap cotton thread to construct it and it was falling apart after a year in the sunshine. I estimate that I had sewn about 400 feet of v69 bonded poly thread through the machine last night and the machine powered through it with no issues, perfect stitching all the way through. All I have left to do is attach a few grommets to anchor my newly repaired greenhouse cover to the frame. It felt good to be able to do this job at home, I didn't have to drive to the shop and drag this huge cover around.

Since I did all of my sewing in one sitting, the small motor and foot pedal got a bit warm, so this motor set-up is really just temporary or for smaller jobs, until I find something better. I had the foot pedal already and decided to just put out a few bucks for a 1.5 amp motor. Has a little more oomph than most of the small motors I have owned.

I did try a zigzag stitch at one point, and decided since there was lots of skipping going on in the stitch with zigzag, that I would just do the entire repair job with straight stitch. That was fine for this project, so my zigzag was just an experiment. I'll have to figure that out later 

As far as parts go for my table set-up, I was able to locate a real pitman rod, I had also found a new bolt (bent rod) for adjusting the belt pressure on the 1/2 horsepower. After upgrading the tension spring and the foot pressure springs in the machine, I may even be able to sew with v-92 thread, we'll see. I'll wait to get it into the table before I try that. 

Of course I still would wish to be able to sew a longer stitch, but if 5mm is all this machine will do, I will still be handy as a portable machine. I ordered a new wooden carrier/case for porting it around, arrivingtomorrow. I will want to get a decent thread stand for the portable set up too, that was one of the parts the previous owner took off the machine. Sailrite has a nice one that swings out from the bed of machine. The older 20U-33 machines like mine came with a couple thread stand options and a light that attached to the back of the machine. I also ordered a modern LED magnetic light for the machine which will plug right into the socket I have for the foot pedal (portable set up), or into the 1/2 horsepower motor in the table set-up. The magnetic lights look pretty nice and nice that you can moved them around on the machine as needed. I was having a hard time lastnight seeing what I was doing without a light attached to my machine.

Just wanted to share what I've done with this machine if there is anyone else out there looking for ideas on how they can put together a portable machine that may be the answer to some of your projects where you need something a little beefier than a standard home sewing machine and you need to be able to take it with you.

[suzelle]

The Culprit - why zigzag setting causes skipped stitches:

It's the bobbin case ! Previous Owner also removed the original bobbin case from the machine! Wow, I really should have caught this sooner. The machine was stitching just fine after making adjustments to the machine, with the Towa 52237 bobbin case it had with it. Looked like a good quality case to me and it stitched in "straight" mode beautifully, so I figured it must be something else causing the stitch problem in zig-zag. After getting an actual Singer manual for the machine which explained two different ways to use the bobbin case (with very bad illustration) in straight or zig-zag modes, I began to wonder if I had the right bobbin case. I found a number on the bobbin case and looked it up. Turns out my bobbin case is indeed for Industrial machines, but it is a Class 95 bobbin. So it would be better suited for my 188K machine. I'm setting it aside!

I ordered three new "pigtail" bobbin cases for my Singer 20U, these will allow me the optional ways to thread the bobbin case for straight or zig-zag stitching. The part number for this style bobbin case that I purchased is: 541678. I had found another part number for it too, which is 410025. Waiting for those bobbin cases to arrive and I plan to set them up different for the various thread types I use. Just a time saver for me as I plan to use the machine for many purposes.

Edited May 26, 2018 by suzelle
spelling

[suzelle]

New Bobbin cases arrived, and I have ordered a few other parts as well to replace every part that was pulled off the machine. Only one more part to purchase, which is a new v-belt. I ordered a 44" belt, which turned out to be too big, so going to try a 42" belt. Waiting for that. I added up all the expenses for the parts I've purchased and it comes to about $150.00, not bad! I've already used the machine for a few projects with the small side mounted motor. Now to try zig zag stitching with the new bobbin cases. I'm happy to say that the heavier springs I put in the tension knob and in the pressure foot have allowed me to sew v-92 bonded poly thread with no problems. Handles it easily! So this machine will be great for canopy and tarp repairs too! I don't use a heavier thread, so that will be fine.

I'm going to use the machine to try some fancy embroidery work too, I will be using some thicker threads than my usual 40 weight that runs on my commercial embroidery machines. If I can get it to do a perfect zigzag stitch, it will be fun for freehand work. I'm wanting to produce something that looks similar to hand embroidered crewel embroidery work on wool and denims - clothing items.

This will be a very versatile machine for me, so glad I purchased it! Will put photos up last when I have my tables and portable/carrier box finished.

[KeriHat]

On 3/24/2018 at 2:35 AM, suzelle said:

The Singer 20U takes industrial needles, you can even set it up as a "twin" needle (I just learned) which can be helpful with a double-stitch look

Hello, did you ever find out how to use your singer 20U as a twin needle? I bought one after coming across your post via google but I can't find the part - twin needle adaptor clamp . It's a great machine for my purposes regardless, but any info will be greatly appreciated!

[Northmount]

6 hours ago, KeriHat said:

The Singer 20U takes industrial needles, you can even set it up as a "twin" needle (I just learned) which can be helpful with a double-stitch look

The manual says 135x9 needle system.  That's not particularly an industrial needle!  Standard domestic system, even though it is in an industrial tailoring machine.

So the standard dressmaking twin needles fit.

 

[KeriHat]

45 minutes ago, Northmount said:

The manual says 135x9 needle system.  That's not particularly an industrial needle!  Standard domestic system, even though it is in an industrial tailoring machine.

So the standard dressmaking twin needles fit.

 

Thank you for the info, very helpful. I didn't realize the 20U was so similar to/compatible with the domestic system.