111w155 Help for a newbie

[PhillyJay]

Hello.  This is a bit long but I thought the history would help. 

 

My .111w155 has been giving me fits.  The project I am working on is auto seat covers.  The machine was was used in the past and had no issues sewing vinyl auto seats.   

In practice the machine would sew several layers of leather, vinyl, with ease.  Once I try to connect several layers of material together the needle thread would fray after a few stitches then break.  I changed needles,  and thread several times with no changes. 

The leather is bonded to 1/2 inch polyfoam. I am trying to connect 2 panels with a  vinyl welt in-between.  The machine has handled this with ease in the past as this is the second time I recovered seats with this machine. 

I got to messing around with things, the timing, needle bar,  etc and made things worse.  Itried to follow the naval guide and the factory manual but the pictures are bad and the information is hard to follow.  I eventually took the machine to a repair shop who timed it  to the tune of ($219 dollars! ). 

Once I got the machine back it was sewing properly through all layers of material until I hit the welt. The stitches were no longer connecting so I cut the threads to restart sewing and now the machine won't pick up the bobbin thread. 

Every video I have watched on any machine shows the hook crossing the needle on the way up in order to grab the thread.  On my machine the needle doesn't go low enough to have the hook cross,  and it is a fair way up before the hook gets near it.  Could this have happened by hitting a welt? 

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

Jay

 

[JRodz]

I would do the following in this order:

• Change needle (maybe change size and/or point)
• Rethread machine
• Adjust tension for the additional thickness and resistance
• Check hook

In my experience with my 155s and 156, fraying thread is usually a tension or material thickness/temper issue.

 

[ljk]

My suggestion.  Turn till needle is at bottom, raise .  .100"  or 1/10 of inch needle should intersect

1/32 above eye. If this is okay and is stitching then fine tune up or down in fine increments.  In the

early 70s I did the same and had to put on a bus for a 600 mile trip, after that I learned fast.

If this doesn't work go to YouTube and view Uwe Grosse Consew 225 timing video  tx Lynn

[PhillyJay]

Thank you both for your replies. I really wanted to get in and figure things out, but I was talked out of it because I paid someone to do it.   The repair shop gave me a 3 month warranty so I took the machine back the next morning.  I definitely need to learn about maintenance of the machine.  I cannot afford or have time to run back to a shop every time. 

I  just don't understand how hitting a welt would knock the machine out of time unless the needle bar slipped? When I tried to move it by hand it would not move. 

 Thanks again. 

Jay

[Matt S]

1 hour ago, PhillyJay said:

Thank you both for your replies. I really wanted to get in and figure things out, but I was talked out of it because I paid someone to do it.   The repair shop gave me a 3 month warranty so I took the machine back the next morning.  I definitely need to learn about maintenance of the machine.  I cannot afford or have time to run back to a shop every time. 

I  just don't understand how hitting a welt would knock the machine out of time unless the needle bar slipped? When I tried to move it by hand it would not move. 

Jammed threads + brute force = slipped timing. It can even happen from a hard crash or needle strike. It's possible that the screws holding the needle bar or hook driving gear weren't fully tightened by whoever was in your machine last. Better that the needle bar slips upwards (easy fix) or the hook driving gears slip on the shaft (slightly trickier fix) than something expensive goes ping. More modern machines have a safety clutch on the hook driving shaft which (in theory) disengages when the balance wheel tries to move a jammed hook.

What's in your welt? If it's something hard like nulene or wire you are likely to get the needle bar slipping upwards, or a broken or bent needle.

Tempting as it might be, don't brute force the wheel round if you get jammed! Cut out what threads you can reach, take off feet, needles, bobbin, needle plates and whatever else you need to to get to threads and remove the work. Pull out what's loose and apply gentle pressure on the wheel back and forth to see if you can loosen any other threads. Make sure all errant threads are removed before turning the machine over, and do it the first few times by hand (no power). Check that the machine is running okay on a piece of scrap before putting your work back in.

[PhillyJay]

Thank you Matt.  I am unsure if I forced the wheel this time but I have done it in the past even on my home machines.  Lesson learned. 

 The welt is the neoprene/ plastic stuff commonly found in auto upholstery.  I believe there is a hollow version that I now wish I had bought instead. 

Thank you for your reply

@Lynn  the video by uwe may be the best timing video I have even seen.  I have homework. 

 

[Northmount]

@PhillyJay moved your post to leather sewing machines.

Tom

 

[Pintodeluxe]

Fraying.  Whenever I hear the word fraying, I think about two things...

1.  Needle bar thread guide.  Does your machine have one?  Is the thread staying in the needle bar thread guide as you sew?

 

2.  Check spring.  Is the check spring controlling slack in the upper thread until the needle enters the material?  If not, adjust the position and tension of the spring per the manual.  I usually like my check spring to sit fairly horizontal, and exert a light intermittent tension on the thread.  It needs enough tension to keep the slack out of the way as you sew.  

These two points assume you already have the correct needle / thread size combination.  I assume you're using 92 weight thread and a #19 or #20 needle?  

I agree that Uwe's videos are very helpful for timing and machine settings.  You can just follow the Consew 225 / 226 videos.  Good luck getting it sorted.  

Edited August 28, 2020 by Pintodeluxe

[JRodz]

PhillyJay,
A good source of information with great reference materials is Ron Kerbes, you can get more info here http://industrialsewingrepair.com/maintenance-kit/. This money was well spent and has saved me a lot over the last 10 years by not having to call a mechanic. A side benefit is having the confidence that I can fix and maintain my machines myself.
 

Ron is local to me and I use him on occasion, but his kit, the instruction book, and videos he includes have made me self sufficient. I have actually called him to hear, “you don’t need me just do x, y, z, refer back to reference a or video b, and if you still need me after that, I’ll come out or you can drop it off” He is very giving of his knowledge and experience.

Note: other than being a customer and supporting local/small business, I don’t get any kind of incentive or benefit from my referrals.

 

[Northmount]

17 minutes ago, JRodz said:

you can get more info here http://industrialsewingrepair.com/maintenance-kit/

Just tried this link and it tells me "The administrator has blocked your IP from accessing this website".  I assume that he has blocked IP addresses outside of the USA.

Tom

[JRodz]

Here is the flyer from that page with the basic info.

maintenance-kit-flyer.pdf