mourer Report post Posted February 17, 2021 Hello, I am new to the forum. I recently purchased a 1945 Singer 16-188 and mounted it to a treadle base (home size treadle until I can locate an industrial Singer Treadle). I have read over old posts on this site about the 16-188 and have changed the needle (using 16-62), made sure the scarf is facing right and the thread enters from left. The thread I'm using is 69 nylon. I replaced the check spring and adjusted it so there is tension on the tread until the take up arm is in it's lowest part of it's decent. I am getting skipped stitches, no stitches when I try to rotate the fabric to sew a curve on my test piece and inconsistent stitch length when I am sewing. It seems to like to shortest stitches best. Any advice would be great. The machine is beautiful and in clean and complete shape. I haven't messed with the foot adjustment yet. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 18, 2021 Have you properly timed the position of the eye of the needle on the upstroke to the arrival of the tip of the hook about 1/8" above the eye? Is there a good loop forming on the upstroke? Or, does it dissolve before pick-off time? Is the hook close to the needle as it passes above the eye? If any of the answers to these questions are negative, make the necessary corrections. If the timing of the hook is good but the loop dissolves too quickly, tweak the check spring to give more slack thread. This could be by stopping the downward throw with moving bracket under the spring. Also, #69 thread calls for a #18 (110) needle. Is that the size you are using and having skipped stitches with? The scarf in the needle on any sewing machine must face the direction of the hook (or looper), no matter what orientation that requires. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mourer Report post Posted February 19, 2021 Hello, I am new to this forum but have been sewing for 30 years. I recently picked up a 1945 Singer 16-188. It's currently set up on a home size treadle base until I can find an industrial treadle for it. I have read over all the posts on this site I could find about the machine and following the info from these posts, have set the machine up with 16-63 needle, 69 thread (I have lots of this around - I use it on a Juki and Kingmax walking foot machines at work - should I try #92?). Bobbin is seems to be wound correctly and I've tired the original housing, a new old stock housing and a brand new housing all with the same results. I replaced the check spring with new, oiled it (turns smooth and looks to be a well maintained and respectfully used machine). I'm pretty sure I have it threaded correctly and needle inserted properly and fully seated (scarf facing right, groove to the left and thread through needle left to right) and of course I am making sure the hand wheel is moving down towards me or counter-clockwise if looking at it from the end. It will sew and make stitches if I go slow, but with skip with even moderate speed and has a very difficult time sewing a curve - the top thread just lays on to of the material. I have tried various types & thicknesses of material with the same results. I haven't messed with the timing or any other adjustments other than the stuff mentioned above. I made a short video to illustrate the problem. I have already appreciated the info I've learned from all the pros on this site. Looking forward to learning what I'm doing wrong so I can get this old gal stitching again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mourer Report post Posted February 19, 2021 Sorry, this is kind of a duplicate post. I didn't realize my original post was actually posted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 19, 2021 28 minutes ago, mourer said: Sorry, this is kind of a duplicate post. I didn't realize my original post was actually posted. I merged your posts into this one. Please don't hit Submit twice. It can sometimes take a little while for the server to receive your submission and respond to you. The bottleneck could be anywhere along the wires. Patience is a virtue, especially if one plans to sew things for a living. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mourer Report post Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) Well, it's sewing like a champ now. The throat plate had a stuck screw, I put a drop of PB Blaster on it and finally freed the screw so I could try to inspect and adjust the timing. I discovered the feed dogs were super loose. I removed them and cleaned everything (inspected the timing, it looked perfect), properly reinstalled the feed dogs and put the rest of the parts on and it is sewing great. Thanks for the advice and sorry about the double post & the crummy video quality. Edited February 19, 2021 by mourer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 20, 2021 Awesome! I'm glad it was a simple fix. Things would have gotten much worse if you hadn't found the loose feeder screws. She sews like a brand new old one! Use the serial number to look up the date of manufacture on Ismacs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
