Tension disks on Consew 99 not opening when foot lifted

[Chelan]

Problem:  The tensioning disks on my Consew 99 do not seem to be 'relaxing' (releasing?) when I lift the presser foot, either by the hand lever or with the knee lift.  It doesn't cause a problem with my working thread tension, but it does make it a bit harder to pull my work out from under the needle bar at the end of a stitch row.   Could someone give me advice on how to trouble shoot this?

By the way, I wanted to thank the forum members for the previous tips on adjusting the knee lift on a Consew 206.  I think my problem is simply the location of the knee lifter bar.  The measured diagram is going to help. 

I recently joined this forum because everyone seems so dang knowledgeable and the advice given has really helped me learn more about my current machines (Consew 99 and Pfaff 138).  I have not gotten into leather just yet (that sounds a bit strange...), but as a NOOB, my focus has been on sewing a sail for my ultralight.  Most of my time over the last year or so has been spent on cleaning up/refurbishing the two machines I have and learning to sew a somewhat straight, consistent zig zag.  Enough of the background.

 

Thank you.

Chelan

 

[Northmount]

Moved to leather sewing machines.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Chelan said:

Problem:  The tensioning disks on my Consew 99 do not seem to be 'relaxing' (releasing?) when I lift the presser foot, either by the hand lever or with the knee lift.

This maybe as simple as the nut on the tension disc is screwed in tight so the coiled tension spring is putting to much force on the discs. Try backing the nut off and see if the discs become slack when the pressor foot is locked in the up position. They could also be seized together from lack of use. It maybe that the rod that pushes the apart is damaged or worn out. A photo of the tensioner may also help.

kgg

[nylonRigging]

Also .. It maybe just a 1-minute simple Fix adjustment, so check this 1st .
The whole tension assembly slides inward and outward . There is a small screw hold-down to your tension assembly @ about 3 or 4 o'clock R-side, that screws against the barrel of the assembly holding it secure .
Loosen screw, and slide the Assembly inward just a little bit and re-tighten screw lock . See if this takes-up the gap to the push-pin, to make better contact for tension release.
.

[DonInReno]

21 hours ago, Chelan said:

I have not gotten into leather just yet (that sounds a bit strange...),

Lol

If you get a chance to pick up a piece of thin to medium weight leather to have on hand you’ll soon find all sorts of uses from tool rolls to adding wear patches to storage bags to leather washers to reduce a rattle somewhere.  Aviation is full of bits and pieces of leather.   

[bj139]

15 hours ago, nylonRigging said:

Also .. It maybe just a 1-minute simple Fix adjustment, so check this 1st .
The whole tension assembly slides inward and outward . There is a small screw hold-down to your tension assembly @ about 3 or 4 o'clock R-side, that screws against the barrel of the assembly holding it secure .
Loosen screw, and slide the Assembly inward just a little bit and re-tighten screw lock . See if this takes-up the gap to the push-pin, to make better contact for tension release.
.

Great suggestion.

I sometimes intentionally set my tension assembly out a bit so thick sewing does not release the tension and make a birds nest under the material.

[Chelan]

All great advice!  Thank you so much for the quick replies. The tensioner set up on the Consew 99 is fairly simple and, after looking at the schematic for this machine, it may come down to it just needing a good cleaning and adjustment of the parts.  Or, it could be as simple as a bad/broken/out of adjustment tension releasing pin that a couple of you alluded to.

I am having the best time learning to work with these machines, but the more I learn, the less I know.  And, of course, I keep thinking "If I only had a sewing machine with a larger bobbin...if I had a sewing machine with a walking foot...and on and on.  Good idea about grabbing up some thin leather to try out with my machine.  A tool roll would be a perfect project.  

[DonInReno]

8 hours ago, Chelan said:

Good idea about grabbing up some thin leather to try out with my machine.  A tool roll would be a perfect project.  

If you scan the local want ads once in a while someone with some upholstery weight hides will let them go for very cheap.   Someone near me bought enough chocolate colored hides to redo his hotrod interior, but they turned out being the exact color of milk chocolate and he wanted dark!  lol  I bought a couple sides for $20.

[Chelan]

You are a 'bad' (good) influence, Don, hah!   Thanks for the tip on locating leather I could get for a decent price and then learn to sew on.   I do need to finish my ultralight sails first before I get into a new project, but it does get me thinking.   Right now, neither of my sewing machines is giving me what I might call a good straight stitch.  Even adjusting the zig zag width to '0', I still see a back and forth movement (vibration) of the needle of about 1mm plus (photos below). I have been meaning to correct this, but my manual is so poorly printed that the illustrations are so dark I can't see what screws or parts the arrows are pointing to.  On top of that, I still need to fix the foot lift and get my the tensioner disks to release once the foot is raised.

A quick question, though:  For the lighter weight leather, do you have a needle size and point style that I should consider?  Standard thread size for lighter weight material?  I am using both V69 and 92 currently for my sails and Sunbrella projects.

 

Thank you.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Chelan said:

I am using both V69 and 92 currently for my sails and Sunbrella projects.

To get nice stitches particularly with the Sunbrella material which will depend on the denier, you will need at least 3 layers or more. I found it acted more like ripstop from a sewing perspective and getting the bottom stitch up into the material can be a chore.

kgg

[DonInReno]

On 5/26/2021 at 10:40 AM, Chelan said:

For the lighter weight leather, do you have a needle size and point style that I should consider?

A lot of upholstery-weight leather is sewn with a common ball point fabric needle and 92 weight thread.  I'd recommend just using what you have until there is a specific need to change the look of the stitches or you get interested in heavier weight leather.

On YouTube, the channel Cechaflo has an extensive selection of automotive upholstery sewing videos that are well worth checking out if you have a specific project.   Just watching the use of brushed on contact adhesive by someone who knows what they are doing will shed a lot of light on how difficult items are wrapped in leather.

If you ever get a chance to go to a well stocked industrial fabric store it's well worth the drive.   The one close to me buys a lot of remnants in random lengths as well as a good stock of the more common fabrics.  There is an automotive carpet section, automotive leathers, upholstery leather, upholstery fabric, industrial synthetics, outdoor synthetics, marine vinyl, upholstery vinyl, foam of all kinds, canvas of all kinds, all sizes of zippers and upholstery related hardware, etc.  and that's just the half I like looking through - the other half of the warehouse is normal clothing fabrics.   These are the places upholstery shops shop at.

Para gear has high quality hardware and sewing supplies - mostly skydiving stuff, but I find something interesting every time I thumb through the catalog!

Para Gear - Skydiving Gear? Parachutes? Shop ParaGear.com!

[Chelan]

Wow!  Just one more benefit of signing up for this forum.   You'd think there would have to be something up here in the Seattle area that would have some of these things.   I have been to the ParaGear website before in my search for harness hardware and they have a ton of great stuff.

 

I am looking forward to this weekend when I can go up to the sail loft (converted hangar) and work with my sewing machine.

 

Be safe and enjoy the holiday weekend!

 

Best regards,

 

Paul

[Chelan]

On 5/24/2021 at 4:39 PM, nylonRigging said:

Also .. It maybe just a 1-minute simple Fix adjustment, so check this 1st .
The whole tension assembly slides inward and outward . There is a small screw hold-down to your tension assembly @ about 3 or 4 o'clock R-side, that screws against the barrel of the assembly holding it secure .
Loosen screw, and slide the Assembly inward just a little bit and re-tighten screw lock . See if this takes-up the gap to the push-pin, to make better contact for tension release.
.

NylonRigging:  You were right on the money with what to look for on my 'non-releasing' tension disks.  I found that small screw that holds the tensioner assembly just to the right of it.  Of course, this was after locating the screw which had been covered up by a tiny pce. of masking tape I used when I was repainting the body of the machine.  Anyway, I pulled the assembly to check the tension release pin and guess what?  No tension release pin.  However, when I purchased the used Consew 99, the previous owner had included a zip lock bag filled with spare bobbins, small screws, another foot or two and other odds 'n ends.  When I examined the contents later, there was this short pin, about the size of an 18 gauge brad nail with one end squashed.  No idea what it was for, but for certain if I threw it away, it would come back to haunt me.  Now, I am not sure if it is/was the tension release pin, but it seems to fit and it works perfectly.  

Also a big thank you to whomever posted the photos of the knee lift arm and how it should be set up.    The main axle of the knee lift assembly was positioned about 1" too far to the right side cut out.  I repositioned it and it seems to be working just fine now.  I had a happy day of sewing yesterday with the improvements.   Thank you all.

[LindanHotAir]

If you have a problem with the tension releasing when sewing thick materials, you can operate without the pin. When you need slack you can grab the thread between the tension and the take up lever and pull the needed slack.