Thursday, October 07, 2010

Tinkering With My Machine

I've been playing with my machine this morning.  It's in wonderful condition.  The only things it needs is the stand and needles.  Those needles are so much longer than the ones available now so I don't know if they even exist.

The shuttle is in amazing condition.  I cleaned out the lint and figured out how to thread it.  I figure since I have the top thread going around the shuttle and between some tension disc? on the back it's working.  It's just not working perfect.  Adjusting the tension is driving me nuts this morning.

You can see the little bobbin that goes into the shuttle and the larger needle for the machine.


I'm not sure I have the top tension done right and it keeps coming loose.

I also figure a big part of the problem is that I have to turn the handwheel manually and that messes up everything.  It really needs the treadle part to sit on and the leather thing to keep it going continously.

I haven't tried winding a bobbin but watched a YouTube video of it.  Wow.  It was pretty cool to watch.

It just needs some fine adjustments that I don't know how to do.

Too bad I can't set it up with my Janome table.  I moved my boards over so it could sit down into the space.  If I could rig up a treadle contraption, it would work.

I need to take it down, move the boards back and put my Horizon back on it for today's project.  It's a sweet little machine and it would be awesome to get it working via a hand crank or..gasp an electric motor.

4 comments:

Na Na said...

I hope you're feeling better.

Look into the needles used for sergers. They are longer than regular needles.

There are treddle bases that can be bought from Lehman's Hardware in Ohio. Some of the treddle bases are used for new model machines too.

Na Na said...

I forgot to say you should be extra careful when cleaning the machine. The gold part should remain sort of yellowed and dirty looking to be authentic. Almost everything you clean with can remove the gold. Use only a damp rag and dry with an other rag right away.

Jay in Nebraska said...

Actually, you can use kerosene and it won't hurt the decals on the machine at all, they shouldn't look dirty. I only use treadle machines and I think you should go to the website, treadleon, the also have a fantastic e-mail list that is full of helpful people, who more than likely can identify the machine, and Cindy Peters in Minnesota has a great business in selling reproduction parts. They will also be able to tell you about the specific needle you need, as the needle in the might have been incorrect when you got it. This is called a vibrating shuttle machine. Very easy to use. If you want any more suggestions please let me know.

Caroline in NH said...

I was going to suggest TreadleOn.net as a resource! They have some terrific information. I love my treadle machines.

Without looking at your top tension (aka "leaf tension") I can't diagnose anything, but maybe the tension plates aren't flat? For the bobbin, if the bobbin is lined up with the shuttle in a straight line (like the "pipe" on the keyboard |) the thread should be coming from under the bobbin. Then it goes down into the slot, and up under the flat open-loop part of the shuttle.

You can use regular needles by "cheating" the needle down in the needle clamp until it picks up the bobbin thread. Your leaf tension may need to be tightened a bit if it keeps coming out, but hard to tell until it's in a treadle base. It should work in a standard Singer base, and treadle belts are easy to find. Look on Craigslist for a base with table. This is a "New Home" or "New Companion" type machine.

Tri-Flow works good for loosen-and-lube.