#sewing machine repair

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

I fuckin love learning how things work and why, and then you can comprehend. Just, take the lid off & go "well that moves like this, and connects to that, so...ok yeah I gotta do this to fix it." It's so great. I learnt to fix toilets through this kind of experimentation (and thus became the go-to toilet repairman at that theater, even when I didn't work there any more).

Now I've decided to learn how to fix & service sewing machines, specifically old ones, after mine developed a fault in the timing and so naturally I bought two more, both of them decades older than me and sitting in someone's garage for who knows how long. I knew enough to check, before buying them, that they basically work, but not quite. Smooth movement, (nearly) all relevant parts present, and I did enough research about the makes & models to know they'd be good value & worth repairing. But I don't (didn't!) really grok how a sewing machine works, not well enough to look at the innards & go "ah, there's the problem, just need to XYZ."

Until now. I'm not done watching these, but I managed to hit upon a youtube channel that caters to just exactly my learning style. Historical evolution of sewing machine design informs how they work now? How to look at moving parts and think about how they relate and how changing one will shift other things? Hell yeah, I am fathoming over here. I'm gonna fix up all my machines, and yours too, as long as it ain't got computers in it.

Highly recommended playlist

#sewing machine #sewing machine repair #sewing #fiber arts #fixing stuff #video link #mend and make do

[v-as-in-victor]

#sewing #sewing machines #diy #sewing machine repair

[dreamingofbabylon]

this is literally Some Manner of Beast

that's literally her bones and guts and stuff ^ I give her baths and replenish her Lily White blood from a little oil bottle.

I replaced her tension assembly in a clumsy, experimental surgery. She is feeling much better now.

#ppl have been complaining about the touchy tension on this machine foreverrrrr #which sucked so bad cause we use her for sheer #like. take my hand. we are going to order a new Spring from the Internet #dear diary #they pay me in woims 🪱 #vintage sewing machine #US Blind Stitch #Industrial sewing machine #sewing machine repair #US Blind Stitch 1118 #blind hemmer #described #image description in alt

[chidorisour]

I fear I may be in over my head...

#sewing machine #sewing machine repair

[kivovis]

my singer Heavy Duty has been giving me trouble and I’m not sure what to do. Google hasnt been much help.

A few weeks ago my machine just started breaking needles left and right. Ive had it for a little over a year and haven’t had many problems with it up until now. I routinely use it for faux fur, which can be thick. It looks like the needles are striking the metal plate. Ive tried playing with my tension, double checking if everything is threaded correctly of course, opening up the front of my machine to manually readjust the needle, and checking/ cleaning my bobbin case.

It’ll sew thinner fabrics like cotton, however now the seams will always have these loose loops at the bottom, again, even after adjusting my tension on my top thread. In fact, when i pull on my top thread it doesn’t feel like there’s much tension at all- usually i can feel at least a little resistance when i pull my thread through. I don’t know what to do. Heres some pictures of the strike marks on my plate and some bottom stitching (top stitching looks fine). I think this may be a tension issue pulling my needle out of line or something, but i have no clue how to fix it. Anyone have any clue whats going on??

#sewing machine #sewing #help #sewing machine repair #singer #singer heavy duty

[sanjayrathore-digital]

Learn Sewing Machine Shuttle Setting, Repair, Adjustment, Assembly and Cleaning Problems 🔧✂️🧵 ⛏️ ⚙️

#sew #machine #repaire #Sewing Machine Shuttle #Sewing Machine Repair #Sewing Machine Adjustment #Sewing Machine Assembly #Sewing Machine Cleaning

[not-available-for-comment]

On a less cheery note, I sat down to finish fixing my sewing machine and discovered I’d done who-knows-what with the bobbin cover, so I guess that’s on hold until I can clear enough backlog to do a proper search of the craft corner.

Oh well, the jacket getting mended is more urgent, I’m just tired of having the sewing machine repair hang over my head.

#crafting #the damn sewing machine #sewing machine repair

[hagenhaig]

#Quilt machines and embroidery machines repair and maintenance service expert offers professional vacuum cleaning #sewing machine repair #custom embroidery designing work in Lancaster #PA. #architecture

[jeraliey]

So I got my old sewing machine fixed and serviced, and I'm back to sewing after like 30 years.

Right now, I'm using it to go through and mend all the little holes and rips and undone parts of hems that I've basically been ignoring in all the clothes and backpacks and sheets....

This is just SO satisfying.

#sewing #mending #sewing machine #crafts #reuse #repair

[hidefdoritos]

Today's Mending

It was another day in quarantine, but I feel like a human again, which was a blessing. So I sat up at the machine and tried to make some progress.

The machine gave me all sorts of trouble today, no matter how I fiddled with the tension and needle. The stitch lengths were twelve kinds of inconsistent and as skippy as a Labrador in a mud puddle.

I posted on Facebook, and a friend's grandma reminded me to unscrew the bottom plate and have a look at the insides.

Bleagh. Look at all that lint!

Anyway, turns out the feed dogs are a lot more consistent when they aren't fighting with felt compacted underneath them. I got the straps sewn up in short order, learned how to do that neat little x-box thing, and finished off the miniskirt tote bag!

I had a couple mending commissions that got procrastinated for ages because I needed to find patches and thread that matched. They took just a few minutes each when I actually got to them. Guess that's always the case.

My friend Isaiah had done a good job mending these, but all he had was light turquoise thread, and he was a bit self-conscious about having such a visible crotch mend. I put a patch of jersey under, just for stability's sake, and machined overtop in the closest thread I had.

My roommate's partner's pet got ahold of some jeans and tore a raggedy hole in the important part. I trimmed down the edges, found my closest fabric, and machined all around the edges with my closest thread. The mend is still visible, but he usually wears flannels so it shouldn't be obvious. And, as I told him, "If someone does notice, you're legally allowed to kick them."

The final three projects were all for me. First up were these work pants. A couple years ago I started doing the DIY ripstop but didn't finish (time? thread? machine issues? ADHD? idk). I just had the vertical threads. They wore on each other as I walked and started tearing out really quickly. I unpicked all that old thread a while back and re-did the vertical threads, then got sidetracked (yes, again.) So today I did the rest of the ripstop. There!

I also did all the ripstop for these black summer shorts.

Finally, my Christmas break project was adding cargo pockets to all my pants. These less-used jeans have had pockets cut out and pinned on since then, so today I dug out fun aquamarine thread and sewed them down.

I spent the end of the day messing around with my new pillowcases, but I'll drop those when they're done. :) And, most importantly, I slept in, ate well, took my meds, didn't berate myself for lack of progress, and took a nap. All in all, a really good sick day!

#cj sews #diy #solarpunk #mending #sewing #machine sewing #beginner sewing #miniskirt tote bag #it's not waste until you waste it #use it up wear it out make it do or do without #repair your machines gang #yes she'll be going in for some professional TLC soon #in the meantime check your own sweet little workhorse for lint!

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

While I wait for the parts I ordered for the older sewing machines, I'm working on my "trusty" Brother (stock photo bc I didn't think to get a pic of her with her clothes still on). The one that wasn't worth paying to have it serviced, because it cost, when it was new, about the same as the service fee would've been, and that was 15 years ago.

Getting the plastic covers off was a bitch and a half, and that's with the service manual I downloaded. I took several wrong things off trying to find what was still holding it together, and eventually found a poorly-lit yt video of somebody doing this. Turns out there's plastic tabs that are fully absent from the technical drawings & service instructions, and you have to use a lot more force on those suckers than I'd've thought prudent.

But once you get in there...

Oh, it's a sewing machine! This is recognizable & comprehensible now.

(That statement would've been wild to me a couple months ago, before I took apart & cleaned two older machines.)

See, there's a standard presser bar, and the needle bar's a little different but that's so it can zigzag. And there's a plastic cam stack & a worm gear - simpler, actually, than on the 1960s Singer!

Even the tension assembly is, really, the same technology as on the 60 & 70 year old machines. It's hidden behind a tidy plastic knob, but with the covers off, there are the same opposed, convex tension discs, even the spring with the U-shaped guide on the end (this is apparently the "upper thread tension take up check spring").

The bit that surprised me the most (by being exactly the same tech) was the bobbin winder. Idk how I thought it worked - maybe I never thought about it, you just put the bobbin on the thingy, pop it over, & go until it's full enough - but here inside the machine is a little rubber tire that moves to contact the inside of the handwheel, which spins it to fill your bobbins. The only real difference is that on the older ones you have to disengage the needle bar manually, so it doesn't move while you wind, whereas on the Brother the action of moving the bobbin winder into position does it automatically.

Here's the same thing on a 100 year old machine (not mine, alas):

Tire move up into contact with wheel (treadle or hand crank driven, at that stage) and spins to wind thread onto the bobbin. This one has the addition of the cute little heart-shaped gear on the thread guide, which serves to evenly wind on, because the bobbins were long & narrow, like a small spool of thread, and fit in a device much like a weaving or tatting shuttle, which was moved forward & back under the needle to form the lower stitches. Yes, they hadn't even invented the round bobbin & hook system that every sewing machine uses today, hadn't put motors on these machines, couldn't even go in reverse, but the bobbin winder? Same then, same in my two vintage machines, same today.

#the massive continuity of sewing machines #tbh new fancy machines might be doing this differently now #and idk how the ones that wind the bobbin in place work #vintage sewing machines #sewing machine repair #diy #mending is better than ending

[dreamingofbabylon]

she's soooooooooooo cute 💔💔💔 and sooooo gross and yucky disgusting and I am giving her a bath 🖤 at work the other chandler tacker of a similar model is in the hospital (get well soon my beloved 💔). This one has been in storage for over 20 years, so I got to rescue her to clean her up and see if she works.

I hadn't heard of these before working here but they're really neat. This one is a 600-75D Tackmaster. I'm not sure when it was made, but the manual was printed in 1972 and they were already making the 700 series by then too.

I think industrial commercial machines like this are cool cause they do like exactly one thing. very well. forever. For household use, most people today look for one versatile, user-friendly machine that can do a little of everything. an essay about planned obsolescence and right-to-repair is for another day. but suffice to say, they are completely different beasts.

In many workshop or production settings, you'll find a lot of machines set to do a specific task. buttonholes at this table, blind hemming at that one, straight stitching over there, etc.

The Tackmaster tacks. Just a tiny little front-to-back stitch and that's how it's earned its keep for over 50 years. This one, and a lot of other ones that do similar stitches, is a cycle machine. so you hit the pedal, and it automatically moves through a stitch cycle, then stops. absolute brick shithouse of a machine. she's SO heavy and so cool and I love her. it's been an honor dissecting and reanimating you, bestie

#this has been in my drafts for a while but #she WORKS. PERFECTLY #I'm so proud of her 💔💔 #there are practically no resources abt these machines online #which makes sense ig but it’s a shame #dear diary #vintage sewing #sewing machine repair #industrial sewing machines #Chandler Tackmaster 600-75D #chandler sewing machine #<- tags no one on planet earth will ever search or care about but meeeee 💖

[badassindistress]

Tragedy!

Halfway through 9 meters of ruffles my ruffle attachment broke 😭

The little bit that pushed the pleat somehow got under the needle and it broke. I don't know how that is possible. Now it drops pleats🥲

#i thought it was just a broken needle #i can't even find the piece that broke off #i doubt i can find someone able to repair just that bit #but if I'm lucky i can find a new old attachment #vintage singer #antique sewing machine #treadle machine #it's a 1926 singer #the pretty one with the sphinxes #a talia original #talia's adventures in dressmaking #excerpts from my life #sewing #and i was enjoying using my old machine again so much #tragedy indeed

[froggybangbang]

First time ever mending something and it's a bloody mattress i can't bri f closer to my eyes or bend to fit the needle🙄

But this mattress is new, was expensive, and damn it it's gonna last! Technique entirely from watching that one video month back of Cathy Hay mending a poncho for a friend. Is it good? No. Will it last? It better fucking do! Am i happy with it? Heck yeah! Kinda want to mend more things now to get better at this!

#mending #sewing #sorta #repairs #life skills #honestly at the rate my underwear seems to fray every time i hand wash them (i want a washing machine so badly rip) #i might have an opportunity soon to pratice more

[anielskaaniela]

How to Sew a Button: A Beginner-Friendly Guide

In this post, you will learn how to sew a button with sewing machine. Welcome to the ultimate easy button sewing guide! Whether you’re looking to spruce up a dress, add flair to a top, or secure a skirt, learning how to sew a button with a sewing machine is a valuable skill that’s easier than you think. This beginner’s sewing machine tutorial is designed to help you master the art of button…

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#Button Sewing #clothing repair #diy fashion #Fabric Crafts #Home Sewing Projects #Quick Sewing Tips #sewing #sewing for beginners #Sewing Machine Basics #sewing tutorial

[kieraoonadiy]

Both photos you see here, are both me replacing the thread tension assembly on my vintage sewing machine, and with it fully assembled after having put it all back together.

For those of us who are into sewing, or vintage sewing, It's always important to remember to do some periodic machine maintenance. For some older models, doing this yourself is feasible. Some of the newer models, just a light oiling may be all that's needed, but sometimes you might need to take the machine to a technician. With that said, this is an example of a Singer 99k sewing machine thread tension assembly, in mid process of being replaced. This machine in specific was built in June 1937! That's right, this machine is almost 87 years old!! So, needing to replace a few parts will be vital to its proper workings, to keep it running smoothly. With that said, Major sewing machine companies (Singer, Janome, Bernina) I think, with the spirit of Right to Repair, should put out repair manuals, much like they used to back in the 30s, 40s and 50s, of all their newer mechanical models, so people can repair them at home, as not everyone can afford to ship off their machine, and wait weeks (or months) for it to be repaired with deadlines in mind. Please also be aware that repairing your machine at home may also void the warranty, but my machine's warranty had loooong since expired, on both my vintage, and my modern machine.

This is also every sewist's gentle reminder to oil their machines, and clean the fluff out of their shuttle hook, needle bar, and feed dogs.

#sewing machine #vintage sewing machine #sewing machine parts #right to repair #sewing machine maintenance