My machine would not sew, so I opened it up dusted and oiled it, now it only moves at a snail pace. Help?
By Pat A
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I teach sewing here in Scotland, and do some repair-refurb on vintage machines. Your problem sounds as though it could be in the foot control - a fraying wire, 'gummy' connection or loose wire. But it could also be in the machine where the connection is made between foot control and machine. Only a trained tech will be able to quickly and relatively inexpensively determine the problem and solve it.
This really isn't a home sewer DIY. You could spend a lot of money replacing the foot control only to continue having the same problem. The best thing to do is take your machine (and foot control) to a qualified repair tech. Be sure to get an up-front estimate, and ask what a total servicing would cost, too. You'll be amazed at how well your machine sews after a proper servicing, and a good tech will give you a heads up regarding developing failures.
Word of warning - vintage sewing machine parts can be difficult to source no matter what country your machine is sewing in. Many of us techs use salvage parts we find on jumble and car boot (flea markets in the US) sales. The trouble is these parts wear out quickly, and as we can never be sure of the conditions these parts laboured under with the original machine owner, we can't vouch for the longevity of the part.
Some parts are universal (but not many) and are 'new-milled', making them a lot more reliable and a lot more expensive. Hard to find, too - a good repair tech will know where to find them, and will tell you if the replaced part is new or salvage - if he/she doesn't say, be sure to ask!
I can look at a machine and on the spot be able to advise my students if the machine is worth fixing or should be replaced by a comparable new model machine that comes with the bonus of being under warranty.
The only vintage machines worth keeping forever are the old treadle and hand crank models as those parts last centuries - I have several:)
If the machine is a 'modern vintage' (meaning it was built in the last half of the 20th century or early part of the 21st) and runs on electricity) your gran sewed your christening-graduation-wedding dress on, you may be willing to keep 'er running no matter the cost, but for the most part, after a certain point it's best to make that a display piece and buy a modern machine for reliability.
I just bought a very old Singer. The needle won't move up and down. Do you have any idea's what I can do or look for?
Alice
Could be many reasons your machine has a problem. Need more information, however:
Make, type, age of machine?
Any past problems?
How long have you had the machine?
As ever, Dinah's right. More information would be good (as to make and model as well as age of the machine). Some higher-end machines have a "slow" gear for working with heavier fabrics and you may have activated that somehow. Check your manual if you have it or look online (with the make and model info)?
Too, and I cannot say it often enough: if we want our tools to work properly, we need to take good care of them. For instance, my 36 year old Pfaff still works wonderfully, but it goes to the shop for a complete check up and service appointment every couple of years.
I've dealt with this recently. In my situation, the machine made a slight humming sound when the pedal was pressed, and it's built-in light was on thus I could confirm that power ran through it.
First, put it in the bobbin-filling mode, and try to turn the control wheel thin by hand. In my case, that wheel was VERY stiff, but could be turned very, very slowly. Imagine stirring a bucket of thick honey with a big spatula; it's that kind of slow and steady. If turned too fast, the plastic piece would skip and make a light snapping sound. I turned it by hand like that for about 15 minutes; the most important part is to not try to turn it too quickly, because the little skips and snaps will weaken the wheel (and thus prevent you from turning it at all). It may take a minute or two to get through the first full turn. Gradually, slowly, it became a bit easier and faster over time. Then, I switched to the foot pedal; the machine moved very slowly (about the same speed I was turning it) when it was given nearly full power. I could add a bit of force along the wheel to make it turn noticably faster. The machine did this for several minutes, gradually getting faster. After 5 minutes, it finally reached pretty close to full speed.
This happens because the oil and lubricant is all gummed up, and is sticky rather than lubricating (oil is supposed to be a bit sticky - that's how it stays on the pieces it lubricates). You need to force the machine through this and break down that stickiness. And, it won't feel any different at first because you need to get through a full revolution before you're get back to the part of the gears and oil that you started with. If you leave the machine alone for a few hours or a day, it will become sticky again, but not nearly as badly as it was initially.
You'll likely need to dissolve the oil already in the machine (both your new oil and the prior oil, as the old stuff probably didn't come off) and re-oil it fairly soon. After that, it should work better.
In car culture, this is known as the "Italian tune-up", which basically means running the machine as hard and fast as it will allow, and it'll make itself better. It has this name because it was a common situation with old Italian cars. The types of machines that have been around for decades are usually made so that normal use also provides much of the maintenance (in a car, that means the engine moves the oil around by itself; whereas the earliest cars required the owner to manually lubricate each part by hand), as we've figured out decent ways to build the machines and the self-maintenance approach leads to the best reliability. The human body (and all other creatures) also have this quality - hence why exercise is healthy.
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