It's ALIVE!!!!!
Nov. 14th, 2010 12:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
isabelladangeloI plugged the sewing machine in when I got home and....nothing. There is no power switch, there wasn't a way to turn it on, and the light for the sewing machine was completely blown out. So what do I do? I order a new belt, a new rubber washer for the bobbin winder, and take the entire machine apart.
The machine is very interesting. I love the simplicity of the design and how the power supply works. It's all very basic electronics but, then again, it's a 1950's sewing machine so I'm not dealing with the computerized nonsense we have today (which is oh so much fun to fix...gah!). Upon taking the motor off and taking it completely apart (it has copper coils and magnets! Totally awesome basic electronics!)I saw that the magnets weren't aligned correctly, fixed it, and put the entire machine back together. The motor works now. You have to press the foot (or is it a knee since it's at your knee on the inside of the table? It's a totally awesome piece within itself. It's a very basic pressure foot peddle that you press down with your knee.) and the entire machine comes to life!
It's still not ready to sew. The needle will go down but not come back up which means it's a couple of minor things going on with the machine itself and not the power supply. I can fix it but I need a can of WD 40 (I need to get a LOT of sewing supplies at Home Depot. Cable ties, duct tape, WD 40...) and the rest of the supplies I ordered to come in. The belt that's on the machine looks good but the bobbin washer looks about to die.
So, sometime this week, I'm going to take the sewing machine itself back apart completely, oil the thing, and see if I can get this back into perfect shape. And yes...I did buy an service manual for this model. It should arrive Tuesday. ;-)
In semi related news, I found out the machine has awesome attachments like a ruffler and a binding tool that I REALLY want to play with. I don't think I'll figure out the buttonhole attachment for a very long time (it looks like a combo of a stapler and some sort of miniature cookie press...) but that came with it too. The manual for the parts, not the machine (I don't have that), has a copyright of 1957 which I'm guessing is pretty close to the age of the machine. I was thinking early 60's -and it still could be- but either way, it's an all metal, very hardy machine.
...I totally need to sew a vintage look dress on it as a first project!
The machine is very interesting. I love the simplicity of the design and how the power supply works. It's all very basic electronics but, then again, it's a 1950's sewing machine so I'm not dealing with the computerized nonsense we have today (which is oh so much fun to fix...gah!). Upon taking the motor off and taking it completely apart (it has copper coils and magnets! Totally awesome basic electronics!)I saw that the magnets weren't aligned correctly, fixed it, and put the entire machine back together. The motor works now. You have to press the foot (or is it a knee since it's at your knee on the inside of the table? It's a totally awesome piece within itself. It's a very basic pressure foot peddle that you press down with your knee.) and the entire machine comes to life!
It's still not ready to sew. The needle will go down but not come back up which means it's a couple of minor things going on with the machine itself and not the power supply. I can fix it but I need a can of WD 40 (I need to get a LOT of sewing supplies at Home Depot. Cable ties, duct tape, WD 40...) and the rest of the supplies I ordered to come in. The belt that's on the machine looks good but the bobbin washer looks about to die.
So, sometime this week, I'm going to take the sewing machine itself back apart completely, oil the thing, and see if I can get this back into perfect shape. And yes...I did buy an service manual for this model. It should arrive Tuesday. ;-)
In semi related news, I found out the machine has awesome attachments like a ruffler and a binding tool that I REALLY want to play with. I don't think I'll figure out the buttonhole attachment for a very long time (it looks like a combo of a stapler and some sort of miniature cookie press...) but that came with it too. The manual for the parts, not the machine (I don't have that), has a copyright of 1957 which I'm guessing is pretty close to the age of the machine. I was thinking early 60's -and it still could be- but either way, it's an all metal, very hardy machine.
...I totally need to sew a vintage look dress on it as a first project!