Originally Posted by Weedwoman
Remember that the 206 x 13 needles are to be phased out, so buy enough to keep your machine going!
I think my 306k required the 206 x 13 needle and my repair guy retimed it to use the 15 x 1 schmetz needles, it's worth getting done just in the cost of needles. Just my 2 cents worth.[/quote]
Because I have one of the lousiest memories on record, I cannot tell you why, but--I have been told that it will eventually damage the machine if you do this. I will try to find out from folks with better memories why we shouldn't.
This is what I found, from Bill Holman on the Vintage Singer site:
We have covered this needle/retiming bit many times before, but I
guess we have lots of new people.
DO NOT try to retime your 206/306/319 to take the 15X1 needle. If it
was possible to do this correctly, it would have been absurd for
Singer to design them this way in the first place. The only
difference between the two needles is that the 15X1 has a longer
point. The shank to eye length is the same, and that is why they will
sew with the wrong needle while the point of the needle nicks up the
bobbin and BC. If you raise the needle bar so that the point won't
hit, the eye is then too high for the hook to intercept it. Then you
must advance the hook to compensate for it, and your hook is now out
of time with your take up lever and feed mechanism. The common result
is the threads laying loose on their own sides of the fabric, instead
of on the opposite side as when tension is off. Then you must run the
tensions way too heavy to try to make up for it, but the results are
seldom acceptable to anyone who expects these good old machines to
perform up to their capabilities.