I learned how to use mine by serging the cut edges of material before washing. I had bought it at auction so no accessories or manual. By serging the edges, I learned about the tension and threading. I don't even need the online manual anymore to thread it. It developed a horrible squeak so I tore it apart, oiled anything that moved against each other and fixed it. It still works! It had a lot of felt oil points that had gotten dry. Yes, just jump in and go for it!