danydany

Greetings. I have been reading these forums for quite a while, and have gotten a lot of ideas, information, inspiration, and more than a few laughs here. Thanks! But now I need help.

I volunteer teach a weekly quilt class at our town's Senior Center. It's a free class, and there is a group of about fifteen people who attend. Not everyone comes every time, but there are usually 10 or 12 people on any given day.

We were lucky enough to get grants to buy a couple of sewing machines for class. I did some research and picked the Kenmore 16231. It's a very nice, sturdy mechanical machine. It has quite a few decorative/utility stitches, variable speed, needle up/down, stop/start, and a needle threader (which sadly broke on one of the machines).

These machines get a real workout, and, unfortunately, some rough handling. I have given sessions on how to use the machines (many times), and try to make sure people are using them properly, but it is hard to keep an eye on everyone in the class all the time, especially when there are a dozen people all needing my attention, and all working on different projects.

I have told them many time that if is there is a problem with a machine, or they don't know how to do something (thread the machine, wind a bobbin, change the stitch), to let me know and I will fix it/show them. But they don't... they just forge ahead, until they get things much more messed up.

Well, yesterday I went to show a new member of the group how to use a machine, and discovered that the stitch selector on one of them does not work right anymore. There are three selector settings for needle position (left, right, center), but moving the stitch selector (a hand wheel on the side of the machine) no longer changes the needle position. (I did try the zig-zag stitch, and it did work, so the needle can still change position.) I have tried all the obvious stuff to get it to work right again, but without success.

There is no money in the budget to send the machine out for a repair. The machine is off warranty, and has been discontinued. I have the owner's manual that comes with the machine, but it does not address the problem we have. I would need an actual repair manual to really have a chance of fixing it. I do not have such a manual, could not find one online, and don't even know if it exists.

I am mechanically inclined, good at fixing things, and not afraid to "dig in." But I need to know where to start.

Does anyone have advice for me, or can point me to a repair manual for the Kenmore 16231?

Any help would be much appreciated. TIA.
...dany

NanaLinda

Hi: Just went to the web and put in the Kenmore 16231 repair manual and it came right up as a pdf download.

I have personally fixed several older machines using these types of download manuals. I hope this helps. Good luck..
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/856...385-16231.html

LindaR

one thought, when we had a highschool sewing class I contacted the local thrift store and asked for donations of machines...got some that I cleaned oiled and got running. Thats usually all they need...people just get rid of "granny's old singer etc...LOL

danydany

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I do have the owner's manual already, and it does not address getting into the "guts" of the machine to fix it. What I am looking for is the *repair* manual (the shop manual), not the owner's manual. But thanks for the info.
...dany

danydany

Hi. Thanks for the suggestion. I may do that, but the advantage of having all the machines be the same (we have three) is that a lot of the ladies are not able to deal with the differences from one machine to the next (thread path, bobbin type, location of controls, changing settings, etc.). So if all the machines are the same, at least that is one obstacle removed. But maybe I should look into getting "backup" machines, or "machines for the ladies who are more experienced [with machines, that is... wink]."

Thanks for replying.
...dany

tessagin

http://thesewingmachinelady.com/kenm...achine-review/ TRY THIS!

tessagin

Sorry thought this would take you to where you needed to go. but the buck stopped there! Sorry!!

Candace

Is the needle position critical for what you're doing? If you don't mind digging in then do so. Open it up and see if you see any obvious broken parts or things amiss. Follow the linkages to see where the problem lies. It's not going to hurt anything worse to remove the top to look inside.

danydany

I guess needle position is not really critical. As long as the machines sew, we'll be ok. But we don't have 1/4" feet, so we had been using the combination of needle in the right-hand position and fabric at the edge of the presser foot to get our 1/4" seams. Many of the ladies have a hard time getting a correct 1/4" seam, even using that technique. I think it would be hard for them to do precise 1/4" seams otherwise. (They have eye problems and motor skill problems. And some "precision" problems, too. )

Thanks for the suggestion.
...dany

PS--How's the weather in Outer Space?

Prism99

Have you tried taking off the top cover and anything else that comes off easily? I'm not familiar with that particular machine but have taken apart and fixed many a thrift shop mechanical machine in my day. The covers with screws holding them in place are very easy to remove. Occasionally I ran across a latching mechanism and couldn't figure out how to get the cover off; in that case I would have my mechanically-inclined husband take a look. He was always able to figure out how to get the cover off.

That seems always to be the first step. Then I would turn the wheel by hand, change knob positions, etc. while watching the "innards" work. I could usually spot the problem area that way.

My best guess is that there is a plastic part inside that got broken. There is no easy fix for that. Your best bet would be to find an older sewing machine repair guy (or shop owner) and take the machine in to explain what happened to it. I used to donate the thrift machines I fixed up. On one machine the foot broke while I was cleaning it. Took the broken foot to an old shop owner and explained I needed a replacement. He went into the back of the shop, came out with a foot he had scavenged from a non-working machine, and didn't charge me anything.