great white

Just picked up a 328k. Same deal as my Kenmore, its a province away and a friend is holding it until summer.

Looks just like this (this is not my picture, grabbed it off the net):



Pretty much in the same shape too. Little dirty from sitting, but the paint and finish is prime.

There were some cams with it, but I can't remember how many.

Another couple months and I'll be bringing it home.

Only paid 20 bucks for it.

So my stable of three (319w with model 65 table, Kenmore 1500 and 328k in portable cases) have cost me a grand total of 140 bucks.

Not too bad at all....

vmaniqui

and they're growing... nice machine. congrats. (the 319W and kenmore is next on my list)

great white

This will likely be it for a good long while now.

The 319k is pretty much good to go as is. Just some cleaning and tuning.the cabinet is a different story and will require lots of work.

The Kenmore will be a work in progress for a while after I get it home.

The 328 will be an occasional workhorse until I get the 319 where I want it and then it will go through rehab also.

3 machines are more than I need for what I do. Others may come and go, but like my "for a profit" sort of thing....

Rodney

Rodney

great white

I said a while, not forever.

great white

So I'm reading through the manual downloaded from the Singer site.

Couple interesting points jump out.

The fashion discs in the 328 look like the ones in my 319:



If that's the case, I've got a full set I'm we're good to go. There were some with teh 328, but I belive it was only the 7 or 9 that originally comes with it.

It also will do double needle. But it's not a single twin needle, it takes two separate 15x1 needles in the same needle bar:



Practical way to do it. No special needles, just grab two of what you got. Says you can use two different sizes at once for "special effects". Kinda neat little feature too....

great white

The 328 is now in the workshop alongside the Kenmore that I bought with it.

The 328 is much more neglected than the Kenmore. Rusty, dirty, missing pieces and wrong pieces installed.

It was moving super slow and you could hear the motor laboring and smell ozone. Yeah, better stop that before I burn it up.

First thing was take the generic foot someone had slapped on it and toss it in the trash. Careful hand turning revealed it wasn't even wide enough for the zig zag stitch anyways.

Then the head cover was removed. More like fell off. Missing the proper screw to hold it on. Yep. Rusty as heck in there.

So that means it's likely everywhere else. Off comes the upper cover. More rust. Zig Zag lever is locked up solid.

Pull the boobin cover and needle plate. Fuzz and thread galore. Turns a little better with it cleaned out. No real evidence of the rusties here though.

Then just soak the rest of the mechanical bits in Releasall. Literally soaked. Dripping. Head, top, underneath, cams, gears. All of it.

Let it sit a couple minutes and then turn it over by hand.

Very stiff at first and then it starts to work a little more freely as things break away.

So I say "Damn the torpedoes!" and plug it in.

Jam that pedal all the way down and the motor jumps to life. A little slow at first and a little noisy in the bobbin area.

Then it starts to break loose even more. Brown lubricant is spraying everywhere as the Releasall gobbles up the rust and flushes it out.

Keep running, keep spraying. It loosens right up and gets scary fast.

Bobbin is still noisy. More lube sprayed in while running breaks it all nice and loose and it quiets right down.

There's now a river of rust contaminated Releasall running across the bench. But it's sounds damned good now and is running smooth and quiet.

Spray the zig zag arms and they start to loosen up. A little more work and it's working like new. Rusty Releasall is still flying everywhere.

Last thing to work on is the bobbin winder. Turns, but not easily. A little manual work with the Releasall and then click it down to let the motor run it. About 20 seconds later, it's spinning freely. So freely that is actually keeps spinning a bit once disengaged.

Now I know it all at least works well. No stitching yet, of course. But that's just a matter of adjustments to get it stitching well if it isn't already.

Cosmetically, the machine is just dirty and rusty on the bare steel bits. Needs a few small fasteners and things like the light bulb are missing.

All little work cleaning it up and then some dissasembly/rust removal/reassembly will clean that up.

The hand wheel will also need some paint. Looks like someone ran something against it and scratched the paint off, which let it rust like the internals. Probably kids or something messing around with it at one point. The rest of the paint is in good shape.

So it looks like the 328 will be more of a long term project.

No worries, I've got lots of time to frig with it since the 319W is running tippy top at the moment and the Kenmore is only a short step behind it.

The 328 was another 20 buck score. A little worse of fthan the 20 buck kenmore, but will be a fine machine with nothing more than a couple hours of "busy hands" work.

Rodney

I like that two needle feature-much handier than buying a special twin needle.
Rodney

foufymaus

Oh Congrats! I have a 328K and it's brilliant...although a bit loud. LOL I am currently in the finishing process of a chenille baby blanket. So far two base flannel layers (one pieced and one just the fabric) then four layers above that for the cutting. 6 layers totals with the occasional seam adding 2 layers. Like butter! I'm telling you varoom right over all of it. I did have to add a walking foot to help keep it from being to shifty. LOL So tomorrow i'm adding the binding that brings the layers total up to 10-ish depending on seams and such. I don't think the foot will go that high. We'll see, lol

manicmike

You should have told that tale in instalments, GW. We'd have called it a cliffhanger! You tell a good story.

I had a 327K (identical to yours, but with no cams) and it was a really solid machine. Not my favourite machine but a workhorse. I sold it to a clothing designer friend, who still hasn't complained about it (it's been well over six months).