QuiltingVagabond

Did you make sure the stop motion knob is in the sewing position? It is the smaller knob/wheel in the center of the handwheel, used to disengage the needle while bobbin winding.

amcatanzaro

This was my guess. The smaller knob goes one way and the handwheel goes the other. Don't over tighten it. I can't remember off the top of my head which way each goes, it would be in the manual that is linked above.

amcatanzaro

You can buy Singer sewing machine oil at Meijer BTW. Most any sewing/fabric store should carry it however, my Joann's never seems to have any in stock.

Caroline S

You can also check out Nova Montgomery's website http://www.novamontgomery.com/ . It is a good place to start with troubleshooting your Featherweight. On her homepage you can click on the tips of the month button. Good luck. And kudos to you for being a kitty stepmom.

barny

Sunkist, if I said something rude to you, it was NOT meant to be rude. I'm not that kind of person. My thoughts come out wrong, I guess. If I insulted you. Please accept my apology. Barny

SteveH

Sunkist,

First, welcome to the repair side!!! You are in the right place. Folks here LOVE the featherweights and we love to help.

Second, I would like to echo the "Thanks for what you do".

Third, I think you got a great deal and it came loaded with good karma...

and finally, the really good news is it is almost impossible to have a Singer from this era that cannot be fixed.

Patience and posting pictures for us to see and try to help is all that will be needed.

J Miller

Check the stop motion knob. It could be disengaged. At that point the hand wheel will turn, but nothing else will.

If that is not the problem, then there could be a thread jam in the bobbin hook assembly.

Joe

oldtnquiltinglady

You did the right thing coming to this site for help--I am so glad to see they all jumped in there like I hoped they would. And congratulations on getting a FW (especially the Centennial) for less than $300. I am glad those folks were favorably impressed with your efforts with the kitties. As you can see I am a cat lover from way back--all the way to probably 1937, when I started walking. They say a woman who loves a cat loves her husband.....

Jamesbeat

I know you probably checked this already, but is the stop motion mechanism tightened?
If the clutch is disengaged (ie the machine is in bobbin winding mode) then the needle won't move up and down.

Edit: sorry, I see that quiltingvagabond and Joe already suggested this. I didn't notice that there were two pages in this thread!

nanna-up-north

Sunkist.... just checking in to see how you are doing getting the FW working .... and to welcome you to the FW club (those of us that own FWs and LOVE them). From what you say, it does sound like the stop motion screw is probably disengaged. Steve is right, there's not much chance that your machine can't be up and running pretty easily. Don't worry, this group can help. I can relate to your story. The 1st FW I got, I was so excited. I did plug it in before I paid the money and it ran but when I got it home, it wouldn't stitch a stitch. I sat down and cried.... what had I done??? Well, the needle was in the wrong direction. Once I turned the flat side around, it was stitching like a pro and I still use it for all my piecing. I have 5 machines now.... can't stop buying them when I get a deal.

To check that stop motion screw, hold the black wheel with your left hand and see if the silver smaller wheel is tight to the right. For winding bobbins, you have to turn the silver wheel counterclockwise (looking at it from the end). It should feel loose and sloppy. To sew, the silver wheel has to be snug, turning clockwise. Don't tighten too much. You have to disengage it every time you need to wind a bobbin.

And a suggestion on oil. Most of us here use Tri-flow. I order mine from www.sew-classic.com but I've heard you can find it at some bike shops. It is a very fine oil. And you should oil and grease according to your manual fairly often. I do mine after every quilt I make. And, the machine responds with a lovely click-click sound that is music to my ears.

Keep us posted......