Kittywolf - I think Joe must have worked tech support :) Different people are definitely different in how much they'll glean from reading a manual - even one that's really well put together. I'm not all that hot at it myself but I seem to integrate what I read and didn't understand well when I actually see something. OTOH, I'm way too likely to be the person Joe was thinking of - ask first, read later. I'm working on that since it's so easy to search these days.

Nah, I 'm not offended in the least.

It's just that when you have all the info in your hand, it does save time and effort if you read it first. Then ask for clarification if you need it. I've had to do that many times.

Joe

misskira! Thanks for that link! How timely. I read it with great interest. I may just try some of that with this repaint!

So I threaded her up today, wound a bobbin fine, the machine has a smell that I can't tell if it's heat off the light, oil burning off the motor, or something electrical. I don't think it was electral. You can usual tell that smell right away! I'll have to see once I get the darn thing to pick up the bobbin thread. Needle to double check my needle and the direction of my bobbin maybe. See why it is giving me issues. Me and bobbins really don't get along. Sheesh.

Oh and Joe I read the manual today. :P sometimes I just can't comprehend what I'm reading due to mental fatigue so I have to make sure my mind is fresh to read or I won't retain any of it. I was excited to give it a try today so I had the mental clarity to read it. :) it does help. Have to read it out loud to myself to understand the diagrams though. Haha.

Ok so I got my featherweight going finally. :) she has a faint smell of I assume the oil burning off but I'm having trouble with the bobbin thread now. It wouldnt pick it up till late last night it finally did. So this morning I ran some test stitches and she sews beautifully! However when it's time to end the sewing and remove the fabric I noticed the underside has three threads going and the fabric won't move. I'm pretty new to seeing so I'll ask first is there something I need to do first to finish it off? On my other machines I just gently pull and both the top thread and bobbin thread give and I can pull enough to snip the thread. This one is rather stuck like either the top thread and the bottom thread are snagged somewhere. :/ I snip it and then have to remove the bobbin casing out and pull out the random loose thread that is neither attached to the top or bobbin thread! Any idea why it's doing this. I re-read the manual and I didn't see anything specific for finishing the thread. :/ help!

Have you looked for more thread tangled behind the bobbin housing? You might be able to see it if you remove the needle plate. Otherwise I'm not sure. There should only be one thread coming from the bobbin and it should pull smoothly.

I guess I'll have to look again. But it's the same thread I wound for the bobbin. Same color and not dirty with age or lint or oil. So Ill have to check again. I just didn't want to remove the entire bobbin house and chance messing up the timing. :/ hmmm

If that happens on a newer machine you just turn the handwheel toward you and it lets go. Try that next time you notice the thread caught. Turn a few inches and try to pull again and it should be fine. My 80's New Home did that a lot.

The other thing that will do that is if you've threaded the wrong way. A FW threads right to left, and the needle has to be flat side to the left.
If the threading is wrong (I've seen it on 2 other machines that I threaded the wrong way i.e they wanted left to right and I did right to left) and they brought up 3 threads instead of 2. It was sure a WTHeck moment when it happened the first time.

My featherweight is from 1952. So I don't know if this counts as a newer machine but I will give that a try. Thanks!

I put and threaded as the manual instructed. The flat side of the needle faces to the left so the eye is sideways. (now I did this to MY left. Since the machine is facing me should it go the other way???) and then I threaded going right to left. I had to remove the needle and push it further in to get it to even sew. Also will it not sew if the light is off? It happened at the same time I adjusted the needle so I wwasn't certain if that prevented it or not. I'm slowely figuring her out. :) the good news is that her tension and timing seem good. I adjusted the tension just a smidge because there was a little looping on the underside of the fabric.