Slightly Wobbling Foot & Complaint Re: Instruction Manual :)
 

My 1979 Singer 7110's instruction manual was not created for newbies. I just have to vent that. Even my experienced mentor, using it as a guide, was unable to thread the machine totally correctly. This woman at a local shop figured it out. However, in spite of her efforts, I got the machine home and the tension wasn't right when I started it up. I was really hoping I could just turn it back on and sew, but I obviously have to work at the tension some more. (She said something about the discs was the problem.) Anyway, now I have noticed that my plastic foot can be moved a little bit and am concerned about it. Thank you for listening :)

I'm not familiar with a 7110 but I'll make these comments.

When you thread the machine make sure the presser foot is all the way up, and that you get the thread all the way down between the tension disks.
You might have to hold the thread between the spool and the disks to get enough pressure on the thread to get fully down between them.

I have quite a few feet that wobble on the ankles. When they get too bad I toss them and buy new ones.

Joe

I also had a plastic foot that could move a little and ended up sewing right through the plastic with my 15-91! I was just glad it wasn't a metal foot. I would say toss the foot and buy a new one if you are concerned.

Karen,

I just finished downloading the owners manual for your machine from Singer. There is NOTHING complicated about threading it.
It's a standard thread pattern used by Singer for years with their machines. If you cannot get it threaded then there is something blocking the thread in the tensions, (lint, fuzz, oil, grease, dirt, ect) or you are doing it wrong.

In this case you don't even have to read, just look at the pictures. Perhaps a magnifying glass would help, as the original manuals are a bit small. I'd suggest going to the Singer site and downloading the large size .pdf for free so you can see the thread routing easier.
{ http://www.singerco.com/uploads/download/690_7110.pdf }

Not picking on you, just being honest.

As for the presser feet, the Singer snap on feet with the thin adapters wobble, nature of the design. I have several slant and low shank machines that use them and they just are not as solid as the all metal non snap on feet. If it doesn't cause trouble use 'em, if they do, replace them.

Joe

Joe--you are spot-on about the threading (in your first message here). This is what the lady at the shop taught us. Now, I will correct what you say about the manual--it is very hard to tell that you need to make use of the "hook"-like part of one of the disks *and* thread through that little looped gizmo near it from the manual. :) Just standing my ground here :) Thanks for the advice to both of you about the foot. Joe, I am going to contact you directly if that is okay in the future, as you sound so knowledgable.

Karen,

If you want to contact me, by all means do so. I'll do my best to help. Although posting it allows others that might be experiencing the same problems to get help.

If I can I'm going to post the large page from the .pdf owners manual. Perhaps it's different from the one you have.

Joe

Actually, I am back to ask how I would know if my foot should be replaced. Would it show up as a problem in the sewing? As you can tell, I am really new to all of this. My only concern right now is that it makes using it as a line while sewing less than perfect.

Here is the page from the Singer .pdf owners manual on how to thread the machine. I guess I see things differently, but I cannot see where it is complicated or where the instructions are unclear.

So, I'll let it go now and go study the manual. Whenever I download a manual like this I save it to my hard drive for reference.
I gets more smarter that way :) .

Joe

If the presser foot twists or leans off to the side it will affect your stitches by twisting the fabric as it feeds it.
If the foot is so wobbly that it won't sew straight, it should be replaced.

Here is a quick two step way to check the alignment of the presser foot:
A: remove the needle and turn the hand wheel till the feed dogs are below the needle plate. Lower the foot while looking at both sides of the foot and the feed dogs at the same time. If the side of the foot are not lined up, you'll be able to see it.

B: put some fabric in the machine and slowly run it while you watch the fabric. Does it feed straight or does it twist around and feed at an angle?

If the foot is straight with the feed dogs and the material feeds straight, no problem.
If the foot is at an angle with the feed dogs and / or it feeds the fabric crooked then you need to try a new foot/ankle assembly or a solid foot. {NOTE: The new solid feed as sold by just about everyone are thicker on the bottom than factory Singer solid metal feet. You will loose some clearance between the foot and needle plate with some of them.}

If a new foot does not correct a crooked feeding problem go back to "A" and check the alignment again.
If it's crooked, the presser foot shaft might need adjusting.



Joe

Looks like it threads just like my 201. Just have to get used to it as it is different than my newer machines. Good diagram.