From what I have seen it rarely ever is timing. Maybe one out of several hundred will really have timing problems.

That's interesting to know.

I'm not sure what to do next about this machine. I think it might have a hot date with my LSMG to be honest. It's the decorative stitches that are playing up and I'm really in over my head with that stuff. I was hoping maybe it was just a subtle tension problem, but I've got the tension assembly back together and I'm not happy with the lock stitch even though the tension seems okay and it's not doing any of the other stitches properly. Blah :( .... I'll have to sell something to pay for the spa treatment no doubt.

Getting the tension adjusted after you have had it apart can be tricky. Some times it needs an extra tweak just before you put the last nut on. Some times if it has more than one way to hold it on I adjust the tension then put the last nut on. If not some times you can push in on some of the parts and then give that last nut an extra turn. Then adjust. I suppose I'm speaking a foreign language though. I had a Singer 500 give me fits the other day. I just had to keep taking it apart and putting it back until I was happy with it. I think it has a lousy system. The 401 has an extra part and is so much easier to get it adjusted. Some times if you get one part in backwards the whole thing won't work at all. I don't know if it is always true, the nut that holds it on maybe should be about even with the shaft end. Maybe somebody knows better than I do. l Some times somebody else was there and buggered it before you ever got your hands on it - probably why they let it go.

That's actually good to know Miriam. I guess I sort of 'sensed' this, even though I don't have a complete understanding of what I'm doing. Sometimes after I put a machine back together I can just feel that something isn't quite right and I can usually tell where the problem is... I guess that's why I've got the "bug" now. Otherwise I'm sure I would have given up after the first one ;)
....and I'm sure this must be true, too. Thankfully I know this isn't the case with Fawkes, because he came from a friend. When it's been someone else's machine and I don't know what *COULD* have happened to it, that's when the LSMG comes in handy!

I am sorry, but I don't know what a PDA is or a PM for that matter. My mother used a tredle machine and now my daughter displays it in her foyer, however, it is now in working condition at the present time. At one point in time, my father who was an electrician, installed a little motor on it and she had an electric machine. Later, that same little motor powered my yarn winder. I think that is the reason the tredle isn't working now. I have two Featherweights, and I love them. I can't look at this site often, but I do love it and look whenever possible.
Ann Eliz from PA

Hi AnnEliz! Welcome to our group. I don't have a PDA but I think it is a "personal digital assistant" but I could be wrong. I think it is something like a smart phone. A PM is a private message which you can send to only one member and it will not be seen by all. (saves clutter on this site when not all may be interested or a question requires a more lengthy answer). You can do this by clicking on the person you wish to contact. If you wanted to contact me, for instance, you would click on blueheavenfla where it is in blue on the left. That would take you to the PM page where you could continue with whatever you needed to contact me about. I hope that helps. Remember that I said that I'm not sure about the PDA. If I am wrong, someone else will jump in and correct me.
Donna

Hello everyone,

I am a new member and found your forum a wealth of knowledge. I just purchased a "B. Eldredge" treadle machine yesterday and have tried and tried (and tried some more) to find information on it on the web, with little success. What I have been able to find was that it is a model 44, which was patterned off of the Willcox & Gibbs model 64. Can someone please give me an estimate on when the Eldredge model 44 automatic chain stitch machine came into production? From what I have found it looks like it was between 1869 and 1890 but any help you can provide on the machine, model, etc. would be greatly appreciated! I am adding some pictures of her. Thank you! [ATTACH=CONFIG]424079[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]424080[/ATTACH]

I bid one cent over the asking price for a 185, ya know that cute little green machine. When the bidding ended, someone else won it and I bid on another even cheaper one. Duh, I was on my brother's account, it was me that won the 1st one and then no one bid on the second so now I have two!

One arrived today and it was locked up. I stripped it down and started tinkering, it seemed to be the bobbin area. No rust, insides are clean, what goes here. Someone had put the bobbin case back in wrong. Still got a slight problem with the tension and the spring for the bobbin cover doesn't hold it in place but it stitches just fine. Can't wait to see the second one.

They ARE cute. The tension isn't terribly hard to work on. Has the little tip on the bobbin cover spring been broken off or is there junk in the slide plate channel?

I'll know more once the second one arrives. It's possible the spring has been replaced and is too short or the plate is new and doesn't fit the older machine. Everything is clean as a whistle.