You will need to loosen the screw that is holding the motor onto the machine. Once it is loose you will be able to pull the motor upwards a little to allow the belt to come off and to put the new one on. When you put the new one on then you just will have to tweak the placement of the motor so that the belt is not too tight or too loose.

You will need to loosen the screw that is holding the motor onto the machine. Once it is loose you will be able to pull the motor upwards a little to allow the belt to come off and to put the new one on. When you put the new one on then you just will have to tweak the placement of the motor so that the belt is not too tight or too loose.

ETA: Did you need a manual? There is one on eBay for less than $9.00 for the model 1563:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/White-1563-S...-/260871719119

It looks like a cool sewing machine!!

Thanks, Cathy! I'm embarrassed to say I *have* the manual around here somewhere, but I didn't think to look at it. :rolleyes:

Okay, so. Sorry it took me a little while to get back to this. But I did move the motor (and I was even smart enough to mark the location before loosening the screw!) and get the belt off, and in my judgment, it performed about the same as when it's actually sewing. So I took a look at the foot pedal itself, and I can see some rust on the spring, and when I hold it next to my ear and move the pedal it's kind of skreeky-sounding (yes, that is the official term! :) ). However, there are absolutely no screws to take it apart to clean it--everything is riveted. I obviously don't want to spray WD-40 or anything around an electric component, so I don't know what to do--should I just give up and replace it even thought it does work, or is there some special way of lubricating/cleaning these so they work smoother?

Also, I'm still concerned it could be the motor because of the fact that there's a hum from the motor for several degrees of pressure on the pedal before it starts to move, with and without the belt attached.

Bring to SM repair guy or replace foot pedal. If foot pedal doesn't solve problem replace motor.

Good Luck

To loosen the belt find a big screw on an adjustable dodad attached to the motor. Loosen the screw and the motor will wiggle around. Mine sew best if the belt isn't tight - just snuggish. I had the reverse problem with a very similar machine - same color, etc, different badge. It started sewing at a nice speed then slowed down. It took a hammer to remove the cover to the foot pedal - no screws, just a slide off - HA! Not when it's been on 60 years. I looked it over, it appeared okay, just dusty, so I vacuumed it with the dusting brush of my vacuum. End of problem.

Edit after reading more posts: The hum may be a motor problem or the belt may be too tight. Try loosening it. Are you turning the handwheel toward you a bit to start the machine? Some oldies like this. My foot pedal appeared to riveted - it wasn't. The cover slides (and I use that term loosely) in grooves on either outer edge of the bottom. Enter the hammer.

I worked on a Pfaff at my church that screamed when I tried to sew after a good cleaning. The belt was old and stretched out and was too LOOSE. Dropped the motor to increase the tension and the motor quieted down. Now to find a new belt large enough.

But...it does the same thing with the belt totally off. I can sometimes get the motor to run slowly (with or without the belt on), but it's unreliable--the "breaking point" is razor thin, like a super touchy clutch in a car, so sometimes, it will be going slowly and then just stop without me really letting up on the pedal at all. And then it doesn't want to start slowly again, it only wants to go from 0-60. If you graphed its speed when I'm trying to achieve a slow, sustainable speed,, it would look something like:

.......___
....../.....\
...../..........\
..../...............\
.../...................--------___

if that makes sense?

No! But this is a great point. I will try it.


No kidding?
.
...although I should be careful, given that I've been known to damage things by being of the "If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer" school of thought in the past. :)

I have a daughter like that. I usually don't allow her to touch things needing repair unless I want some muscle. I made a mistake and let her look at the electric connection on the 301 I was having trouble with. It took me two days to straighten the tube she bent.

My Universal motor has been to visit my appliance repairman. The external wiring was bare and when I finally got the motor cover off, it was beyond my meager capabilities. The LQS wasn't interested, so off it went to the washer repairman. I know, I could have nearly bought a new motor for what I paid, but it wouldn't have been pretty turquoise.

Oh...so THAT is how to take those apart :D . I've often looked at them and wondered why they were made like that.

Check out #6 on Dave's blog: http://www.featherweight221.com/fwrx...85853155721159

One of my FW's was going really s-l-o-w and I was able to take it apart and adjust it the same way that he speaks about. That particular foot controller was the kind that unscrewed on the feet of it. After I adjusted it it worked great!!