Mrs Finch

Guess I left Bertie my Singer 66 alone too long. I have oiled him, adjusted all tensions, re-adjusted, changed the needle, and now he is throwing his bobbin. It lifts up as shown. Plus it seems the feed dogs are not grabbing all the time, and stitching can get crooked, due to the uneven feeding. That screw on the finger thingy, shown as "QQ" in the manual, was not supposed to be moved, oops shoulda read the manual. Of course I thought I had to remove it to get the bobbin case out. Any suggestions are welcome. He was doing great until I left him alone for several months.

Mickey2

There is a fairly recent thread on model 99, which has bout the same bobbin case as the 66 and there's a nice blog post on the ArchaicArcane blog, it deals with screw you should/shouldn't remove. I haven't seen any tuturial for this anywhere else. You take the bobbin case out by sliding the metal finger under the bobbin plate towards you, I'm sure you remember by now.

The lifting of the bobbin looks like it's caused by thread getting caught up. Most likely the upper thead is not doing what it should. Feed dogs can act up a bit on the 66 if it's not running smooth, it's usually parts involving the stitch length lever and parts in connection to the front rod and feed dogs under neeth. Turn the stitch length knob all the way in and out a few times and wham the machine full speed after you oil it with out being threaded.

Things to double check; needle in flat side to the right; bobbin in the correct way from which it is wound. The bobbin should turn anti-clockwise when you have pulled the thread up.

SewMachines

I would also try using a metal bobbin. Some of the older machines really don't like the light weight plastic ones.
Good luck!
Suzanne

J Miller

Looks to me like when the bobbin case latch screw (the one the manual says not to loosen) was loosened then retightened, the thread gap was set wrong. The manual says .010" to .015" between the heal of the bobbin case and the spring. Use a narrow gap gauge held vertically between the two.

The crooked feeding could be because of the ZZ foot. Try a correct straight stitch foot on it.

Joe

Mickey2

I didn't notice unil Joe pointed it out, you have to get the narrow straight sitch foot. That's the good thing with models like the 66, it's so nice and smooth to sew on and very easy to guide the fabric. Straight seams, sharp edges and even curves are joy to make on these machines.

tessagin

My 401 does not like a plastic bobbin. Glad I only used one and got more metal for her. May want to clean that excess lint out of there also.

Rodney

Do the plastic bobbins fit your bobbin winder? I've noticed new bobbins are narrower at the edge than the vintage ones and don't always work with the bobbin winder.
Joe is most likely right. That adjustment needs to be reset.
Rodney

Mickey2

I have a few plastic bobbins for my 201, and I can't notice anything to a negative effect with them. I prefer the metal ones, but some of the new ones I bought will not go on the bobbin winder either. They look very nice and polished, but the "hub" that goes on the winder is often rather crudely finished off.

J Miller

As far as the plastic vs metal bobbins go, I've got scads of both. I've found the plastic ones work just fine if they are made properly and fit the machine. Otherwise it's his or miss, they aren't all made to the same specs.

Joe

Farmhousesewer

Metal bobbins from China, overall, are not good quality. I would suggest you get bobbins from Cindy at [email protected]. I believe still checks them. There is a notice at Sew-Classic that she will no longer be checking every bobbin.