Singer Monogrammer - Do you have one? Does it work on your 500 / 503?
09-01-2013, 02:20 PM
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
Singer Monogrammer - Do you have one? Does it work on your 500 / 503?
There's a discussion on the Singer Slant Sewing Yahoo group (a week or two ago it was somewhat active) that this monogrammer doesn't work on the 500 (so presumably the 503 as well) One person says that it says somewhere in the 500 / 503 manual that you shouldn't use the monogrammer, but to free motion monogram instead. I've found the free motion monogram section, but no mention of not using the monogrammer attachment. (But I haven't been page by page through the book yet, just looked in the obvious places.)
I have this one: Part 171256 - http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_...ttachment.html
It says this on it:
Accessory plate 507661 furnished is for use on 700 Series machines.
For 401, 500, 600, 620, 630 and 640 series machines use part 161825
That sure looks like the 500 and 503 are supported.
So you know I had to sit down and figure it out and post how, right?
I have plate 161825. Hurdle 1 cleared.
I set the machine up as in the book and....
It skips 90% of the stitches. As soon as I put the monogrammer on the machine it starts to skip. Even pulling the bobbin thread up is a 1 in 4 chance it will be successful.
This machine has done everything I've ever asked of it to date. Sewing with the regular presser foot works just fine. Leaving the machine threaded and changing to the monogrammer causes it to start spitting stitches out.
I've tried this with the 161825 plate in place, and also with the regular throat plate in place and in different positions, including raised higher than the "darning position. Same result.
Further testing on the 411G: Zig Zag cam in place, tension setting at 2, stitch width at 2.5(ish), stitch length irrelevant, 2 layers of new bed sheet fabric, and the 161825 plate in place - it just works. With 3 layers it starts to spit stitches too.
The worst part about this? I've used this monogrammer in the past, but I can't recall if it was on the 403, 401 or the 503. I have a sneaking suspicion it was on the 403, but they're virtually identical machines! I checked the parts charts. If you discount the Presser foot tension portion, the part numbers are identical. Of course I don't have the 401 or the 403 to "go back to" to test.
Why oh why can't I get this to work? I'm convinced it's "me" not the machine, but I just can't see what it is I'm doing wrong.
I have this one: Part 171256 - http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_...ttachment.html
It says this on it:
Accessory plate 507661 furnished is for use on 700 Series machines.
For 401, 500, 600, 620, 630 and 640 series machines use part 161825
That sure looks like the 500 and 503 are supported.
So you know I had to sit down and figure it out and post how, right?
I have plate 161825. Hurdle 1 cleared.
I set the machine up as in the book and....
It skips 90% of the stitches. As soon as I put the monogrammer on the machine it starts to skip. Even pulling the bobbin thread up is a 1 in 4 chance it will be successful.
This machine has done everything I've ever asked of it to date. Sewing with the regular presser foot works just fine. Leaving the machine threaded and changing to the monogrammer causes it to start spitting stitches out.
I've tried this with the 161825 plate in place, and also with the regular throat plate in place and in different positions, including raised higher than the "darning position. Same result.
Further testing on the 411G: Zig Zag cam in place, tension setting at 2, stitch width at 2.5(ish), stitch length irrelevant, 2 layers of new bed sheet fabric, and the 161825 plate in place - it just works. With 3 layers it starts to spit stitches too.
The worst part about this? I've used this monogrammer in the past, but I can't recall if it was on the 403, 401 or the 503. I have a sneaking suspicion it was on the 403, but they're virtually identical machines! I checked the parts charts. If you discount the Presser foot tension portion, the part numbers are identical. Of course I don't have the 401 or the 403 to "go back to" to test.
Why oh why can't I get this to work? I'm convinced it's "me" not the machine, but I just can't see what it is I'm doing wrong.
09-01-2013, 02:43 PM
#2
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
Oh yeah. It figures. I scrap for a couple of hours, I post.
I bring it out into the living room, and try it out again.
It works.
I know it didn't want a change of venue,... right?
It just did a nicer job than the 411 did on it. Finicky little machines.
I bring it out into the living room, and try it out again.
It works.
I know it didn't want a change of venue,... right?
It just did a nicer job than the 411 did on it. Finicky little machines.
09-01-2013, 03:30 PM
#6
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
You're right Sheila, the monogrammer was made after the 500 and 503 in 1969. I bet that Singer made the plate for backward compatibility, or had it already for some other attachment. I know one of my "professional buttonholers" came with it.
As to its location preference, I don't know what that's about. The monogrammer went ahead of the 503 into the living room.
I brought the 411 out first because there's no room in the sewing room for me to set it up. The 503 is squished into a corner, and poor light. I finally got tired of running back and forth and brought the 503 out too.
Oh well. Since they're both out here though, I'm playing with chain stitching on the 503. It's working. I'm just figuring out the logistics of where the guide for the upper thread needs to be to get it consistent.
As to its location preference, I don't know what that's about. The monogrammer went ahead of the 503 into the living room.
I brought the 411 out first because there's no room in the sewing room for me to set it up. The 503 is squished into a corner, and poor light. I finally got tired of running back and forth and brought the 503 out too. Oh well.
Since they're both out here though, I'm playing with chain stitching on the 503. It's working. I'm just figuring out the logistics of where the guide for the upper thread needs to be to get it consistent.
Last edited by ArchaicArcane; 09-01-2013 at 03:33 PM.
09-01-2013, 05:46 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 476
Chain stitching on the 503! You got the plate? I bought a Willcox and Gibbs electric chain stitcher, but it's not working and I haven't gotten to futzing with it yet. The guy I bought it from said his wife sewed with it when they first got it, then they put it away. It needs de-gunking and maybe motor work. It was very inexpensive so it'll be a fun project.
What you wrote about the buttonholer reminds me that I knew someone, Joan Kiplinger, who bought a 401 new and there wasn't a Singer buttonholer available at the time so she had to buy some off-brand. We used to trade vintage sewing stuff like bias tape and notions and she always wanted to send me the buttonholer because she hated it. So I'm thinking that Singer initially figured that people would make buttonholes with the zig zag stitch and not need a buttonholer. But people must have clamored for it.
What you wrote about the buttonholer reminds me that I knew someone, Joan Kiplinger, who bought a 401 new and there wasn't a Singer buttonholer available at the time so she had to buy some off-brand. We used to trade vintage sewing stuff like bias tape and notions and she always wanted to send me the buttonholer because she hated it. So I'm thinking that Singer initially figured that people would make buttonholes with the zig zag stitch and not need a buttonholer. But people must have clamored for it.
09-01-2013, 08:02 PM
#8
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
I used the plate from my 411G, and the spare 411G bobbin case from another machine. I posted about it here:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ml#post6268509
I bet that the flat stock pieces could be made. The guide on the bobbincase, and possibly even the arm on the bottom of the throat plate, but it will take a way better person than me to do it. I think a guide similar to the ones on the newer machine could be made, but the newer guide didn't fit, so I had to kludge. For proof of concept, it's fine
The W&G will be worth restoring. You'll love it. I've seen some, but never gotten my hands on one.
Singer put out 2 different buttonholers that would work with the 401 and other slants, the metal one, and the so called "professional buttonholer" that was a lot more plastic. I've seen a couple of others - Greist, Ruby, Famous, but I don't recall another slant one. I'd be curious to know what brand it was. The manuals do show using the machine for buttonholes, but in practice the buttonholer attachments work way way better. With the machine alone, my buttonholes always end up more like a weird parallagram than a rectangle. 
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ml#post6268509
I bet that the flat stock pieces could be made. The guide on the bobbincase, and possibly even the arm on the bottom of the throat plate, but it will take a way better person than me to do it. I think a guide similar to the ones on the newer machine could be made, but the newer guide didn't fit, so I had to kludge. For proof of concept, it's fine
The W&G will be worth restoring. You'll love it. I've seen some, but never gotten my hands on one.
Singer put out 2 different buttonholers that would work with the 401 and other slants, the metal one, and the so called "professional buttonholer" that was a lot more plastic. I've seen a couple of others - Greist, Ruby, Famous, but I don't recall another slant one. I'd be curious to know what brand it was. The manuals do show using the machine for buttonholes, but in practice the buttonholer attachments work way way better.
With the machine alone, my buttonholes always end up more like a weird parallagram than a rectangle.
09-02-2013, 05:31 AM
#9
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,507
I blamed the monogrammer not working on gunked up oil inside and the wrong plate. I'll need to dig it out and see if it works on a different machine. It did not like my 403 at all. I guess I didn't care if it worked bad enough to mess around with it.
09-02-2013, 08:35 AM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Washington State summer, Sun City AZ winter
Posts: 701
I just dug out my unit to see abut the throat plate cover. I bought it to use with my 626 not even thinking about the plate cover! Fortunately, I have two--507661, 161825. I think that this should work on the 626 I bought it for and also the 403 I have in Sun City. I'll leave it here instead of taking it to SC but still haven't tried it on either machine even, tho I've had the unit for about 3 or 4 years now. Got it off Ebay and it has all the letters plus these 2 machine plates. There is a newer one that does larger letters but I have not been successful bidding on them. They usually don't have all the letters either. Of course, I'd have to investigate if they would work on my machines now that I realized the throat plate type is important.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
katastrofy1967
For Vintage & Antique Machine Enthusiasts
5
11-08-2014 09:26 PM
