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Nancy, I believe it is a brass bushing that was impregnated with oil. If I remember right it was called an oilite bushing or bearing. Even though it technically was a bushing, they called it a bearing. I never figured that one out. But don't quote me on that. I have a Kenmore with these in it and the manual says right on the cover NOT to oil the machine. HA! It was seized up but good! I oiled the heck out of it and now it is free. ~G~
Originally Posted by BoJangles
I'll bet it's a Kenmore 120-491 isn't it? I got one too and it was also seized up. Tri-Flow to the rescue.
Joe
Nice looking machine but needles and drive wheel are hard to find.Kemore Model 71. Same machine I think but the 71 has the stitch control down on the bed. ~G~
Needles: Use DCx1F serger needles and seat them a bit shallow. Align them so the needles eye matches the position of the original needles.
Drive wheel: Depending on the motor shaft size you might can still get them.
{ http://sewing-machine-parts-store.co...&brand=&page=2 }
{ http://www.shop.sew-classic.com/Moto...-Parts_c21.htm }
{ http://thayerrags.com/ }
If they don't have it, with a little bit of ingenuity and ambition, you can make your own rubber part.
Joe
Thanks Joe! I actually did get a little creative on this one. Thank heavens there was an old needle in there that I could tell was different than a regular needle. I had no real luck searching on line for an answer either. It is not the most discussed machine out there. I did see one for sale and emailed the owner with the question of needles that he had for his machine. He was very nice and most helpful and understanding. He told me that the needles he had were 206X13 needles. I called my local shop and they had some. I bought some and put them in the machine. The Scarf was not cut out of them and it hit a little but it sewed. I am convinced that those needles are ALMOST correct for this machine if only they had the scarf cutout in them.
Now as to the drive wheel. It is a direct drive machine that the handwheel rolls away from you in a CLOCKWISE direction. That is opposite most machines and hard for this old dog to get used to. This particular machine has a drive wheel that has a bobbin winder post on it too! How strange is that? For this reason it is impossible to find new. I did not find one anywhere. The machine has no provisions other than this drivewheel to wind a bobbin. It sat for 4 months until I saw some automotive fuel line in my junk drawer. I cut a piece to length and cut the old dried, flatspotted rubber off of it and fitted it over the shoulder of the shank and it worked! WARNING! This is not an easy task! I think I made up a few new words getting it into position, but it can be done!This is the finished product.
Ah, yours is different than mine. Mine is a 120-491, I should have looked closer at your pic. It has a different drive wheel than mine. Mine actually has a bobbin winder on it.
What size hose did you use to make your rubber tire with?
If your owners manual calls for a Kenmore 49 needle like mine does here is a trick to make setting the DCx1F easier. Take a strip of magnet tape and cut out a tiny spacer. Put the spacer in the needle hole and push it up with the needle. Being a magnet it will stay there and you can switch out needles easily.
Joe
Nancy,
I hope that this information helps. Starting in about 1972 Husqvarna machines were advertised to be "self oiling". They did this by putting sintered bearings in their machines. These bearing were oil impregnated. The idea was the heat generated by the shaft turning in the bearing would draw oil up from the pores of sintered steel bushings/ bearings and bring it to the surface. The reality was that many machines sit, unused. Viking learned that these machines would dry up & get stuck from non-use. And if someone did oil these bearings with WD40 or the likes they probably sealed the pores in the sintered bearings, and they would no longer will absorb or dispense lubrication possibly ruining the machine.
On another note, by now the OLD sintered bearings need some help. They probably have no oil left in them and Husqvarna did not provide any outside route to get oil in (i.e. oil holes). So oil with penetrating abilities is needed i.e. Tri-flow. If these bearing have become dry then it is even harder to lube them. A gentle application of heat from a hair dryer works well to open the pores of the bearing so that Tri-flow will be drawn in.
There is no product that Viking used that caused these or other machines to seize, it was and continues to be the sintered bearings.
Cathy
"Most sewing machine problems are due to the carbon based unit in the chair in front of the machine"
Joe,
I believe that the other designations for these short needles are 'CC', '38Y1', '40F1', and 'Free Rotary'.
They are still available in limited sizes and quantities from the sewing machine wholesale/ supply houses.
If you want some let me know and I'll put them on my next order with Brewer.
Cathy
"Most sewing machine problems are due to the carbon based unit in the chair in front of the machine"
Joe, it is a 7.9 mm Inside Diameter fuel line.~Grant~
Cathy, thank you for clearing up the Viking "self oiling" feature! I have one vintage Viking that, according to the original owner, is a late 1960's machine. Other than what I have read about the bad name Viking got for their 'self-oiling' feature that ruined a lot of machines - I know nothing about Vikings! I was told there were service repair people that used the same technique when they got machines in for repair - now I highly doubt that was true? It sounds like the 'bearing' was something unique with the self-oiling machines? I was also told that the self-oiling hardened and gummed up a lot of machines. I think that statement could be somewhat true due to the oil hardening from non-use? Your thoughts? I have stayed away from vintage Vikings because of the little I 'thought' I knew.
Nancy
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