Originally Posted by MrsBoats
The zigzag is finally zigzagging-the medium and wide zz, not the narrow zz. I oiled and ran it, oiled and ran it, and each time I did, the zz got a little wider.
Now that I have the zz, I left it on its widest setting and turned the +/- screw all the way both ways. Neither had any bearing on the width of the zz. (Good thing that little screw clicks! That's how I knew how to put it back where it started-I counted clicks.)
I'm off to hunt an Elna manual; maybe that'll solve the mystery.
It's how I do it. Oil it. Run it. Oil it. Run it. If all else fails, heat it. Open the nose end of the cover and give the needle bar a push. Note where it goes in and out from side to side. Then oil that spot. I doubt if you can get too much oil on it - kind of messy though... Paper towel to get some of the excess.
I thought I had a Elna free manual for you - the site is down. (I'm glad I got mine printed.) I wish you lived next door... I could let you look at my manual. Check Riccar, Necchi, Sears, JCPenny, MW, etc. See if you can find something in the same time or for the component you need to figure out. Most of the vintage machines are pretty basic mechanics and you can figure them out by tinkering. I'm thinking there were free Sears manuals out there somewhere too.