Originally Posted by
irishrose
I got excited over a box of cams at SA today and bought a Montgomery Ward J1561 machine - probably from the late 70s. It doesn't have a bobbin case, but the second one I tried from other machines fits. I plugged in the machine and it won't sew. It has a switch for 'electronic' or 'normal'. Can I take the bottom off and take this machine apart myself or am I in over my head? It's a heavy well made machine - made in Japan by Juki - so far that's all I know. [ATTACH=CONFIG]323662[/ATTACH]
It sounds like you solved the problem with the bobbin.
Does it not work because it is an electrical problem or a mechanical problem? Can you turn it by hand? If you thread it, does it make a stitch when you turn it by hand? Does the light switch work? I don't know how taking it apart will fix it if it is an electrical problem. If it is mechanical you will need to oil the moving parts like you would a vintage - just be very careful if you have plastic parts. It could also be a broken plastic part somewhere jamming the whole works.