I haven't had to do this since. Other machines have not been so locked up, but at the time, nothing I did loosened it up. I tried everything that was suggested and finally I just decided to take it apart. I took the whole rod out of the bottom between the gear and the bobbin spinner. I knew everything in the machine moved at least a little, but this rod did not move at all. I soaked the whole rod in PB Blaster for about a week before I got it to move even the slightest. After I got the rod out of the bushings, I had to polish it a bit with steel wool and cleaned the inside of the bushings out as well before I could get it to move smoothly without hanging up. I learned a lot with this machine!
One thing I love is that it is so LIGHT! I can hold it easily with one hand while settling it back onto its pins in the cabinet. It's a great machine now. Quiet and smooth running. I just wish I had more than one bobbin. It doesn't hold a lot, so I find myself stopping to wind a bobbin more often than with other machines.
Barb