I've been working on finishing a quilted cover for my 9W-7 treadle. I had trouble at the start with my #1 9W-7 with the thread breaking. I went to a larger needle and that helped. But my #2 machine is modified to use 15x1 needles rather than the 127x1s so I switched to it.
Troubles with thread, troubles with the bobbin thread coming out of the tension spring. Just troubles.
Finally a couple days ago the #2 machine went BAM!, BAM!, CRUNCH!. Somehow the needle got busted, in two places. And the tip of the hook was broken off. I still haven't figured that one out.
I switched back to the #1 machine. Again troubles. No birds nests, but the tension just wasn't consistent. And every time I'd un-thread the machine for some reason the bobbin would un-thread itself from the tension. Grrrrrrrr.
Mizkaki had asked me to take some pics of the broken hook on the #2 machine for her so today when I was doing that I was amazed at how similar the entire bobbin drive, hook assembly and bobbin case base was to the Featherweights. I suspect Singer used the W&W design with slight modifications, it's just too similar to be otherwise.
As I was sitting here mulling over things, a comment made by another forum member sometime back during a discussion about which way bobbins fit in a 15-91 ( I think) popped into my pea brain.
The comment went something like this: The bobbin thread has to make a right angle turn as it leaves the bobbin and passes through the tension parts. Something like that. I forget who said that or I would quote them. I sat there and said ..... HMMM, I wonder. Then I looked at the bobbin area of the machine. Ummm again, no right angle turn. Hmmmm.
I dug out the owners manual and read up on how to insert the bobbin and thread the tension.
I had been installing the bobbin backwards. I had it going counter clockwise. In this machine it goes clockwise. Oh Brother ......
So I put it in right. There's the right angle turn and it threaded up much easier. I finished quilting the skirt to the cover with no further problems and just wondered where in the world my brain was.
So, if you have a Singer 9W series the bobbin goes in with the thread coming off the top towards you. Or, clockwise.
Duh ...... where's my sign?
Joe