Originally Posted by
J Miller
Joan - Sabine,
Did your machines have a belt on it when you got it? A good sewing machine shop should have a belt measuring tool, mine does. It's a miniature tool like the car parts places use to measure engine belts.
Joan,
Is that motor spring loaded?
From your picture the belt does look too tight to my eyes, but it's hard to tell cos I can't reach through the screen to squeeze it myself.
I wish I could help more, but I have no idea what belt that machine might take. I checked on the Sears parts site and they don't carry that belt any more.
It's gonna be a case of try and test till you find one that works. And it might not be the one you think it is.
Joe
Thanks for your help Joe. I bought this machine about a month ago on Craigslist. It had a belt and a spare, both 14 1/4" measured using the rolling method. Those belts were too loose. I could see that they were not contacting the motor post and I had to start the machine using the handwheel every time. I do think the belt in the picture was too tight, seems you tend to agree at least on sight. I'd feel better if my motor wasn't as close as it could go, I'd prefer some wiggle room. The motor is not spring loaded, in fact not even sure what that is! It's bolted to the machine, no springs.
Right now I'm making do with a stretch belt. This is my dedicated FMQ machine and having to start it by hand all the time makes it difficult to maintain a nice stitch because I only have one hand to hold the fabric steady. I hope the new belt works out. It is not the one I would have chosen, so maybe it is the correct one after all.