I just got my machine back from the shop. He re-wired it and tested it at the shop and it was fine. Now that I brought it home it won't sew. I can wind it by hand and everything moves fine but when I push on the presser foot the moter goes like crazy but it's not moving the needle. Is there anything I can do to fix this here or do i need to take it back to the shop?

Try turning the center of the handwheel, the metal part. You can turn it either towards you or away from you. This is how you disengage the needle to wind the bobbin.

The wheel/knob that you loosen to wind a bobbin.....is it tightened? Sometimes I don't get mine tightened enough and my machine won't sew. Just a thought.

thanks so much! thats what it was i was turning the wrong thing. what a dummy ... I'm so glad i asked! so i am supposed to turn the black thing to bring the needle down? :) much better.

Sometimes this happens for the reason you found - you didn't turn the center knob back where it belongs after you wind a bobbin, but sometimes, you get the same symptoms even with the center knob turned back into place.

The shaft, the inside of the handwheel and the metal washer under the silver center knob can get so cruddy and stuck with old oil that's turned into a varnish-like yuck that that stuff doesn't function properly any more. Clean all the bare metal with denatured alcohol or acetone on q-tips, wipe all those surfaces with sewing machine oil and put them back together.

After assembly, if you disengage the center knob to wind a bobbin and the needle still goes up and down, remove the center knob, turn the washer 180º and replace the center knob and that should fix it. :)

Have fun - it's a WONDERFUL machine! :)

Yes when i wind the bobbin the needle still goes up and down. How do i remove the center knob? with a screw driver?

Did you turn the center part of the handwheel??

yes, I turned only the center towards me and the needle still goes up and down and the bobbin isn't winding very well. It was just tuned up and the wires were all changed out, shouldnt' they have changed the washer?

Yes, but even an experienced machine repairer can get that darned washer positioned incorrectly - it LOOKS perfectly fine and it seems to work perfectly fine until you loosen the knob to wind a bobbin.

Unscrew the screw in the center knob, remove the handwheel, pull off the washer, turn it 180º and make sure it seats well when you replace it, put the center knob back, tighten the screw in the center knob and test it again.

If the needle still moves when you've got the knob loosened for bobbin winding, all that "stuff" in there is probably coated with enough sticky gunk to keep it all from moving freely, the way it should. The tolerances are very small in some gaps. You can break some of this free by physically holding the needle bar still while winding the bobbin, but it's better to take all that apart and clean it thoroughly.

Most repair people don't do this kind of cleaning in a "Clean, Oil, Adjust," so even if you see it on your bill, I'll bet that nothing beyond a cursory brushing or blowing away of lint in the bobbin case was attempted in the cleaning department. ;)

If it's still not winding a bobbin well, you may need a new bobbin winder tire - they cost about $1, so no great expense and just a few minutes to replace. I hope that's all it is, because fixing the angle of the bobbin winder and how it snaps down to engage the tire and hand wheel is just a pain in the neck. I have a 201 and a 15-91 that I just hold the darn thing in contact with the handwheel with my finger in order to wind a bobbin. Keep meaning to get those taken apart and fixed properly.... you know how that goes. :)

thanks so much i'll try it out!