Motor has trouble getting started sometimes
 

Sometimes when I try to sew it just goes mrrrrr and doesn’t move, until I turn the handwheel a little then it goes. I got a buttonholer today and it sewed the first one okay then was getting hung up again but kept doing it, not just once like usual. Then i put the regular foot back on and unthreaded it and ran a long strip of fabric through really fast and haven’t had the issue since that. A while ago I cleaned out what grease I could and refilled the tubes. Could it be an issue of old grease sticking things up?

Where is your take up lever when you push the controller to start sewing? It should be at the top or just over the top of its travel. That's where a stitch actually begins. If you make sure the take up lever is up when you finish a seam, then when you start a new seam the motor should go.

Cari

Could we have a bit more info? Does your machine have a belt? Is your motor spinning but the belt is not moving?

I was thinking the same thing as leonf. It sounds a bit like when oil has seeped out on the belt. It needs to be whiped off together with the groove in the handweel and motor pulley and it should grip as new again. Similar can happen when a belt needs to be repaced, but lucikly it's visible and obvious when it's time.

If it's a model with a potted motor it could very well be sticky old grease, often you need to take off the hand wheel to check behind there. The worm gear and tooth in the hand wheel are often much more sticky than the motor axle.

Sticky parts in general are yet another common cause for this problem, and it's never a bad idea to go over all the oil points a few times and run the machine a bit if it hasnt been used it a while. It can take time to flush out grime and dirt from the inners of joints and gears, all it takes it a bit of persistance and daily oiling for a while.

It has a belt. The belt shakes but nothing turns

Just to make sure; Does the pulley on the motor end turn? Does the hand wheel turn freely and effortlessly by hand? Needle moves up and down as it should? A belt can be too loose and too tight, there should be a bit of slack, just enough for the rubber to grip. If it's something related to the internals of the motor it's usually worn carbon brushes. Regardless of how dry the bearings are, they usually turn fine but much better after greasing or oiling. The pulley or motor axle can some times gum up, and if you force the motor pulley by hand it might free up.

...or rather disregard the last part, if you give the lubrication points on the motor one (!) drop of oil then run the motor warm, it will hopefully reach the bearings. One drop will not dribble along the motor axle and harm anything. You might add a second drop after a while if you don't notice any change, if the wicks are very clogged and gummed up it might be needed. The motor always improves after a clean up and lubrication. The conflicting advice relates to the copper conductor parts, to let them be or not; some recommend to leave them untouched if possible, a safe method is to use erasing rubber. Some have sanded them down on a gridning wheel, and the motor still turned, but it's on the harsh side.

When I first learned to sew, I was taught to always turn the hand wheel toward me slightly to start the motor. It is just something I do automatically at the beginning of a sewing session. Keep in mind that all my machines and I are vintage.

Smokeythecat has't had a chance to reply yet and we have been talking around the subject quite a bit.

What you describe is new to me Aurora, there might be something to it. I was told to always start with the needle down, and I have a slight suspicion what you were taught came from someone who was used to a treadle. Getting a machine to start from cold aftere it has been stored away for a couple of weeks might need a few seconds to warm up and maybe a round of oiling. In theory it shouldn't be much more than that.