Good Afternoon.
I have a 1953 crinkle coat White 77 that I'm working on. I've replaced the tension assembly, it didn't have one when I bought it, and found bobbins for it, but I'm having some small issues that I hope you all will be willing to help me resolve.
It sews a very nice stitch, but it will frequently cut the top thread at the end of the seam. Typically it happens when I've managed to stop with the needle in the fabric, so I manipulate the wheel to raise the needle, sometimes I have to struggle with the wheel to get it to come up, and when I pull the threads it cuts it. The top thread will be wound through the race as though it's prepared to take another stitch and the thread is cut on the (if you're facing the bobbin case) right hand side as it is emerging from the plate. I know I have some more work to do on the tension assembly as it's stiff but it's not pulling so hard as to break the thread when it's not run through the race and it doesn't break while sewing. I've inspected everything for burrs and while I haven't seen anything that jumps out at me I will be smoothing things with some steel wool in a few minutes just in case.
When the thread breaks it's almost impossible to remove the remnant from the hook/race assembly without removing the whole shebang, it gets stuck along the bottom of the hook and removing the bobbin case doesn't help at all. I'm beginning to think that I may not have the race/hook perfectly inserted, but this is the only white sewing machine I've ever seen and I have nothing to compare it to. Does anyone know of a place where I can find pictures of the race/hook/bobbin case assembly and directions for assembling it?
The other issue I'm having is trying to figure out how to attach the 77's knee lever to my sewing cabinet genericus that I use for homeless machines. It's a pressed wood 70's/80's era looking thing that came with an old, non-vintage monkey wards machine that is now in the landfill. I can tell you that 550 cord didn't work at all, and zip ties are working as a temporary measure but it's not at all solid so I think I'm going to have to mount it permanently, unless someone has better temporary ideas. Again, I haven't seen a cabinet installed knee lever before and would appreciate some guidance for placement (and to figure out if my knee is supposed to push it away from me or pull it toward me, I'm more comfy with pulling it toward me but if that's not correct...) and how to place the screws. I suspect that there's a plate that is supposed to screw onto the cabinet but I don't have one.
Thank you
I hate to have my first post be all gimme gimme but I don't have much experience and don't really have much to offer by way of advice. As I have five other machines on my bench (singer 28, 128, 99, 201, 15-91, and an electric 66) I will probably have more questions before I have advice, sorry! I do have one treadle that I refurbished, a 1904 singer 66 lotus in it's original 4 drawer cabinet, named Miss Ruth after the lady who was her sewing partner for 80+ years, and a lovely soft green 60's era Kenmore also in her original cabinet named Miss Nina after her owner. Miss Nina bought her new, she came with everything including the test sample, the packages of free needles, manuals, everything all carefully packed away in her drawers, discovering that was like bumbling upon a time capsule. She sold her to me this summer in preparation to move to assisted living and had taken meticulous care of her machine, cleaning and oiling it twice a year even though she hadn't sewn in more than a decade. I didn't need to do anything to her except remove half a bobbin of thread her great granddaughter had knotted around the needle bar. That took about an hour then I loaded a bobbin, threaded her and we were off and sewing. My boss, Miss Nina's son, even pointed out the tiny chips along the edge of the bed where as a kid he was tasked with oiling it and he tried to pry the machine up with the tool Miss Nina used to lift the bobbin access plate, he said he still hears about that! LOL