miriam

Some times on the tension, I get it all together and it doesn't seem to adjust right. Then I take off the end nut, give that inside nut another slight turn and put it all back. Sometimes that does the job. Some times I have just turned the dial over and it worked fine. Tweaking the tension is more of an art I fear. Maybe the art is messing with it until it works. When it works it is SWEET. Some times they go back together just as pretty as you please - then some times they want you to fool around - usually if you don't have much time...

Sheluma

Poor Plume. I don't think I was even aware of the bobbin tension screw until I'd be sewing for about 20 years. Whenever my tension goes out of whack it's always because the machine needs cleaning and oiling. Knocking on wood here...almost considering not posting so as not to ruin my luck. I have to remind myself that I'm not superstitious.

It does sound like you have the numbers lined up wrong, though, at least for starters. Good thing Tammi and Miriam are here to help you.

plume

Hi Tammi,

Thanks so much again.

--> fixed it, thanks!

--> It makes sense, absolutely. The problem I have with this, is that if I put the "0" in the correct position (slightest perceptible drag), then my stitches are perfect on "9" only. If I set this "9" position to read "4" or "5" instead on the dial, the "0" is then super tight and the discs become much harder to release on any dial number when the foot is up.
Aaargh. I think I should wait for new thread & needles before testing more. Right?

Also, the 401M I have has different parts for the upper tension than the American ones. I finally found some tutorials & images online for it:
http://mysewingmachineobsession.blog...f-tension.html
If you search for "tension", you'll find many other posts on this blog with great close-up pictures, for the American model & different Singers too.

Please hug the queen & court jester for me, I miss my cat

plume

I hope so!!!!!

plume

lol

Yes!

But please, Sheluma, Tammi, and Miriam: don't spend too much time on this. I found a Singer repairman not far away. I was just hoping to fix it myself (getting to know the machine in the process, which I think is important... and find enjoyable), and also hoping too you would have a magic 1-step easy answer, lol.


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Sheluma

I love Elizabeth's blog. Which parts are different from the ones on Elizabeth's page? Also, what happened to your cat? Did I miss something? I have fuzzy family. A mamma cat, about 13, and two of her offspring, 5 years old. They mostly get along, except sometimes mamma attacks her male kid. She favors the female kid, who she lets suckle. (Psycho!) I'm sure she's not producing any milk, though. Mamma uses a funny meow to call the kid when she wants to engage in this behavior. Then when she's tired of it she bites the kid's head.

plume

The link I just sent has pictures of the same exact parts as my Italian machine. Basically, comparing the US upper tension and mine/Elizabeht's:
- the discs are symmetric, same on front & back
- the little round thing (with the upper hook on the US models) have no hook here, just a flat tip pointing up
- the dial is not fixed by the little hook but instead with a big screw-thing in front of it

Aaaaah, my cat died 2 years ago, liver failure at 18 years old (I've had many cats, and didn't know this was actually a common illness for cats). I tried to "fix" her during 1 long year, until the end. Our dog seemed so alone afterwards (and he was starting to think way too much he was a human), and I was still so sad, that we got the little dog you saw on the pictures to mend things. It worked! We're crazy about him. And our older dog gets to play again.

Your mamma & daughter cat story sounds like it would be a good YouTube

Sheluma

Very interesting. Elizabeth's tension matches yours? I would have thought hers to be American.

I'm sorry about your cat. We had another cat in this fuzzy family who died at age 2 1/2. She had cancer of the spleen and bone marrow (a leukemia, though she was FELV negative.) I think she got it because when we were trying to catch her when she was a feral kitten, she hid in a ceiling that had asbestos in it. The vet speculated genetics. We spent a month trying to fix her, but it was hopeless. She was the most playful and loving of the 3 kittens (to us as well as her siblings -- she would seek them out to cuddle with them). I've had many cats, but none who died so young. I miss them all so much.

plume

Yes, the tensions match exactly. Actually, if you go back to the 1st page of this thread you'll see on the pictures that Miriam posted of the Singer 401G, that it has the same tension too (look closely). Also, Elizabeth seems to have many different machines, and on this one (http://mysewingmachineobsession.blog...f-tension.html), it's like mine (she doesn't specify if it's a A, G, or M), whereas this one (a 301 — http://mysewingmachineobsession.blog...-assembly.html) seems to have the same parts as the 401A...

Oooh I'm so sorry for your kitty too. So young...

ga447

I am so enjoying the photos.