My 500 is giving me problems
02-20-2014, 03:59 PM
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 8,091
Bette,
There is 4 adjustment points for thread clearance on the Singer 500 bobbin area. Here is a pic I took with the adjustment points indicated:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]463558[/ATTACH]
Specs:
A & B= .012" to .016"
C = .015" to .023" ( between the spring and the hook race )
D = .024" to .045"
I know from experience with my #1 500 that if these are too tight the threads will sometimes catch and jam up.
You can check these easily check them with the small narrow gap gauges you can buy at auto parts stores.
If they are too loose I suspect it can affect the tension as well.
I have this info in big .pdf files (2.1 mb), so if it turns out you need it, ( it includes instructions on how to do the adjustments ) just PM me your email and I'll do a screen cap and send it to you.
Or, you can go to the Singer site or the Yahoo slantsingersewing group and download your own. That might be easier.
Joe
There is 4 adjustment points for thread clearance on the Singer 500 bobbin area. Here is a pic I took with the adjustment points indicated:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]463558[/ATTACH]
Specs:
A & B= .012" to .016"
C = .015" to .023" ( between the spring and the hook race )
D = .024" to .045"
I know from experience with my #1 500 that if these are too tight the threads will sometimes catch and jam up.
You can check these easily check them with the small narrow gap gauges you can buy at auto parts stores.
If they are too loose I suspect it can affect the tension as well.
I have this info in big .pdf files (2.1 mb), so if it turns out you need it, ( it includes instructions on how to do the adjustments ) just PM me your email and I'll do a screen cap and send it to you.
Or, you can go to the Singer site or the Yahoo slantsingersewing group and download your own. That might be easier.
Joe
02-20-2014, 04:34 PM
#12
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,506
I have the specs and am doing a lot of wondering... I have a 401 that seems to need some TLC in that area. I sure do hate to mess with it if it isn't what is wrong. I guess I'll dig around for some gauges and see what they read like. I've also wondered if someone dropped oil in the holes above and it dried in there... dried oil was EVERYWHERE else.....
02-20-2014, 05:56 PM
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 8,091
Miriam,
Very possibly your machine had the same ailment as my two 500s ..... human interference.
I was just asked via a PM why should the specs change? The only reason I can think of is that someone tried to "fix" it and just made it worse.
As for the dried up oil, very possibly.
Our 401 luckily didn't need anything. Both our 500s did. Go figure.
Joe
Very possibly your machine had the same ailment as my two 500s ..... human interference.
I was just asked via a PM why should the specs change? The only reason I can think of is that someone tried to "fix" it and just made it worse.
As for the dried up oil, very possibly.
Our 401 luckily didn't need anything. Both our 500s did. Go figure.
Joe
02-20-2014, 07:11 PM
#14
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,506
Originally Posted by J Miller
Miriam,
Very possibly your machine had the same ailment as my two 500s ..... human interference.
I was just asked via a PM why should the specs change? The only reason I can think of is that someone tried to "fix" it and just made it worse.
As for the dried up oil, very possibly.
Our 401 luckily didn't need anything. Both our 500s did. Go figure.
Joe
Very possibly your machine had the same ailment as my two 500s ..... human interference.
I was just asked via a PM why should the specs change? The only reason I can think of is that someone tried to "fix" it and just made it worse.
As for the dried up oil, very possibly.
Our 401 luckily didn't need anything. Both our 500s did. Go figure.
Joe
02-21-2014, 08:11 AM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 383
Here's the photo of the problem I had with my 500. It took me a while to find it. You can see the pin sticking out to the right. It was supposed to keep the inside of the hook wheel clear of lint.
As I wrote before, I took out the hook and bobbin mechanism and removed the pin, but the thread still wrapped itself around that spot.
Tate
[ATTACH=CONFIG]463628[/ATTACH]
As I wrote before, I took out the hook and bobbin mechanism and removed the pin, but the thread still wrapped itself around that spot.
Tate
[ATTACH=CONFIG]463628[/ATTACH]
02-21-2014, 08:54 AM
#18
Super Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Frederick, OK
Posts: 2,031
Something was keeping the thread from releasing from the tip of the hook way back at the Bobbin Case Cushion Spring. When it doesn’t release, it’s got to pile up near the Lint Pin area, since that’s where it contacts the feed dog assembly and can’t go any further.
One thing to watch for when thread breakage happens, is that there is not a loose thread either floating around in the hook, or hanging from the bottom of the fabric being sewn. If the hook can catch a thread from anywhere else along with the thread loop from the needle, it will act the same as the Bobbin Case Cushion Spring clearances being out of adjustment. If the needle hits a loose thread attached to the underside of the fabric on its way down, pushes it on down through the needle plate, and the hook catches it when it comes around, you can end up with a thread jam and broken upper thread when the hook takes the slack out of the loose thread.
I’ve been fighting with a Singer 401A, trying to get the clearances set right at the Bobbin Case Cushion Spring. I just can’t seem to find that “sweet spot” that it needs. I nicknamed him “Weenie” because he had a really loud motor whine when I got him, and when I’d increase and decrease the speed, he’d go “Weeee” and then “Neeee”. I’m close, because it will sew daily at the shop for several days before it hangs the thread again. This has been going on now for a very long time. My wife is ready to boot me and Weenie both out of the shop, so I’m going to get one of our spares serviced up to replace him and take him out of the rotation. I guess I’ll put him in my collection and just look at him from time to time. He’s the only one that we have that doesn’t have the bottom notch in the Stitch Length Plate, so he’s a little unusual in that respect. I hate to give up, but I’m about to wear my feeler gauge out on him too......
CD in Oklahoma
One thing to watch for when thread breakage happens, is that there is not a loose thread either floating around in the hook, or hanging from the bottom of the fabric being sewn. If the hook can catch a thread from anywhere else along with the thread loop from the needle, it will act the same as the Bobbin Case Cushion Spring clearances being out of adjustment. If the needle hits a loose thread attached to the underside of the fabric on its way down, pushes it on down through the needle plate, and the hook catches it when it comes around, you can end up with a thread jam and broken upper thread when the hook takes the slack out of the loose thread.
I’ve been fighting with a Singer 401A, trying to get the clearances set right at the Bobbin Case Cushion Spring. I just can’t seem to find that “sweet spot” that it needs. I nicknamed him “Weenie” because he had a really loud motor whine when I got him, and when I’d increase and decrease the speed, he’d go “Weeee” and then “Neeee”. I’m close, because it will sew daily at the shop for several days before it hangs the thread again. This has been going on now for a very long time. My wife is ready to boot me and Weenie both out of the shop, so I’m going to get one of our spares serviced up to replace him and take him out of the rotation. I guess I’ll put him in my collection and just look at him from time to time. He’s the only one that we have that doesn’t have the bottom notch in the Stitch Length Plate, so he’s a little unusual in that respect. I hate to give up, but I’m about to wear my feeler gauge out on him too......
CD in Oklahoma
02-21-2014, 10:54 AM
#19
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,506
Originally Posted by tate_elliott
Here's the photo of the problem I had with my 500. It took me a while to find it. You can see the pin sticking out to the right. It was supposed to keep the inside of the hook wheel clear of lint.
As I wrote before, I took out the hook and bobbin mechanism and removed the pin, but the thread still wrapped itself around that spot.
Tate
[ATTACH=CONFIG]463628[/ATTACH]
As I wrote before, I took out the hook and bobbin mechanism and removed the pin, but the thread still wrapped itself around that spot.
Tate
[ATTACH=CONFIG]463628[/ATTACH]
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