Snowglobes

Hello, I have what seems to be a japanese machine circa 1960's.
The issue I'm having is that the bobbin area isn't catching the needle thread consistently.
I'm a tad new to this and don't know what could be causing it or how to fix it.

any help appreciated. if you require more descriptions or pictures, ask and I'll provide.

thank you in advance.

Iceblossom

Hope you get this figured out!

Pictures are a big help. The Help section has some good guides, posting pictures here isn't as intuitive as maybe some of us would like.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/qb-help-center-f27/

So do you get a big nest of bad stitches on the bottom, or is just one or two missing?

Any details on the type of fabric -- is this all the time or just the current project? Sometimes people can have issues with tight weaves like batiks for example.

I believe in replacing needles often, even if you've just replaced it sometimes you get one with a burr or manufacturing defect. If you hear a "pooka pooka" sound while you are stitching, it means your needle is beyond dull and is punching holes in your fabric instead of cleverly slipping between threads.

Snowglobes

Sorry for the late reply, was having lunch.
I can post pictures a bit later.
anyways:
no bad nest. I was spinning the wheel manually around so I could see what's not working right. what I figured out was that that hook which is supposed to grab the thread from the needle, misses the thread and doesn't manage to grab on to it.
which means the loop around the bobbin thread never occurs.
I am trying to repair a swim suit made of "63% polyester, 37% elastan".
This didn't happen earlier when i worked on some denim.
I tried the denim once more, and the tension consistently seems off.
I'm honestly not sure if it's the tension, if something misaligned or something else.

I will check your link a bit later, as right now I need to go shopping.
When i get back, i'll try some different needles, materials, and check your link.

Snowglobes

It was indeed the hook timing. just had to move the needle bar a bit and bam! works like a charm.
I love these old tough rugged machines. They're all like "just push that piece back in place" kinda solutions.
In my case, I don't have a screw holding the needle bar in place. So i put the machine into the right position and used a stick an a mallet to push it into the right position.

back to repairing the swimsuit!

Iceblossom

Glad you got it taken care of. It is indeed one of the things I like about such machines is you can typically figure stuff out. Unlike my modern machine...

steve104c

What is the brand and model? I have a Singer 223. Made in Japan in the 60’s for the US service men stationed in Japan and sold only at the US base store. Steve

Snowglobes

I have a Mardix Super 4 M