gladyswahl

I got a Singer Featherweight today, quite reasonable,

After some major cleaning & oiling it sews very nicely,
motor is quiet, but the bobbin is very rattly noisy...
yes it is inserted right, followed the instructions,
and is the right bobbin...
Is this normal for the bobbin ares to rattle ?

Gladys at the Iowa Farm Report Center

Rodney

Welcome aboard Gladys! Someone will be along who can answer your question. I don't have any direct experience with featherweights but I haven't heard this complaint before so I think it's a bit unusual.
Rodney

miriam

The FW is a bit noisy in that area

J Miller

Here is a link with some tips on how to take care of a FW:
{ http://thefeatherweight221factory.com/ }

Here is the page inside that gives you tips on how to tune them:
{ http://thefeatherweight221factory.com/page10.php }

Now, the reason the bobbin case rattles is because the two little springs the finger sits between are bent, or out of adjustment. They should be tight enough to the finger that it doesn't rattle. They can be adjusted a wee bit. But, be very careful because those springs are brittle and will break if you try and bend them. And ... they are not available as new parts anymore. If you break one, you'll have to find one from a parted out machine. Please don't ask me how I know this.

To adjust the little springs, loosen the screw and move them towards each other as needed. They won't move much and if they are as close as they'll go, don't force them.

Joe

monopas

No rattling from the bobbin, or bobbin area, on mine. But then, the jib was flopping around and I had to take the whole thing out to found a screw was put in from the back by a previous "enthusiast" (also used white lithium grease on the gears, ugh). I was lucky enough to get a bunch of vintage bobbins with the machine, so I haven't tried a newly manufactured one in the case yet, but they might not work as well. The new bobbins are made like 15 style bobbins, with a ridge, so that might be noisy. Or your bobbin might be bent a little.

Just a few other things to consider before trying to take apart the bobbin case. Scary.

dlsnaples

Thank you for the info. I was gifted with a Featherweight that had belonged to my husband's Grandmother. I am half afraid to use it for fear a "hurting" it.

Cari-in-Oly

Don't be afraid to use it. It may be tiny but it's a got the heart of the bigger machines, it's a little work horse.

Cari

DonnaMiller

Mine does the same thing. I even took it to see Fred Switzer at Paducah last year. He said "there is another place to oil, not shown in the manual, the crossover, underside of the machine. Oil that and it will quiet down". I oiled everything that looked oilable under there and it was quieter. I also put one of those Teflon washers in the bobbin carrier. That seemed to take up some of the slop in the bobbin movement and helped some. I also put rubber washers under the screws in the faceplate. They are vey tiny "O" rings That even made more improvement. Be sure everything that can become loose is tight.
Good luck. You will probably find even more things.
Donna

DonnaMiller

Mine does the same thing. I even took it to see Fred Switzer at Paducah last year. He said "there is another place to oil, not shown in the manual, the crossover, underside of the machine. Oil that and it will quiet down". I oiled everything that looked oilable under there and it was quieter. I also put one of those Teflon washers in the bobbin carrier. That seemed to take up some of the slop in the bobbin movement and helped some. I also put rubber washers under the screws in the faceplate. They are vey tiny "O" rings. That even made more improvement. Be sure everything that can become loose is tight.
Good luck. You will probably find even more things.
Donna

Jeanette Frantz

My FW has never been noisy, but one of the screws in the works underneath came loose and dropped out and my machine just absolutely stopped on a dime! It took my son about 5 minutes to diagnose the problem and fix it, but it scared me a little bit!

Jeanette