Featherweight tension trouble
10-26-2013, 08:35 AM
#41
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 1,618
When this link was posted http://www.tfsr.org/pub/technical_in...echanism_2.pdf I didn't have a chance to really delve into it. It says 66 & 99 but it certainly looks like the tensioner on my 221 as well. Are all the parts the same?
So, nobody laugh. If anyone heard an explosion similar to a nuclear bomb going off a few minutes ago it was me screaming. The "scream" heard round the world. I just got my shipment in from sew-classic and was putting it all together. New felt piece underneath, those felt circly things, seam guide, new bobbins and some tri-flow. I unthreaded the machine and you will never guess what happened?!?!? The stupid upper tension thing completely flew off the machine. The silver knob, the thingy with the numbers on it, the stop washer, everything previous to the beehive spring.
I didn't know if I was gonna have a heart attack or just cry like crazy. Course I can't get ANYTHING back on. So I'm giving myself a time out in which I'm going to cut up some scraps, hug my kids, try and calm down and then take the laptop with the tension article and go downstairs and see if I can put this )$#**&$@^# tension thingy back together again. And to think I once spent a significant amount of time trying to take it off on purpose!
Yeah, I still haven't calmed down enough yet. I am mad enough to spit nails! ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!
So, nobody laugh. If anyone heard an explosion similar to a nuclear bomb going off a few minutes ago it was me screaming. The "scream" heard round the world. I just got my shipment in from sew-classic and was putting it all together. New felt piece underneath, those felt circly things, seam guide, new bobbins and some tri-flow. I unthreaded the machine and you will never guess what happened?!?!? The stupid upper tension thing completely flew off the machine. The silver knob, the thingy with the numbers on it, the stop washer, everything previous to the beehive spring.
I didn't know if I was gonna have a heart attack or just cry like crazy. Course I can't get ANYTHING back on. So I'm giving myself a time out in which I'm going to cut up some scraps, hug my kids, try and calm down and then take the laptop with the tension article and go downstairs and see if I can put this )$#**&$@^# tension thingy back together again. And to think I once spent a significant amount of time trying to take it off on purpose!
Yeah, I still haven't calmed down enough yet. I am mad enough to spit nails! ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!
10-26-2013, 09:44 AM
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
Hey mpeters, OK, I'm not laughing. Grinning like a fool because the tensioner obviously wants to be serviced and it just forced the issue. 
The tension article from TFSR should work for your tensioner. I'd have to look, but I'd say they're 98% or more compatible.
The tension article from TFSR should work for your tensioner. I'd have to look, but I'd say they're 98% or more compatible.
10-27-2013, 12:33 PM
#43
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 1,618
The tension article from TFSR worked perfectly...the third time. But I was really trying to put several pieces in backwards and it didn't like it. The tension is back on the machine properly, the stud now has the slot horizontal like it should and the + and - thing is on top like it should be. I'm thrilled to pieces that it's back on, but it still won't sew. Top tension is definitely looser. No bent needles. Very little thread breaking right away like before. Now I sew and the thread breaks after 8 inches. I have top thread looped on the back and just little dots of bobbin on top. I'm not sure what to do with it now. I fiddled with the tension knob and anything over 4.5 goes right back to immediate thread breaking and needle bending. I hope there's nothing wrong with the hook. I will NOT fix that myself. Feeling nice and frustrated so I'm headed to the grocery store. At some point, all the kiddos are going to need to eat.
10-27-2013, 10:22 PM
#44
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
Now that you've gone through the TFSR pages, I'd like to see the results of the link from my page.
http://www.archaicarcane.com/fragile...-equal-stress/
I suspect that the tension is still a bit too tight, and it just reaches a point where it snaps.
The bobbin thread being pulled up despite the loops on the bottom is strange. I suspect that it may be getting caught around the hook area. There are a few things I can think of that would cause that, and some are tension related.
Can you post a pic of the hook area with the bobbin case in place and with it removed? With the case removed, I'd love to see a clear photo of the tip of the hook, the part that would grab the needle thread. That will let me rule out a bent hook tip. (very unlikely)
What does it look like when you turn the hand wheel with the needle threaded? You should see the needle go down, the hook (you won't really see it with the bobbin case in place - but leave it in place or it won't behave correctly) will grab the needle thread, and pull it a little more than half way around the bobbin case, then let it go. At this point, the take up lever will pull the excess needle thread up, which will form the "knot".
Is this what it looks like when you turn the hand wheel manually and watch the hook / bobbin area? Or does it seem to get caught somewhere?
It's rare to have a problem with the hook itself. Usually it's something "silly". Even if it's timing, I can walk you through that. Physical damage to the hook is the only thing we want to avoid. I've straightened a bent hook. That was nerve wracking.
http://www.archaicarcane.com/fragile...-equal-stress/
I suspect that the tension is still a bit too tight, and it just reaches a point where it snaps.
The bobbin thread being pulled up despite the loops on the bottom is strange. I suspect that it may be getting caught around the hook area. There are a few things I can think of that would cause that, and some are tension related.
Can you post a pic of the hook area with the bobbin case in place and with it removed? With the case removed, I'd love to see a clear photo of the tip of the hook, the part that would grab the needle thread. That will let me rule out a bent hook tip. (very unlikely)
What does it look like when you turn the hand wheel with the needle threaded? You should see the needle go down, the hook (you won't really see it with the bobbin case in place - but leave it in place or it won't behave correctly) will grab the needle thread, and pull it a little more than half way around the bobbin case, then let it go. At this point, the take up lever will pull the excess needle thread up, which will form the "knot".
Is this what it looks like when you turn the hand wheel manually and watch the hook / bobbin area? Or does it seem to get caught somewhere?
It's rare to have a problem with the hook itself. Usually it's something "silly". Even if it's timing, I can walk you through that. Physical damage to the hook is the only thing we want to avoid. I've straightened a bent hook. That was nerve wracking.
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