life is sweet

I tried using a zipper foot on my 301 but it doesn't seem to line up properly. The foot is for a slant needle, part 161166, so it should work. On my other machines (66, 15, 99, 221) I position the foot very close to the needle but when I do that with the 301, the needle hits the foot. Ouch! Of course I can reposition the foot but then it doesn't line up nicely with the cording that I am sewing on. Does anyone else have trouble using a zipper foot (or other specialty feet) on a slant needle? I have 301's, 401's, a 500 so if anyone has tips specific to each of those models I would appreciate them! Btw, I LOVE my vintage machines!!!!

JoeJr

I should echo what I just posted about in a new thread and ask, have you tried a new needle, or resetting the existing needle?

Mickey2

Which foot is it? I think #160689 was the original in the accessory box, #161166 is the foot we stil can buy new. I guess there are one or two additional types. I have had the odd case where the needle bar an clamp needed to come off for a cleaning. Felted dust in the grooves has been known to off set needle enough to cause trouble. You may have to scrape all groves and corners with a tooth pick. It's worth checking things like that before you do anything drastic. If the foot is a low priced replacment and you suspect there might be something wrong, you could in theory grind down the cut outs for the needle just to give it more room.