ANKER Transverse Shuttle: need help with bobbin winding
 

I've enjoyed working on the little antique Anker hand crank sewing machine. I haven't been able to date it yet. So far I had only worked with the Singer 28 VS shuttles, so this (German engineering) is new territory.

It actually sews really well, but I haven't been able to properly wind a bobbin. The thread moves back and forth on the bobbin, but winds only on the mid section of the bobbin. Trying to compromise by manually shifting the thread leads to uneven, loosely wound thread.

The set up is a bit different from other machines I have looked at, the vertical "ladle" is not as tall as some, and has a pair of tension disks rather than 2 round slots that I saw on other machines. I have tried to wind the bobbin on the singer 28 but that does not work.

I have added a threading diagram to indicate the path I have used - with less than adequate results.

Please help me figure this out. TIA

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Shouldn't there be an arm with a notch that moves the thread back and forth?
PS Beautiful machine.

The Eldredge Two Spool does not have the arm with notch on it. You have to lead the thread by hand to fill a spool. But that spool is shorter and thicker than those long bobbins. I would think it would be really hard to lead the thread by hand for a long bobbin.

very cool.

I do not have that specific winder in my collection, but I would suspect that the part you asked about is the "full bobbin" disconnection bit. Basically once the bobbin is full it moves that out of the way and stops loading thread. However, IF it fits between the ends of the long bobbin it COULD go behind and be a device to provide pressure and tension to the winding process. I'd have to get my hands on it and play to see what it does.

I would clean the tension disks for the bobbin winder as much as possible and try again.

FYI - MOST of the early long bobbin machines did not have thread arms to spread out the windings. It really was done by guiding it my hand most of the time. This is also a reason that there was a market for disposable wooden long bobbins that came pre-loaded with thread.

"Shouldn't there be an arm with a notch that moves the thread back and forth?"
Yooper32, I'm afraid there isn't one. The way it is set up, the thread does move back and forth once for the full width of the bobbin but then it makes only short trips back and forth in the center of the spool.

maviskw, this machine has (IMO) some relatively advanced engineering and some more elegant solutions than for example the Singer 28 that I'm familiar with. This makes me assume that there is a better way to wind a bobbin than just guiding the thread manually..... But thanks for that info!

SteveH, I've played with the metal "ladle" in front of the bobbin some more and discovered that you are right, it does POTENTIALLY disengage the winding mechanism once the spool is filled. I have not filled one yet, as I'm still not able to go back and forth all the way across (except the 2 initial turns).

I did take a closer look at this, and found that there is a slot and hole underneath the tension disks. I've threaded it to include this in the thread path, but that didn't improve the performance..... :-( . I'm still doing something wrong.

Thanks for the responses so far :-)

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Ahhhh. Sweet success! This page on Lizzie Lennard's blog helped me figure this out. The thread comes in from behind!! We now have a perfectly wound bobbin. Whew.
http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.bl...winders+german

More tomorrow. We may make a video...... It was such a frustrating search, and a video is definitely needed!

Nice work Sabine!

Well, hurrah. Sew glad you found out the secret and now have a perfect bobbinfull. and...PS, that is one beautiful machine.

Hello Sabine,

Your machine is totally gorgeous, and I am so glad that you found the posts on my blog helpful.

German bobbin winders can be totally mystifying. They weren't necessarily made by the same manufacturer as the rest of the machine, which is why you can see the same make and model of machine with a different bobbin winder, and vice versa.

Nifty features that you will often find are a pair of little tension discs, and an automatic release mechanism which disengages the winder when the bobbin is full.

The most ingenious feature, to be found on many bobbin winders, is the curved metal plate which feeds the thread from side to side - no need for a moving part to feed the thread. This is easily seen on the machine in the following post because it is at front on the lower part of the upright bar - see pictures 4 to 9.
http://lizzielenard-vintagesewing.bl...ders-no-1.html
This machine winds the neatest, tightest, most even long bobbin of any of my machines. It knocks spots off any Singer.

There are other bobbin winders that have this curved plate at the very base of the upright bar, towards the back, tucked out of sight (see the machines on my blog in the posts German Bobbin Winders No. 2 and No. 3). So Sabine, if you stick you finger in at the back of the bobbin winder you will feel the curved metal edge I am talking about. This is why you have to take your thread down the back of the upright bar, because the curved edge is the last surface the thread passes over before reaching the bobbin.