Darning on a 503A
 

Hi,
I have learned a great deal from everyone on this board to assist me in cleaning and getting my machines unstuck and in running order.

I have a 503A that doesn't want to darn. The intent was to see if I could use it to FMQ with. I usually do that on my 15-91 when the moon & stars are perfectly aligned. :)

I have a brand new needle in (because I just broke one) but it doesn't want to grab the bobbin thread. The tension dial is set to "D". The darning lever seems to have an "old" stopping point to the right of the darning icon on the plate. There seems to be about a 1/4 inch play between the "old" spot and the actual darning icon.
Is this normal or is there an adjustment that needs to be made underneath, which in turn is preventing the upper thread from catching the bobbin thread? I have also watched for the upper thread to rotate around the bobbin case to catch as if doing straight stitching, but it never does. When the lever is in the straight stitch position and the tension bar dial is back on 5, it sews a beautiful straight stitch.
Can someone direct me to a solution on how to fix this.

Thank you,
Brigid

Darning is better on a 15

Don't know a thing about darning, but the lever and other functions has just been discussed here. http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...a-t275180.html
It's a little unclear what what you problem is. The darning position shouldn't affect the looping action. Question is, did you do any stitching at all after you broke and replaced the needle? I suggest you go back to basic sewing settings, and start from there.

Are you sure the new needle is inserted correctly? I have had a similar problem in the past and it was because I put the flat side of the needle and wrong. Can't remember which way it goes on the 503 - I always have to consult the manual on that!As far as free motion quilting , I always have better luck on the 15 and the 503 by leaving the dogs up and setting the stitch length to zero. IMHO, the 15 does a better job of FMQing.
Good luck and let us know what you find out about the problem.

Guess I didn't read your description properly, Brig28, sorry about that. You already went back to sewing, and it works ok. I'll let people who know what they are talking about take over.

Make sure it's a thick needle, like 110 (18) it helps. After a lot (!) of trial and error I can free motion on a 201, and I think the areas I need to work at is even movements and speed, and getting tension right; both upper and lower. Since you have a model 15 I suspect half the point is getting to know your 503 better and sorting out the finer points.

I hope I can explain enough to help. Years ago I read a website that told about how to clean out and get the throat plate position bracket to work correctly. Evidently this is a common problem with this type of machine. If you have the manual in pdf format from singerco for the 503, it has diagrams of the upper part on page 14. I don't have my 503 where I can get to it easily. There are three positions for that lever. I wonder if the underside of the lever over to the throat plate lifters may need some more attention. Do you have three distinct stops? Perhaps what you think is the correct position for darning is the position for removing the plate.

I darned one of my socks with my 301 and a darning spring and the stocking darner. I really liked it as the slant needle was in a position that you could easily see what you are doing.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

:) I try not to darn anything period! :)

LOL, I darn my jeans. I'm on my bike in regular clothes a lot, and the seat wear holes in brand new pants in a week some times. As soon as they show wear, I put some type of cotton frabric on the inside and darn the area with a medium to light weight polyester thread (I wear a lot of cotton clothing). It usually lasts a very long time and isn't noticeable when it's done neatly.

Thank you Janey. I do have the manual and checked out pg 14. I spent a bit of time last night trying to see if I was indeed moving the lever to the "remove" position there by bypassing the "Darn" position. I need to spend more time today to see if this is still the case. I was looking under the machine thinking that something might need to be adjusted such as a linkage or something. I ran out of decent lighting last night to do this. But this might have to wait because I have wall hangings to finish, but I will get back to the 503's FMQ possibilities.

Thanks
Brigid