Frister & Rossman Hand Crank
 

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Hi Group!

I am the excited new owner of a Frister & Rossman Hand Crank machine. I just picked it up, and am visiting rellies st the moment, so I have done what I can thusfar with a rag, sewing machine oil, a screwdriver, and a toothbrush. It is -amazing- what a little sewing machine oil will do to a creaky old machine! She runs quite smoothly so far.

I will post proper photos once I have it home, but for now, I have two technical questions.

1) The wooden compartment to the right of the machine has goodies in it! I can see them through a small crack, but dangit, I cannot figure out how to get in there! It appears as though the wooden 'lid' on the accessories box should simply slide out, but it does not want to budge. I think it may just be old and warped. Does anyone have any suggestions?

2) The presser foot will not raise. The photo here shows the inside mechanism, and as far as I can see, the set screw which is near the bottom of the presser foot shaft should be loosened, and that portion moved up an inch or so. Could someone confirm that this is correct? It seems so obvious, but I have a hard time imagining why it was ever set this way! Perhaps it was loose and slipped, who knows.

So, if anyone has any advice as to how far to raise that little piece of hardware which is preventing the presser foot from lifting, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I can trial and error it. But I thought I would first give you all the chance to chime in if I am about to do something moronic.

Thanks in advance. More photos to follow when things are in better order.

Cecilia

Congratulations!

So, when you lift on the arm in the back it does not move upwards?

I cannot see anything in the way from this shot.
Is the spring able to be moved up (compressed) by hand?

yes, the top piece of the compartment slides open. Try a drop or two of oil there too.

Good luck,
Steve
I would first try Oil, then try Tri-Flow, then try Kriol, then try Heat.

Let's see if I can describe this...

The presser foot does not move at all.

The presser foot lever moves upwards about one millimeter, at which point the top of its inside mechanism butts up against the bottom of the Thneed. The operational definition for the Thneed is the metal piece of hardware nearish to the bottom of the presser foot shaft (inside the machine) which houses the set screw, as seen in the photo.

Above this Thneed hardware is the spring which surrounds the presser foot shaft. The spring itself does not seem fused per se; but what I am not understanding is; is the spring part & parcel with the Thneed hardware?

Also, when the presser foot lever is raised, should it in turn butt up against the bottom of the thneed and cause it to slide upwards on the presser foot shaft? If so, then why is there a set screw there; does the set screw not dictate where the Thneed lives, on the shaft?

If I have managed to express this properly, then I guess what I am really asking is; should I loosen the Thneed's set screw and slide it upwards? Or should the Thneed slide freely?

Thank you! I will also try gently loosening the goodies compartment slide-top. I am terribly excited to find out what is in there!

-C.

Also, I will need a new tension spring; are these standard, same as for an old Singer?

Update: I got the wooden slide-top off of the accesssories compartment! Half a dozen odd presser feet, a seam guide, two extra bobbins, and some gunky, rusty old pins. :-)

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I have a F&R hand crank machine....it is a beautiful piece of precision machinery! They made them very ornamental, but they sew as well as they look. Congrats & enjoy.

I have determined that it is at the top of the presser foot shaft, where it meets the knurled knob atop the machine body, that things are fused.

I have it in the Tri Flow spa now.

Question for Steve or anyone else: Will the knurled knob ideally loosen with hand strength only? Or do you think I should ultimately loosen it, once the Tri Flow has marinated in there a while, with a grippy tool? (vice grip, or similar, cushioned with leather)

Also wondering whether there is a trick to removing the upper tension spring. Its tip is broken, and the rest of it does not want to come out of the assembly. Will this solve itself once I have freed up the presser foot shaft and am then able to lift the presser foot and thereby release the tension on the upper thread tension mechanism? Or is there another trick of which I am not aware?

The wooden base is quite badly trashed, so I am considering the most cardinal of sins, and perhaps ultimately sending it to Wood Heaven, as it is beyond my ability to restore it. Must first figure out an alternate way of holding the stitcher, as it will not rest free standing, as my more "modern" stitchers will.

Proud to report, the presser foot bar is now loosened, and moving beautifully!

The bobbin winding business is seized completely and will not turn whatsoever. There is also a great deal of rust on the outer metal bits of the machine. That is, inside, where things were oiled, is is pristine and rust-free. However, the handwheel and all the metal plates etc are rusted and pitted awfully. It depresses me, I admit, that I just watched Muv's video which featured a F & R handcrank, and indeed hers in in such fine form.

Can you please advise me as to how you would treat the rusted metal? It is not just rusted, but also, much of the plating is pitted and destroyed. I would really appreciate any input at all, for removing rust, getting things cosmetically acceptable as well as functioning. I understand that 0000 steel wool and brass-o is great for brass, but have been told that using steel wool on steel parts can wreck them, causing further pitting.

I am very keen to hear whatever you all think. Thank so much in advance.

Also, a question for any F & R owners; the rubber doughnut on the bobbin winder is absolutely shot. And what an odd, large size! Would anyone know where I can purchase one?

I use Brasso and steel wool on Steel all the time.... See the Howe C thread today for an example.

Quick lesson in manufacturing cost reductions... It is cheaper to plate than it is to polish. End of lesson.

What that meant was the most of these parts are good solid steel that was either polished or plated depending on the timeframe and quality of construction.

If you remove the rust you are left with steel and plating, if you polish by hand carefully, you can usually blend those two together into a really nice finish. Most folks cannot tell on my machines where the plating and the steel are different. (I can, because I spent hours staring at it)

On some machines the plating was too far gone, so I wire brushed it the rest of the way off and polished the metal with Brasso or Flitz metal polish (but I will be trying "wadding polish" next time) I have done this with a few handwheels as well, it takes more work that the original companies wanted to put into it, but you can because time/money ratios are ignored by collectors....

The easiest way is a soak in evaporust.
The more challenging way is steel wool (or synthetic steel wool (green/blue scrubbies)) and oil, or Brasso, or wadding polish, or... etc.

My local SMG sells two sizes of black doughnut, small and large, the large usually stretches over fine