FW seam guide
 

I love sewing on my Featherweight but I am having a heck of a time getting a quarter inch seam. I bought the Alphasew 1/4" foot with guide but it wobbles too much to get a good seam allowance. Someone told me to try the seam guide that came with the FW so I bought one of those and found out that I cannot screw it into the bed of the machine because the hole is stripped. Does anyone know if there is a way to fix that? If I used a bigger screw would it ruin the bed of the machine?

Thanks in advance.

Are you certain the hole is stripped? If it is then I can think of a couple possible solutions.
If there's room on the underside this might work. Drill and tap a small piece of aluminum to the original size of screw.
Thoroughly clean the underside of the surface and epoxy the new metal piece on so the hole lines up with the original hole. That way you can use the original size thumbscrew. I would screw the piece on using the original thumbscrew and hole to be sure things stayed lined up while the epoxy cures.
The other easier option is to find a larger thumbscrew then drill and tap the hole to fit that.
I almost suggested a magnetic seam guide but your machine is aluminum.
A lot of people use a stack of sticky notes as a seam guide too.
Rodney

I put a piece of tape lined up to 1/4 inch from the needle. That is something to keep your eye on, but if you want to sew in the middle of a piece, it won't be in the way.
Actually, my tape is 3/16 of an inch from the needle. I'd rather have a little to trim than have it too short.
The blue painters tape is really good for this.

Only the bed: The needle plate is steel and will work fine with a magnetic guide.

I'd go with the magnetic as well or the pile of sticky notes; painters tape; bandaid. Or keep your eyes open on CL for some original attachments/feet. DH picked up a box of them for $5 for me several years ago. I use a 1/4" foot w/o guide. Even on my computerized Viking, I found that the 1/4" w/guides are not particularly accurate.

Are you sure the bed mounted guide screw is the correct thread diameter?

There are some face plate screws that look like the screws used to hold attachments but are just a bit smaller so they won't tighten down.

The screws can also be worn out so try a new screw.

Joe

I have used the magnetic guide on my 301A; however, now I prefer painter's tape because I run it all the way to the front and back of the machine and line the fabric up all the way to the needle, it helps me get an accurate even seam.

Featherweight Edition of the Ideal Seam Gauge: http://www.quilters-connection.com/s...ht-seam-guide/

Watch the video.

Painter's tape is my answer to teaching the new quilters these days. No one knows how to listen well enough to install the seam guide correctly, even if they have one in their collection--but let me clarify here that most of my students are young professional women who are geniuses on the computer and don't understand the workings of a manual sewing machine. And to top that off, a 1/4" seam isn't even important to them--the quilt police don't frighten them at all......

I use a magnetic seam guide on my FW. And yes, it only works right at the needle plate not on the black part.

I bought a 1/4 FOOT AT MY QUILT SHOP . IT SEWS PERFECT 1/4 inch seams It's called little foot for FW's. Goes on in place of regular foot. They have them for short an long shank machines. works great

I just use a pad of sticky notes...besides if you need to jot down something important...you don't need to locate paper.

How do you know if the screw is the right one?

Thank you for the suggestions. I will have to try some of them until I can straighten this out.

But a new needle plate with the guide marks on it. Easily found on the internet.

I just bought some adhesive seam-guide stickers from Sew Classic. I'm going to adhere them to my unmarked FW needle plates. There are 5 for $1.29. Thought it would be worth a shot, since I paid $40 for a vintage marked needle plate and have two more FWs that need markings! If you type "sew classic adhesive stickers" into Google, it should come up.
Ila
p.s. I have no connection to Sew Classic other than being a first-time customer.

Ila,

I'm a many time Sew-Classic customer. Good place to spend much money.

I bought some of those stick on graduated stickers, put one on my HOTHER machine (avatar pic) and found it all but useless for me.
Even with the graduated marks I could not keep the seams straight. Also after a while the fabric began to curl the sticker at the leading edge.

So I went back to the screw on fabric guides. Those stickers are a waste of money in my opinion. Of course YMMV.

Joe

Same for me. So I made some magnetized wood blocks.

I never could keep a straight seam using the etched/printed seam guides on any sewing machine. I prefer the magnetized ones or screw on type.

It's especially hard to keep a straight seam if you have a machine that twists the fabric. With the screw on guide you can keep the fabric against the guide and get a good seam.

Joe

Thanks for the feedback on the stickers, everyone! I needed a brush cap for my FW so I added on the stickers anyway, and I'll see if/how they work for me.
I also bought a clear plastic seam guide that screws onto the bed and goes all the way from the front edge to the back. I bought it from an online site called Suncatcher. Theirs was less expensive than Nova Montgomery's, which I'm sure is good, too. I'm going to try to put on the sticker, then align the seam guide, and see how that works.
Always fiddling,
Ila