Help! 1967 Sears Kenmore machine.
 

Hello Quilting Friends,

Awhile back, I received this machine as a gift from some friends who's aunt had moved away. The machine is in beautiful condition but it doesn't have a belt on the back, and when i use the foot pedal there is a burning smell. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do or where I could get a new belt?

Thanks for your help!
Jamie C.

Find a dealer with a mechanic/tech that knows Singers, and they will know Kenmore. Probably a quick fix, and your machine will love you for it!

If it smells like something is burning don't use it - take it to someone for repair. It could just be a capacitor that needs to be replaced, or it could be that the wiring is old and breaking down. Don't leave it plugged in, just in case.

beautiful cabinet. good luck with the repair.

Jamie,

Since this is a cabinet machine it lays on it's front side when in storage. The motor is right on top in the path of dust, lint, particulates and even pet hair. All this and old oil will collect inside the vent holes of the motor and will burn off when you start using it. Even portables do this, but to a lesser extent.

Do a visual check on the wiring from where it enters the motor to the plugs, to the foot controller, and under the machines body. If it looks good, oil the motor then run it wide open for a while. You'll hear it change pitch as it cleans out the dirt and debris. (These instructions came from my LSMG)
Belts can be had at your LSMG or Sew Classics as well as other places.

Joe

I was going to say what Joe said...lint and dust. In the meantime, you can unplug it and clean and oil it before trying it again. Use the hand wheel to move all the joints. I think I have this same machine, or one very similar. What is the model?

you could take it to Joe's house and have him work it over - it would be a very nice machine when he gets done.

LOL, I really need a bigger place to work. But really it isn't super complicated to clean and oil a sewing machine. As long as it's not computerized there is no black magic inside. Computerized machines ..... well, um, I'll just say I don't mess with 'em.

Joe

My old Kenmore did this and had smoke come out of it.

Cleaned, oiled, and it was OK.

Must have had an accumulation of debri in the motor.

J J

Is this a good machine I've seen a machine like this one but didn't know.

if it is an external motor at worst you could put a new one on it

I think the old Kenmores are great machines...

Hey everyone, thanks for all of the feedback, I just saw that I had more posts in this discussion. Thanks so much for the advice Joe, I have a maintenance man at work that said something very similar, he told me to run it for about 30 seconds a couple times a day.

I don't know how to oil the machine and it didn't come with a manual but I bet I can puzzle it out.

I don't know if the machine is a good one yet as I haven't been able to use it yet, but it appears to be a very sturdy work-horse of a machine.

Thanks again everyone!

Jamie,

Look under the bed of the machine on the lip that hangs down. There should be a placard or a stamped area with a model and serial number. The model number will something like this 158-XXXXXXX. It might be three different numbers, a dash, then the rest.
Then go here { http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...t/user-manuals } and look for that number. There is a good chance Sears will still have .pdf copies for you to download.

As for oiling the machine, if it moves, oil it. Take off the top, could be held on by screws, or springs, open up the face plate and look for unthreaded holes. When you see 'em, oil 'em. Tilt the machine back on it's hinges and do the same. If it moves oil it.
Don't flood it, but make sure you get everything.
If the motor is oilable there will be a small hole right above where the armature shaft would fit into the bushings at the center of each end of the motor. Using a small tube put a couple three drops of oil in each hole.
Then run it.

Joe

Joe, all I got when I did that search was come up with some old manual from a machine much older than the one I need.

I've been on the Sears site two or three times now and I've found two manuals that matched my machines. One I already had, one I had to save one page at a time, but I have it now too. They don't have manuals for all the machines, but they do have quite a few.

Joe

I need one for a Kenmore 12 stitch - I just need the part that tells what the knobs do. It has a knob inside a knob top and bottom and they combine to make different stitches. It drives me crazy. It's probably real simple...