Help - Necchi Supernova
 

I posted this request before but I think I may have it in the wrong place as I didn't get any responses. Any help would be most appreciated - granddaughter is anxious to start on a string quilt.

Rescued a Necchi Supernova from a thrift store for my 8 year old granddaughter. She's been sewing with me for about a year and wanted a machine of her own. This machine seemed very sturdy and machine looked good although the sewing table has seen its wear. Anyway, I oiled every little nook and cranny, she sewed about 4 jelly roll strips - then the needle would not move, and the motor sounded like it was in bobbin mode. My son came home, we got into the insides (which we were very impressed as there was no plastic) and tried checking everything out. We found the small silver knob that is attached to the hand wheel was frozen and would not move. So after a lot of oiling and movement it broke loose. We found one of the attaching screws had the tip broken off. When putting it back on, it seems to work but the motor is really stressing and still will not operate the needle going up and down. I have 2 manuals which are for Necchi but not this model so they have not been of any help to us. They have a Copywright Dec 1951, 2nd rersion Aug 1952. Serial #35-09841 5. Any help out here???? We WERE so excited.
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Yesterday, 01:24 PM

I'm sorry. I don't own any Necchis. I'm not sure how different the hand wheel area is from other machines.
It almost sounds like it's still not assembled quite right. Also look for thread jams pretty much everywhere but especially in the bobbin area.
They happen a lot with younger sewers. They don't always remember to put the presser foot down before they start sewing.
I'm sure someone with more direct experience will be along.
Rodney

Shoot - I was so hoping you would reply because I have seen you really help others on this board. I found on the internet that this name is connected with the Janome name. The good thing about this machine is that you can actually pop the top and sides - you can see everything inside. And when tipping up, the underside it is completely exposed. Reason I am saying this is with shining a light in there, I found NO lint or threads (even from former owner). I was in the room when GD was using it and I didn't observe any thing she was doing wrong.
BUT, having said that, I am going to once again go through that bobbin area to see if I possibly missed something.

The older Italian Necchis are notorious for freezing up if they're not thoroughly cleaned and degunked, especially if they've sat for any length of time. The Vintage Necchi Yahoo group has a fabulous tutorial file on cleaning the insides of these machines, I think she used a Necchi Julia for demonstrating the procedure but it can apply to any machine really. I use this method on most of my newly acquired machines now and it makes a world of difference. The smaller screw in your hand wheel clutch isn't broken, one is supposed to be smaller than the other.
The connection between Janome and Necchi is a current one as Janome is now building Necchi machines, there is no Janome connection to your Italian machine.

Cari

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQt...rW9QwJn9Rb_NlA Maybe this will help. there are other videos.

Thank you so much Cari. This has been so helpful. We felt that smaller screw was broken and feel much better that it is suppose to be like that. We found a helpful diagram for another Necchi which has a 'clutch washer'. This machine does not have one. It does have a regular looking washer that is the first thing that goes in. Do you think this is missing?

Does the machine move freely with the motor belt disconnected? It feels to me like there is likely a thread piece caught up in the bobbin area or elsewhere but I would thoroughly check the bobbin area first. My Supernova like to jam up if I do not hold the thread tail when beginning to sew and perhaps she did that.

I can not be of any direct help as I don't own one ....yet.... they are on my short list. I can only parrot what others have said in that they are Very "tight" tolerance and it does not take much to lock them up. looking at the bobbin hook area and taking the hook out and checking behind are different things...... before taking anything apart though I would definitely try some High quality oil ( tri flow or even ATF ) on all of the lube points and see if she spins free with the belt off.. it almost sounds as though you have an issue with the hand wheel clutch area......good luck I think it is a solvable problem and should be a Very good machine when you find it.

I have one of these, and I spent a lot of time freeing it up. Right now I'm on a very slow connection, and can not post pictures. The screws are not attachment screws, they are detainers that grab the clutch washer. Like Cari said, one has a tip, the other doesn't. You don't have to screw them all the way out, just far enough to unscrew the silver clutch knob. The clutch washer is fixed to the clutch part of the hand wheel with rivets, so that won't come off. You screw the knob on nice and tight, and should get solid clutch. Screw the screws in, back the knob off to "bobbin mode" and see if it frees. If it doesn't, or something feels all wrong, change the screws around. You probably have the tipped one in the wrong place.

Its not clear if the machine spins freely unclutched from the motor. That would help a lot in diagnosis.

My machine is equipped with a "world wide" voltage selector, maybe they were all the same from the factory. In that case, check if there are rf capacitors in the circuit, either in the foot controller or near the motor. I had to operate on mine, but I've done so many of my European machines that I can't remember where it sat. They are electric components that prevent motor noise to disturb radio reception. Usually round cylinders, look like AA batteries. They get old and cook out and disturb the function of the controller. If you find any, just take them out, no need to replace them. You should check this anyway, because you will not get proper speed control if you have this problem.