The needle should not move when you disengage the clutch knob. You shouldn't run the machine without cloth between the presser foot and feed dogs. Try what I suggest above except listen to Janey and use 0000 steel wool instead of sandpaper.

Great!!https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

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

I forgot to mention, you will want to oil all the moving, metal-on-metal parts on the bobbin winder, maybe not as heavily as the machine.

I removed the tension nut as Joe described. There was indeed a washer with one tang. When I took this washer off it looked like this Attachment 627952.
This is a part of the handwheel, or at least seems to be, at least there's no part that can be pulled off. Attachment 627955The Handwheel spins freely, but not in any shaft. It can't be pulled out of any shaft. If there's any place it could be pulled out there are three of these screws.Attachment 627954Attachment 627953 I haven't tried very hard with these screws, but they are stuck in place and seem to be made of soft metal, as even my feeble attempts dented them a little. I don't know how I'd get these out.
As for the presser foot, the presser foot and needle bar are both currently off of the post right now, so no worries for the feed dogs!

From what I've read and believe is that the best screwdrivers for these vintage machines would be the correct size of hollow ground screwdrivers.

I can't tell if the silver collar is separate from the hand wheel or not. It almost appears that it would be. I would put some oil (Tri-Flow) in the hole on the machine by the screw and if there is a separation between the silver part and hand wheel. Let set overnight, try again with a better screwdriver, so it doesn't tear it up any more. If you can clean out the slot with a toothpick or skewer or something like that, it would probably help.

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

I have a little info I can add. D3541666 was made late 1909 to early 1910. The website dating info is not correct for this model. Sears referred to the model as Minnesota A9 on their needle packs but for conversation Davis New Minnesota A would be the best description. The A9 uses a 2" Davis long needle which is not standard so you'll have to find some on ebay or use a modern substitute needle called MTx190 or 190R. The A10 model is identical but used standard 15x1 rather than Davis long. Have fun.

Jon

The silver collar does indeed appear to be separate. I'm now on the hunt for a hollow ground screwdriver. I plan on oiling that whole area up. Thanks for the information!

Oh wow! That's interesting. I tried a standard 15x1 needle on it and it seemed to fit perfectly. I didn't thread everything and just ran some paper through it to see if it stitched, so I could be wrong, but it might be the A10, but I'll get my hands on other needles and see if they fit better. Would there be any way to definitively say which needle fits? Sorry if these are basic questions but I really appreciate the answers.

The 15x1 and the Davis Long have the same shank size. The Davis Long is 11.7mm longer - total length than the 15x1 and the Davis Long measurement from top to eye is 9.3mm longer than the 15x1.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odk...edles&_sacat=0

So, yes, the 15x1 would fit, but it would not be able to pick up the bobbin thread.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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I was looking for something else and happened to see this old thread. << link I didn't realize that the MTx190 is a round shank. It will work, but it one needs to install it so the grove is the same way that the flat shank does. I used to think how difficult it would be to use a round shank needle and get it lined up correctly. I have a machine that takes round needles, so I had to figure it out. I used a needle threader in the eye with the groove on the correct side and found out that it was easier than I thought it would be.

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

So I'll have to see which needle catches the bobbin thread. Hmm. As for shank shape, I'll look for flat shank needles but keep this in mind. I should be able to work on it some more this week so I'll definitely post updates.