Help! Tension on Singer 328
 

I am having trouble adjusting tension on Singer 328. Machine is kept very clean and oiled regurlarly." Timing" was supposedly off about 6 months ago. Was in shop twice. I'm trying to quilt a very special quilt for our grandmother and want to use this machine as it was my mothers.

bottom stitching looks pretty good. On the top I see the loop from the bottom which should be between layers of fabric.. i have done lots of test runs, changed thread, bobbins, adjusted tension probably 50-75 times. Also I tightened screw on bobbon case about 1/4 turn. i am using cotton fabrics and warm & natural fabric. Help Please!!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I hope someone who actually owns a 328 chimes in. I'm surprised you had timing issues. Some stupid questions: How often do you use the machine and are you threading the bobbin thread correctly? IIRC your machine uses class 66 bobbins. The bobbin should go in with the thread counter clockwise and the thread pops into a little notch in the side of the bobbin "case". If the thread isn't in there you will have no bottom tension. Please forgive me if you already know all this. I just don't know how familiar you are with your machine and want to cover everything.
Can you see a loop on top or does the bottom thread just show but the stitch is basically tight? If you have an actual loop then the problem is in the bottom. Compare the bottom tension on the 328 to a machine that is working well. The tensions should feel about the same. It could be you need to take the bobbin tension spring off and clean behind it. If there's lint or a piece of thread in there it won't allow you to adjust the bottom tension properly. If everything checks ok on the bottom but you're still having trouble take your top tension apart and clean the disks thoroughly even if they appear clean. If everything is right you should be able to get a good stitch with your top tension set around 4 or 5.
Tools for Self Reliant living has excellent tutorials on rebuilding and adjusting sewing machine tensions. Sorry I don't have the link saved.
I hope this helps,
Rodney

Thanks Rodney. i will double check every one of your suggestions, tomorrow. I did try bobbin thread from back & flipped it. That did not make a difference.

Caroline, in my experience when you can't adjust the tension it is usually the hook timing as you suggest. Before this, do what Rodney suggests and check bottom tension: It does sound as though the bobbin has none (the loop happens at the side opposite the weak thread) and checking this is way easier than checking the hook timing (which isn't hard either, but path of least resistance). Check by pulling both threads in turn with presser foot down and the bottom thread should always have lower tension than the top (advice was from Peter Jackson from Jacksons Sewing in Melbourne, so I took it as gospel :o ).
As per Rodney's reply, there might be thread, rust or dirt fouling the thread path on either top or bobbin and pulling thread along the path should reveal this.
If your top tension is set correctly, with presser foot down pull lightly at the top thread as you twist the tension dial anticlockwise. As the numbers approach zero the thread will move. At zero there should be almost no resistance at all.
tfsr.org is the site Rodney referred to. http://www.tfsr.org/publications/tec...achine_manual/ for the manual. I agree that this is an excellent manual.

There are some machines where the timing occasionally goes out. 201s aren't one (I've never seen it in the 30 or so 201s I've had), but 319s are (not sure why). Maybe 328s are too, in which case you should familiarise yourself with the timing procedure. It isn't hard, and you'll know straight away next time your tensions are out. I've never had a 328 either but I had a 327 (identical except for the cams) and had to set the timing on it.
They do indeed use class 66 bobbins. Hope you're using metal ones.

Drop Test for bobbin tension: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaH9yB7XUBk

Only for vertical bobbin machines, not relevant to a 328, which are horizontal with no bobbin case.

I have a 328K and manual says to do the drop test. Bobbin was always hard to get to sew right. Top tension always had to be on 4. I used it for many years, is now setting in a closet. With newer machines tensions are not a problem.

Hi Phyllis.
I might learn something new here. Is there perhaps another "drop test" that doesn't refer to dropping a bobbin case containing a full bobbin whilst holding the end of the thread?
If you own a 328K how do you do this "drop test"? I checked the manual at http://www.manualslib.com/manual/713...page=27#manual and couldn't find that reference.

Try the test that the TFSR.org docs show. I demonstrate it at about 12mins 55 seconds in this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwiI_BXanJ8 (I have the volume off at the moment, DH is sleeping so I didn't check if that's mid-word. I just know that my one ounce weight shows up right around then. ;))

ETA: I should also mention that this style of bobbin case is the only style I've had to replace the tension springs on because they deform and stop holding tension. Most other bobbin cases I replace them because they are broken or lost.

I'd never have thought of removing a fixed horizontal bobbin case, attaching a weight then dropping it. Ingenious, but Is this method really in any 328K manual? I'd be surprised. Just pulling the thread and stoppping when there's a little tension works for me.
I've had the tension spring deformation thing happen too, on a 99K.

What needle are you using, does it match your thread weight and fabric weight, and did you try changing it?

I changed rhe needle when I started quilting this quilt. Used reccomended needle

I spent a lot of time yesterday fiddling with this machine and more time ripping out quilting. I'll seeif i can get DH to take apart. I did download instructions from above mentioned web site.

I doubt it's in any manual other than the TFSR manuals. Most owner's manuals say something to the effect of "If the top tension doesn't fix it, the bobbin tension may need to be adjusted". Not really helpful.

Yes, the 99 is basically the same case and it's the first one I ever found a deformed spring on. I don't know why it happens but I know that the one I was working on at the time had some thick thread on the bobbin. Perhaps that's all it takes? The springs for the 99 and the 401 are still available but the replacement ones are very brittle and I've had one snap at the screw hole before I ever got it fully tight to set it back to the original setting.

Caroline, could you possibly thread the machine with 2 different colors and sew a test strip on some scrap fabric and post a photo of both sides? Sometimes all of our eyes together can spot something...

Great idea. A picture's worth... etc. :-)

EDIT: Caroline, did you check the hook timing after setting the needle height? If the pop is gone (you didn't say, but I assume it is) and you're still having tension trouble I still suspect it's the hook timing

Tammi and Caroline, I've had a 328K since it was NEW, back in 1963. I've never had a bobbin problem with my machine, except for one thing. One of the tiny (VERY TINY) screws in the bobbin case worked its way out and fell on the floor. MAJOR PROBLEM THEN! However, my son and his ingenuity, once he discovered that there was a missing screw, he ran a magnet all around the machine, and before long he picked up the TINY, TINY screw up with the magnet. Bingo, put the screw back in and tried it out -- just a little bit of adjustment, and it ran like a champion. Just a word of caution -- the screw is EXTREMELY TINY, and it was very hard to determine that the screw was missing! It was even harder to find the location where the screw fit. Finding the "spring" on the bobbin case was also quite a trick. Be very careful handling the screw -- it's very easy to lose it and very hard to find it once it's lost! The spring, once it works its way out, can easily drop into the works on the bobbin case, and can jam up the machine. To continue trying to run the machine can cause even more damage to the bobbin case. Because the machine is all metal, it doesn't damage easily!

I've never had a problem with my bobbin case (except for this one instance, and except for a metal bobbin which was damaged when stepped on. Of course, if you step on a plastic bobbin, it will break and won't work at all. I do buy the Singer plastic 66 bobbins and they work very well in my machine. I have no idea why others have problems with the plastic bobbins and I don't! I do know that the Singer plastic bobbins work very well in my machine, but the "cheapo" plastic ones not made by Singer, my son tells me, are absolutely awful! Recommend a thorough check of the bobbin case, clean out and lubricate the bobbin case, and I hope it will be okay!

Give it a try!

Jeanette

Thank you very much all. Lots of other things going on, this challenge will have to wait a month or so. I'm switched to a Singer 1939 66 to finish this quilt. I need to have it finished by Memorial day for Granddaughters graduation. I will get back to it.

Very very important to have the correct size bobbin. Don’t ask me how I know this !