Kenmore 148.1207 remove blind stitch knob
 

Hello Everyone! My MIL gave me her old Kenmore 1207 I decided to see if I could get it running again. The handwheel turns, but no action to the needle. I am going to start by oiling everything, but I can't get the cover off because of the blind stitch knob.

Question: How do I remove the blind stitch knob so I can remove the cover? Can I just pry it off or does it screw off in some way that is not obvious to me?

I have the manual, but the illustration for oiling already has the cover removed. Any help and advice is much appreciated.

Nevermind! I found the little screw. I swear it wasn't there 15 minutes ago! Duh!

This may be a simple thing. At least I hope it is. It may be a problem with the clutch. Unscrew the stop motion knob, there's a three-pronged gizmo underneath it that's the clutch washer. If it has tabs make sure that the tabs are facing outward. Reinstall and see if that solves the problem. To unscrew the stop motion knob, you just have to loosen the set screw to permit the knob to turn counter-clockwise. You don't have to take the screw completely out.

Thank you @1.41 ! I got the cover off and oiled everything top and bottom. Turned the clutch washer around so the tabs are out and then top and bottom. Still no go. Was getting frustrated, when my husband walks in and I tell him the needle bar won't go up and down. Of course, he turns the wheel and VOILA! the needle bar now goes up and down. I guess I just had to let the oil soak in for a while or my husband is a magician. But I am glad it is working. Now I need to find a belt and she should be good to go.

Thanks for the advice! The clutch washer was not in correctly, so that was part of the problem. You guys are always a great help.

Have a great day!

Great news! I have a similar model and it really is a fine machine. FWIW, it took me a bit of head scratching as well to find that screw on the blind stitch knob.

It sounds like by oiling the mechanism you got the clutch mechanism to work. Nothing unusual about the mechanism getting stuck in one position or the other. A combination of getting the washer in the right position and oiling often does the trick. On some machines where the mechanism was sticky, I've also had trouble getting the handwheels off because they were stuck to the shaft. I've found that cleaning the shaft and the inner bushing of the handwheel with a green abrasive pad that one gets on dish sponges works.