Modified Singer 128
 

Hi all, I recently bought a Singer 128 with La Vincedora decals. I've cleaned and oiled it but cannot get it to make a stitch. I changed the drive belt but it will not spin. The pulley spins but will not pull the drive belt. Do I need a special belt for it? UI can rotate it by hand so it's not frozen. Can anyone give me any suggestions as to what might be the problem? I'm dying to use it.. HELP!!.. Can anyone help me figure this out? Linda

Does it spin easily by hand? How tight is the belt? Does the belt or pulley have oil on them? Any chance you can post pictures?

The motor might need a bit of care (cleaning, regreasing, replacing wicks and checking carbon brushes) but they often come around by just letting them run a bit. I would clean the pulley and hand wheel (paying extra attention to the grooves), and double check for oil spill on the new belt too. The V-belts are quite narrow and fit's in its' groove rather accurately. As long as it does and you can tighten the belt it should be fine; correct fit is when it runs rather loosely on the pulley; there should be a bit of give in the belt, not too tight.

Sounds like the belt isn't tight enough?

Make sure the belt fits down into the pulley of the motor properly - if the belt is too wide it won't be able to get a good grip. Are you using a black belt or one of the amber ones with the tread? I've had those amber belts slip on me, I much prefer the black belts.

The belt should look a little saggy when it's on - you don't want a TIGHT belt. It needs to be just tight enough to catch.

Belts do come in a lot of different sizes - if you picked one up at random it might be too large. Did you have an original belt that you could use to compare size? Did it move at all with the original belt?

I have a 128 with the La Vencedora decals too, isn't it a pretty machine?

If you post some pictures of yours, someone may be able to spot your issue. :)

Hi again Linda :- )

I see you haven't had a chance to reply yet. The advice might feel a bit radom, particularly if you can't figure out what's wrong, but it's all spot on for trouble shooting the issue and I'm sure you will have it sorted out before to loong.

I have a friend who insist the small 28 is her best stitcher and it does run very smoothly. At times it set up as a dedicated buttonholer and since it's a hand crank its' also a favorite when precision stitching is called for. She also has a 201 for comparison, which is my favorite model. I have never had a smoother running machine or easier machine to work on than my 201. Some of these old machine are a joy to work on (I promise!) I hope your 128 will be the same for you. Let us know how you are doing.

Check the hand wheel for thread that may be wound around it. It happened to my friend and we found 4' of thread that was causing the machine to be hard to turn and hard on the motor. Otherwise, the belt might not be just right.

Hi all, Sorry I haven't been on for a while. I appreciate all the help but I still have not been able to get it to run. I have tried several different belts, I have made sure there is no oil on the belt. I thought too that the belt might be too loose, but I do most of my shopping online and haven't seen any site that gives a measurement. I may have to take it down to my SMG when the weather is nicer. I don't like to go very far in winter. Again thanks for all the tips. If I ever get it to work I will let everyone know what was wrong. Linda

Do you have the handwheel locked in, to turn the sewing mechanism the knob must be turned tight to engage the mechanism.

Idk why I thought about that, especially if it properly turns by hand.