Necchi 536FB - mystery part
 

I bought an older, all metal Necchi yesterday, Japanese vintage. I wanted a machine for button holes and zigzag. I have a Citation (Brother clone) but haven't been able to "connect" with that machine (yet).

So, I answered a CL ad for a Necchi 536FB in "excellent condition", available just 15 min down the road.

We met at a store (small town) and ended up crouched on the floor (!?), where the power outlet was located. The seller pressed on the foot pedal and the machine ran... I wanted to try it myself, since one of the reasons I am still machine hunting was that the Citation starts too fast and I want more control.

So, I pressed down (by hand, mind you, since we are squatting), and the needle goes real slow. I press all the way down - still real slow. I stop, start again --- even slower. What? So now she yanks at the body to look underneath. This is not her machine ("I know nothing about this machine"), but her MIL's, who is downsizing......
It seems jammed - I thought maybe a needle is stuck somewhere. I assume I can fix this and get the machine for 25 instead of 55.........

On the way home I realize there is no bobbin case or bobbin..... :confused: .. I guess spending time on the floor and inspecting the machine that way made me just want to get it done quickly.

Set up at home and now the machine doesn't move at all. WOW. Frustrating. Played around, found nothing blocking any movement, and figured I might as well oil it. And ... yes, it sowly came back to life! It was sparkling clean inside --- and dry as a bone.

There is a white substance on a gear, and I wonder if that is OK?
More importantly, a red plastic crescent was laying at the bottom of the case.... WHAT IS IT? See photos.

This machine - in "excellent condition" - also has a faulty wire to the foot pedal, so that quit on me as well... but my husband fixed it and also supplied a bobbin case and bobbin from one of his defunct machines.....

So glad the machine began to reveal its true condition before I paid full price!
It runs pretty well now, even without the red thing, whatever it might be. Any idea?


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The red thing is a lint cleaner - goes in the bobbin area - you can take it out and it won't hurt anything
white grease move or is it solid?
It may not move if the bobbin area has been taken apart like in taking out the red thing and put back together wrong but we need a picture. Dried up oil can keep a machine from turning. I have one right now with T-F in time out because the needle bar doesn't move - it could be bent and never move - who knows. I'm pretty sure that is what is jammed - everything else sort of jiggles. Oil it and see what happens.

Thanks, Miriam, for clearing up the mystery :-)

I did oil it and that did free it up, thankfully. I was just surprised that it ran briefly when she first showed it to me and then bam! pretty much froze up the longer we tried to get it to move (1 min total). That's why I thought maybe a pin had jammed it at the feed dogs or elsewhere....

The white stuff must be grease of some sort, up at the top where the "cams"(?) are or whatever you may call this area, it's where the dials of the different built-in stitches are. I guess it isn't harmful - some bits of it next to the gear wheel were dried up, but it's still oily/slimy on the gear itself....

If anyone has a photo or link showing the lint cleaner installed, I'd appreciate that info.

Put it in then put in the bobbin carrier then clamp it shut.

So easy :-) thanks. I was imagining it goes in the back, and I dislike removing the finger thing, or rather having to fiddle it back in, but fitting the red thing was almost self explanatory....

I guess all it does is fill the space that otherwise would accumulate lint.

Thanks again, Miriam!

Sabine,

Here's a pic of the lint cleaner in a machine:
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It's actually held in the bobbin case housing buy a little spring clip. Without that it will probably not stay in.

Joe

Thank you, Joe, for posting the photo! The Necchi doesn't provide a clip, but the O ring that clamps on seems to hold it in place.

i have an old necchi, made in japan, that i bought new in ‘81. i can't get to it to get the model number right now, but the pic you have of the upper area looks just like mine. the white grease is original to the machine. mine tho, after 30 years continuous heavy use, isn't as pretty a white anymore. mine has locked up on me once over the years --long hours trying to finish up a quilt for customer & neglected the oiling. my machine needs frequent oil & cleaning rest stops according to repairmen in the various places i have lived. i loved the machine, dependable for everything. the few stitches worked well. sewed levies, upholstry & drapery material w ease. but the motor dying now and races when it gets too warm while sewing. i wpuld buy another of this model if i came across one.

roguequilter, from what I've read those Japanese motors are interchangeable, IOW. one from a healthier different Japanese SM might keep your machine alive.

Maybe someone with practical experience in switching motors can chime in...?

As far as being reliable, I had read that in a few reviews I found online and it's encouraging to hear it from you as well :) . 1981 ..... wow, that's a long time of good service!

I just wish I had a nicer case for it -- those white plastic ones just don't appeal to me, too bland, so I'll be looking for a nice old case to add character.

Yup this is it - I was trying to go from memory and my memory isn't so hot - I've got some kind of bug.