Necchi 544 Excited then Upset!
 

So Saturday i went to a thrift store and found an old sewing machine tucked away in her carrying case for 5 dollars. when i lifted the lid, i found an old, musty Necchi 544 starring back at me. I had read the name pop up in several sewing groups and that these machines were a work horse. so for 5 bucks i couldnt leave her behind and took her home.

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I spent a little while Saturday cleaning her, and today i took some serious time to look at her. She was missing her foot pedal which i thought would be easy to find (its not!) and then today when i finally opened her up without fear of breaking her i came face to face with a huge disappointment All of her cams are broken clean through!

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im really bummed as i thought i had a good machine on my hands... but i dont believe these are cheap to replace. Right now im besides myself. (i never thought id be so upset over a machine. i guess this means im in deep with all these antique and vintage machines.) not certain what i will do with her now. :(

I don't think the cams are broken. A lot of cams look like that, so don't give up just yet.

really? i thought it was odd that they were all so cleanly in a straight line... but i have no way of telling??

The cam stack is busted, boo boo'd, and kaput. If that was normal it would be a nice straight seam.

Now, I know nothing about Necchi machines or broken cam stacks but since you have but $5.00 in it to my way of thinking it's not gonna hurt to try and fix it. I'd try at to at least find the parts, price them out, find a service manual, then decide.

Here is one thing I might try if and I mean if you can disassemble the cam stack from it's shaft. Clean it till it's sanitary, then degrease it and glue it back together with LocTite Black Max. Then use automotive hose clams to draw the edges together while the Black Max cures. That stuff is the best adhesive I've used. It will glue things that epoxy will not and that super glue will not.

It's hard to find though and I don't know how the cam stack is made.

Just thinking out loud.

Joe

thanks for the advice Joe. I havent tried to remove the cam stack yet. im sure its possiable. the machine is otherwise clean enough and turns and moves the way it should. i think the cams are rather expensive though. and im not sure if glueing them would alter the nesacary movement? im not sure what they do? i believe change the stitch right? but it is an idea to consider!

As with all pattern cams or removable cams there is a follower that traces the shape of the cam, then turns it into the pattern via the linkage inside the machine. That machine will have a follower that moves up and down to ride on each different cam.

It should not matter if it's glued so long as the glue does not block the follower from tracing around the cam or moving up and down.

Oh and the plastic gear in the lower right of the second picture is also broken.

Joe

It's very likely that the camstack removal and replacement could require retiming of the pendulum swing of the machine. This is not an easy fix for someone not schooled in timing sewing machines and repair. My advice is that you part it out and recoup all of your money. $5 is not much for a lesson learned. This model is prone to having broken gears and camstacks. No glue is going to get it working like it should.

You're not going to like this!!!

http://www.sewingpartsonline.com/cam...966509310.aspx

Joe, your eyesight is a lot better than mine. For the life of me, I cannot see where the teeth are broken in the gear in the lower right of the photo.
As for the camstack, I have read a lot of complaints about broken ones. All I know is that I have seen some that I thought were broken on first sight, that turned out not to be when all other parts were cleaned and lubed. I don't claim to know what the follower does or does not track for each stitch without testing it out. As for glueing, I'm not sure I'm following what Joe is saying; I'm sure that in person you could point it out in a second. There are a few limitations to e-communications, eh?
I do agree that for a $5 investment, you can afford to experiment a bit. One owner who had a camstack problem just kept it as a straight stitch machine and was happy with that.

Just a thought...
I've been looking at Ebay and they are asking ridiculous prices for 544 parts. I would piece it out and you'll make money!!!