Thanks, frudemoo! By the way, the bobbin-winder thing, I "solved" by replacing the rubber "doughnut" in the bobbin winder with a rubber doughnut of slightly smaller thickness. This way, it still engages with the large wheel for bobbin-winding, but it does not contact whilst sewing. I still think perhaps the mechanism is spring-loaded backwards from how it should be, but oh well! ;-) For now, it works. How do you deal with yours? Does yours stay in contact with the large handwheel whilst sewing?

But, if your manual has detailed drawings which help, then yes, do share! I have a German-language user manual which I am happy to share if you need anything - but the problem is, these things are not addressed in my manual. I was fortunate to have a German-fluent houseguest last week. We had a good giggle over Spulenkapsul and ZickZack! I have, owing to this, re-named The Beast; his new name is Ziggy! ;-)

By the way: This machine takes round-shank needles. A first for me! It came with some needles, and I noticed that a few of them are quite short; what would be the reason for this? I thought needle length was very no-tolerance? In fact on the Singer site, they say never to use non-Singer needles with a Singer machine, for the non Singer ones are just a smidgen longer and will over time destroy the bobbin business... any insights on this?

My manual also gives a chart as to the range of needles and thread appropriate to this machine; the range is very wide! So, from sewing the finest silks right up to sewing whole entire chesterfields! The manual for a later, more domestic-looking model, has a smaller range of threads sizes and needle sizes. Interesting.

BTW, the machine came with its original bill of sale tucked in the case. Neat, eh?

If the tension is not put together correctly and then you take it apart and put it together just like it was, it isn't going to fix anything.

tension assembly stuff
 

D'oh! Right you are. I shall set to finding a diagram, then. Funny, I was just thinking that taking it apart and cleaning it may help, but of course you are utterly right.

BTW, when it comes to other machines, such as old fashioned Singers and Singer knock-offs, can anyone recommend a good all-purpose diagram of tension assembly? I have an oddball machine, a White 722, which looks anywhere from the 20s to the 50s; you know, that standard old pre-zigzag Singer-like casting that never really changed. Its tension seems to work fine, but it did once accidentally pop off, and I never was certain whether I had replace all the bits in the proper order. If anyone has a good all-purpose manual diagram to recommend, I'd much appreciate it!

-C.

The best all purpose manual is: http://www.tfsr.org/publications/tec...achine_manual/
This really only deals with the old machines but some times you can wing it just fine if you have an exploded diagram. Some times it is just the principles that you need.

WOW! Miriam, thank you -so- much! At a glance, that site looks just fantastic. I will be reading it thoroughly, and I am sure I will learn a great deal. Thank you thank you thank you :-)

-C.

blow up the pages you need 200% or so - that way you can see at a glance.

Hey Cecilia - this is all really interesting. I've taken some pics of mine to share with you. Here:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]417623[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]417625[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]417624[/ATTACH]
You can see there's not much of a gap when the winder is disengaged, but there is definitely a gap between the rubber tyre and the handwheel.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]417626[/ATTACH]

This is my tension assembly, but I never thought of threading it through the little loop. Seems like it work either way... but I was thinking if you get stuck, I can loosen mine off and take a pic of how it goes together if you like. I presume mine is okay even though the machine isn't stitching. I think it's to do with having the wrong needle. I have the system 1738 round shank needles, but you said yours are short? How long are they? (in mm)

Cheers, Amelia

Tension Assembly components
 

Okay, so that was really easy! LOL. This shows the parts as they go together on my machine.
The front numbered dial unscrews to reveal the tension spring which slots into the front screw. The discs are at the back. Let me know if you need any clearer pics or have any questions.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]417628[/ATTACH]

CORRECT TENSION ASSEMBLY - previous post incorrect!!
 

I just realised mine was wrong!! But the good news is that I figured it out. Here we go:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]417636[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]417637[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]417638[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]417639[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]417640[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]417635[/ATTACH]
The most important parts are in the first image where the tension spring gets hooked under the slot on the left hand side, (2nd image shows the spring inside the machine); and that the larger spring on the front sits inside this little cog contraption with the black plastic housing sitting over the base of the spring - the tension dial then gets screwed on over that.

Previously, I had the black plastic housing sitting behind the spring and the spring was inside the tension dial instead - it was doing absolutely nothing. So I think I've probably helped both of us with this exercise!! LOL.