Pressure Foot problem- badged Japanese machine, new sewer, have pity!
 

This solution is probably so easy. I'm new to sewing, and just picked this machine up yesterday. I cleaned it this morning-- everything works and runs great. However, the needle impacts the presser foot. No accessories came with the machine, so I tried the presser foot off my Singer 15 clone, but same deal. Do I just need a different presser foot? Can I adjust the needle to the right? Here are some photos (the thread is threaded incorrectly from the shop, ignore that):[ATTACH=CONFIG]530258[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]530259[/ATTACH]

Mountains, I can't see how the foot is put on the machine, but I wonder if it is seated properly. The needle (even though it is centered) should be lined up with the groove/notch in the foot. The foot is a zipper/cording foot and the screw at the rear of the foot will unscrew a little bit to release the bar that the foot slides on, so you can slide the foot either to the right or left depending on which side of the zipper or cord you need to be to get close. Do you have other feet for your machine?

I'd almost bet that's a left homing machine. Meaning that when set on straight stitch the needle sits to the left. Those take special left home SS presser feet available Sew-Classic and other places.

Now, something does seem to be out of alignment. First take the presser foot off, the needle should line up with the slot in the needle plate as LilRedRocker said. It doesn't. So either the needle is in wrong, it's bent, or that's the wrong type of presser foot for that machine. The notches on either side should line up with the needle.

Joe

Littleredrocker is right about that being a zipper foot and you can adjust it to left or right. Even if you can sew with the needle clearing the zipper foot, it is not a good foot to do regular sewing with because it does not make contact over the entire feed dogs. It is best for where you have to stitch right up against something.
Just google "learning to use a zipper foot" and you get all sorts of choices to learn.

I'd get another presser foot from Sew-Classic. com for zig zag stitching. If it is left homing, then the manual would be nice before you buy anything. Try one of the google groups for foreign machines. It may be Japanese. Please check the serial number for a JA, then you will know. Anything is better than that zipper foot you now have. Can you borrow another foot from a friend? If it is left homing, then Sew-Classic.com would be your best bet. Don't give up. There is help out here. Some of the other members are well versed in foreign machines.

Thanks for all your suggestions.
@JMiller- When I take the presser foot off completely, the needle is aligned perfectly with the hole in the needle plate. The needle absolutely sits further to the left than I would expect (in my limited experience). Hopefully that's all I need to do-- order a proper presser foot!

@DonnaMiller- it is a Japanese machine, but there are no JA numbers and I haven't found an identifiable manual for it. Miriam on another thread suggested a generic Deluxe Zig Zag manual should be good enough to get the job done. Thanks for the link!

@elnan and Littleredrocker, I had no idea this was a zipper foot. Not for regular sewing, check! I have a bunch of different feet for my Morse machine (Singer 15 clone), but I have not advanced to the point where I'm learning about using them yet. :)

April1930s has a lot of good videos on using different feet. IIRC Singer has some on Youtube too. Just search for something like "How to use a (insert name of foot here) foot". If you have trouble identifying any of your attachments post a picture here and we can tell you what you have. The attachments are a part of the fun to me.
Rodney

I replied in another thread about your machine. The pic in the other thread shows the whole front of the machine and it is set for zigzag sewing, not straight stitch. So the needle will hit the zipper foot no matter what until you set it for straight stitch.

Cari

THANK YOU Cari! That is so helpful! I will explore those links. You guys are making it so simple for me-- I'm so delighted to have found such a supportive place to learn more.

After I took the photos the other night, I took the foot off completely and hand-cranked the machine to identify exactly what was wrong. I realized at that point it was set for zig zag stitches, so I checked the movement of all the stitch possibilities (which was exciting. My other machine just straight stitches; oh the possibilities!). It seemed to function well, and the needle never hit the plate, so it appeared to be in balance. I will check out the sew-classic site and figure out whether it's high or low shank. Hooray! Can't wait to get it in working order-- it's an early Christmas present for my mom, and she's going to flip!

It looks like the zipper foot is adjustable, loosen the screw on the back and slide it so it is to the side. And or the zipper foot is just plain the wrong foot. Need one for that machine.

Ethel