Singer 431g question
 

Found a very nice Singer 431 G on Norwegian website, at a very good price because of a missing foot pedal. I have a few of those. Really elaborate, good work table, but thrashed. Suits me fine to chop it actually, no room for more cabinets. Besides, the machine has a very useful, narrow free arm and I don't know if this could be used in the table.

The sm was just about plug and play. Just a few twists of the hand wheel and it felt nice and loose. Motor running fine, all functions and levers working effortlessly. Haven't actually sewn it yet, because I noticed slack in the ZZ mechanism, I could wiggle the needle bar without resistance.

Opened up up the top again, and found this spring lying loose. Does anybody have a functioning sm in this series, and can show me where the spring goes? Maybe a service manual would show it, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

And then there's the chainstitch. It has been discussed here, but as I only have a vague idea of what it is, and none at all of when it's useful, I haven't really understood it. There was no extra throatplate with the machine. I understand that chances are slim in the US, so I guess German eBay might be a good start for one.

I would look for a Singer 401 or other slant service manual to see where that spring goes. I know exactly where it goes but I don't think I can describe. It should be a fairly easy fix. You have to hook one end and stretch the other with a pair of needle nose players and you should be good to sew. I'm thinking there should be a link in our sticky notes under resources for working on machines.

steihy,

Here is a couple pics of that spring in our 401a.

The long straight end hooks over the little hook as shown in the pic below:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]538129[/ATTACH]

The short end by the spring hooks on the vertical rod seen in this pic:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]538131[/ATTACH]
Just to the left of the collar with the set screw. Behind the face plate.



Hope this helps some.

Joe

That did it, Joe, thank you so much. As you can see the hook is a little different, shorter and more rounded. Maybe why the spring falls off in the first place.

Are all the machines in the 400 series the same basically?

steihy,

As far as I know the 400s are similar. Some use a built in cam along with the removable cams and some use just the removable cams, but other than that I'm fairly sure they're the same.

Joe

I'm wondering if your hook really is shorter or if it's been "adjusted" by someone just because the screw beneath it appears to have been moved at some point.

Probably just model or time period variation.


Joe

Chain stitching is useful when you're making clothing and sneaking up on a size. The chain stitch is nice because it takes seconds to remove to resize. That said - if it's secured correctly - it's just as secure as a lock stitch. It's also nice as a decorative stitch if you stitch upside down then you get the interesting look of the chain on the top of your work.