Stuck Needlebar
 

Hi, to all of you SM mechanics.

Can someone give me a hint/help to free up a stuck needle bar.
I have it soaking in oil and tri-flow. Have tapped lightly on the top and bottom, that is up and down. It is still very stuck.
The rest of the machine is freeing up well. It all turns just a bit with just the play.
The needle bar was also stuck but a couple of taps freed it up.

Thanks for any help you may provide.

Ethel

Ethel,

Which bar is stuck, needle bar or what? I think you meant the presser foot bar was also stuck but a couple taps freed it up .... maybe???

Anyway, don't tap too hard on it you "could" bend it or change it's adjustments. So, besides the T-F get some heat on it. A hair drier set on high should do it. But don't be in a hurry. Let it soak between heat cycles.

Joe

Joe,

Thanks!
Yes I freed the presser foot bar. Am I bad or what.
Now you tell me not to get a bigger hammer??

I am also going to try PB blaster. And heat. I hope I can get the photos to load, one with the take up lever up a bit and one with it down a bit, the play I was talking about.

Ethel

Say did I mention I live near Death Valley!! I suppose I could just put the machine outside. Naw, I think that is how it got stuck, looks like it could have been in the rain.

Not as hot today, still plenty toasty here, but cooler today, not even 100 yet.

Will give it he old hair drier trick.

Ethel

Ethel,

Nah, don't get a bigger hammer, that can only make bigger dents. :)
Float that thing in oil, penetrating oil, rust dissolving penetrating oil, let it sit in the sun and then keep at it. Those shafts fit very tightly in the bores and once rust forms it's a royal pain to get them unstuck. But keep at it.

Joe

I know forcing it doesn't work. I bent one just a couple days ago along with breaking a piece of the linkage it was attached to.
Well, I guess it's free now...
Rodney

Rodney, That qualifies as a major OUCH! Joe

Yeah, I hurt my feelings and the machine on that one.
I have an older 99 I'll try to rob parts from for now. I know there were a few changes over the years but I'm not sure of how many or if any were in the needlebar area.
Rodney

Ethel.

From the pictures it does not look to me like the needle bar is the only place that machine is bound with rust. Like Joe said float every thing in oil. That means everything in the front, top and bottom not just the needle bar. The hot sun will help thin the oil. My self I use Zippo Lighter Fluid (Benzene) to thin the oil to make it flow into the tight spots. That idea is frowned upon by many on this blog however. It works for me and I never have had a paint issue with it. I still try to keep any solvent off of the paint.

After using Tri-Flow and time out, I used Kroil on my last two and won. But it wasn't just the needle bar - the area behind it can freeze up, too. There are so many moving parts on a machine - you just don't know which parts are stuck and which aren't. I think I see more stuck reverse buttons than stuck needle bars.