Wards Signature J278B sewing machine
 

I just bought this machine at an auction, and am looking for a manual before I try to use it. I am seeing all sorts of sites that want me to allow tons of access, but nothing that seems to have actual information. Does anyone know somewhere "safe" to get this information?

I was unable to find that particular model at montgomerywardsmanuals.com. I would double check the model number. All the MW manuals I found were for 3 or 4 numbers + the letters.

It's also possible that you will have to look for the manual by the way the machine looks. Most all the manual sites have what appear to be technical drawings along with the name or number of the sewing machine. Finding the "picture" is the way you have to find many Japanese made sewing machine manuals, as many sewing machines were sold under several different names.

It's a long shot, but you might post a photo of your machine and someone might be able to ID it. I finally found one photo of a 82URR and it is very similar to one that was discussed last week. Whether the one in the photo is really an 82urr, we don't know as the description is kind of unusual.

bkay

I now have the correct model name for this machine: J278B, but the only manual I have found for it is from Wards and is not free even as a download. I don't even know if this thing runs, as it threads so differently that I want to know more before I even try it. My previous identifications were off another label and were incomplete. I even have the serial no. now, 27X22533, but this hasn't helped me.

Threading can usually be figured out. Post a photo and someone will have a good idea of how to thread it.

bkay

The first link below was a Big help! I cannot see anything else on their site, tho, apparently because my PC is saving me from dragons, and I don't know how to make it free up one particular site. . . I can at least thread it and see if it runs now! I sure wish I knew who manufactured it.

Thanks for trying, but I cannot see anything on their basic website. I think my cookie blocking has gotten out of control, and I shall have to find out how to rein it in.

I managed to thread the machine, with help from this site, and it sounds and feels good sewing, BUT. Stitch length does adjust, from minuscule to medium, the former being the first 4 settings and the latter the last ones. So no really large stitches, but it does do a nice zig zag. Also, the top tension thingy on the front needs more help than I can give it. I think I will have to turn it in to a technician for a look-see, meaning I have just invested a whole lot more in this than before (actually buying a new light bulb pretty much doubled my investment so far).

I had forgotten how much I like the new drop-in bobbins; this is like my Pfaff, except even more awkward to reach. Still, a nice solid metal machine probably worth keeping. Thank you all for your help!

Oh, how many more surprises? I changed out the needle on this machine, as it looked weird -- turned out to have two color bands on it, which I have never seen before and was a tiny bit longer. On the front of this machine there is an etched diagram of a needle and the words "exact needle length 1-17/32". I have never seen other lengths of needles -- does anyone know what this is about?

Many much older machines would have the diagram and the length, becasue the Internet wasn't invented yet and folks in sewing centers needed some guidance that might not be in their books.

Heck a few years ago I asked a Bernina dealer for a bobbin for a stell bodied machine. They looked in ther charrts and told me Bernina didn't make such a thing. They had alearning experince. but i still didn't get a bobbin.

Regarding the needle length, has there ever been a different length? In my 60+ years of sewing there has not been a variation, so far as I know. Or have I gotten a really aberrant machine?

I just took this machine to a guy who has been servicing the old ones forever, and learned some stuff. He says needle length has not changed in these old domestic machines (my imagination at work, I guess), and all the old ones sold around here in the 60's were made by Singer. In his little shop he actually had the exact same machine - model number and all - that he took as a trade in! He has the actual manual, and I am going to try to get him to sell me a copy of it - hope that's not a copyright issue. Oh yeah, he says the adjustments I need are the usual ones and I'll get it back later today.