miriam

Mutter mutter... I might have to get some washers to put on there.

Stitchnripper

All so interesting. I have a 66 that goes in and out of good tension. I got a lot of helpful advice here and dismantled the tension and found I had to go in and straighten out the post the tensioner goes on. I am not very experienced and i was advised to use the TR?? Guide. Very helpful. I cleaned it all up and tested it as well as I could for burrs or rough spots. The spring seemed to be in correctly and not bent. Oiled machine. New needle. Nicely wound vintage bobbin. It worked fine for a long while and last I used it it would sew fine for about two feet and then it would be loose enough to pull the thread and then right itself. I haven't fooled with it for a long time. But now I have lots more things to try.

miriam

I had one that went "In and out of tension" because the set screw threads were stripped and the whole thing wouldn't hold in the socket.

Stitchnripper

That will be something for me to check

miriam

The tension pin can be awol or have a nice coating of gummy oil causing a tension not to work. The thing behind the tension can be awol or bent - not very often but I've seen it.

ArchaicArcane

You know, for some reason we've lost a lot of good solutions for things like this along the way. I wonder how/why that's happened. There used to be a spool weight you could buy from Singer too.

Check that link about the twin 99s I serviced a couple of years ago. There's an adjustment in the bobbin/hook area that affects top tension (totally not intuitive until you really understand how a machine's making a stitch). I think the guide you're thinking of is TFSR.org? Very good that one.

Yeah, dancing tensioners are not good for serious work!

You find some of the most hammered machines! I've had wrong tension release pins and misassembled tensioners and the odd tensioner missing pieces but rarely things that are bent or hurt like what you find!

miriam

Usually bent up stuff is found on bargain machines.

Sammie1

I think choosing the right size needle for what you're sewing would help too as that plays a part in tension.

This may or may not be relevant:
I was making a fleece lined rain coat. I wasn't sure what size needle to use. Do you go by the thickest or the thinnest fabric?
I asked the sewing teacher at our local fabric store and told her what I was sewing. She didn't know.

I went with a smaller needle because I didn't want to knock giant holes into the nylon fabric so it'd stay water proof. I don't know if that's the correct thing to do, but I was able to put it together.

miriam

Another couple things that can mess up your tension would be lint, a piece of thread, or a little rust inside the bobbin case.

ArchaicArcane

Often but not always. I think the worst I've had here have been mid-range or possibly a little higher in price. But, beat up though they were, I saw them as worth trying and worth the investment after I was finished.

Yes, I touched on the needle size a little back on page 3.

I'm terrible for judging fabrics and what they need to hold together but here's what I would have done:
Assuming windbreaker type nylon, I would have used probably about an 80 needle, provided that it was appropriate for the thread size I'd chosen (which wouldn't have likely been a really light thread) and a long stitch length so as to not compromise the waterproof layer any more than needed. Not unlike sewing leather.

We touched on lint but I forgot about thread pieces. I had another Rocketeer here bound right up thanks to a piece of stray thread that managed to get between the hook and bobbincase.

Rust. Yeah. I'd been thinking suddenly not working machines but this is valid as well.