Singer 403A - sewing slow - any suggestions to speed it up?
#11
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Usually in my sewing room
Posts: 813
It's working!!!
Hi - thanks for the advice. I got this baby purring like a kitten last night after I oiled all the moving parts and let her run for 10 or 15 mins. She's like brand new...a few scuffs...but no worse for the wear.
I wonder if she will fit into the beautiful Singer treadle sewing cabinet I have? Then I can move my Kenmore 1802 into this cabinet. Then both will be in their own little homes.
Can't wait to get to sew on her.
I wonder if she will fit into the beautiful Singer treadle sewing cabinet I have? Then I can move my Kenmore 1802 into this cabinet. Then both will be in their own little homes.
Can't wait to get to sew on her.
#13
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Usually in my sewing room
Posts: 813
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 374
If you're sure the problem is in the pedal or the knee control, please ignore this post.
I acquired a vintage machine that sewed slow and felt odd to me. The only explanation I can give is that it felt "tight." Once opened, cleaned, and oiled, I got a really bright light into its innards and discovered black thread wound around various places in the head. I would dearly love to know how that happened. I didn't even know thread got into some of those places! After several hours of unwinding and muttering, the machine's speed and feel are right.
The tools I used were a really bright, focused light, several different long handled tweezers, a surgical seam ripper (cut what threads I could), my oil can with a very, very long "nose" that can be pulled out and pushed back into the body of the can, and don't forget that muttering.
I hope your problem is as simple as mine. I really like simple problems.
Pat
I acquired a vintage machine that sewed slow and felt odd to me. The only explanation I can give is that it felt "tight." Once opened, cleaned, and oiled, I got a really bright light into its innards and discovered black thread wound around various places in the head. I would dearly love to know how that happened. I didn't even know thread got into some of those places! After several hours of unwinding and muttering, the machine's speed and feel are right.
The tools I used were a really bright, focused light, several different long handled tweezers, a surgical seam ripper (cut what threads I could), my oil can with a very, very long "nose" that can be pulled out and pushed back into the body of the can, and don't forget that muttering.
I hope your problem is as simple as mine. I really like simple problems.
Pat
#16
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,507
If you're sure the problem is in the pedal or the knee control, please ignore this post.
I acquired a vintage machine that sewed slow and felt odd to me. The only explanation I can give is that it felt "tight." Once opened, cleaned, and oiled, I got a really bright light into its innards and discovered black thread wound around various places in the head. I would dearly love to know how that happened. I didn't even know thread got into some of those places! After several hours of unwinding and muttering, the machine's speed and feel are right.
The tools I used were a really bright, focused light, several different long handled tweezers, a surgical seam ripper (cut what threads I could), my oil can with a very, very long "nose" that can be pulled out and pushed back into the body of the can, and don't forget that muttering.
I hope your problem is as simple as mine. I really like simple problems.
Pat
I acquired a vintage machine that sewed slow and felt odd to me. The only explanation I can give is that it felt "tight." Once opened, cleaned, and oiled, I got a really bright light into its innards and discovered black thread wound around various places in the head. I would dearly love to know how that happened. I didn't even know thread got into some of those places! After several hours of unwinding and muttering, the machine's speed and feel are right.
The tools I used were a really bright, focused light, several different long handled tweezers, a surgical seam ripper (cut what threads I could), my oil can with a very, very long "nose" that can be pulled out and pushed back into the body of the can, and don't forget that muttering.
I hope your problem is as simple as mine. I really like simple problems.
Pat
#17
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Usually in my sewing room
Posts: 813
I actually bought this machine at first with the intentions of keeping it because it is just like the one my mom had. Then my friend told me she needed a machine, because the repairman told her that her machines wasn't worth fixing either. A couple days later, he had the nerve to call her and ask for the Owner's Manual...probably because he had fixed it and wanted to sell it with the original manual. I offered her to buy the one I had, we oiled it and I cleaned it up but it was still running sluggish. She decided she didn't want it. The next night my DH and I got our heads together and decided to do a major clean and overhaul and oil everything that moved. It works like a dream now. So I have a beautiful new machine and it's quieter than the Kenmore 1802 that I've been sewing on since 1971. Hoping maybe I can fit the Singer into my Singer treadle cabinet. Do Singers have a standard size footprint?
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