Stuck Singer 201
01-28-2016, 10:13 AM
#31
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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Originally Posted by miriam
It is very hard to tell exactly what what point a machine will be stuck. It is best to generically oil every single movable friction point. Tammi I believe out of desperation I used break cleaner or xylene to get one unstuck. Those have to be used out doors nowhere near flame. spray some in a can - plastic will go poof - then brush on with a natural art brush. Do not leave metal over night with out re-oiling anything that stuff touches.
The gold you see on that needle bar is more likely dried on old oil not rust. Usually rust doesn't find its way into a joint because there is a protective coating of oil. If you try to force gummed up oiled parts to move you may have so many gummed up parts in other places that are being forced that something will move but it may not be what you expect or desire. You can tell the difference between rust and dried on oil by scraping on it just a little. Rust will be rough. Dried up Oil will feel gummy or oily of course. Oil will dissolve with solvent. Rust will not dissolve with oil or a solvent. It takes an acid like vinegar to dissolve the rust. If an acid is left on a rusted part the part will continue to rust even over night rust will grow. If someone put some kind of stuff to clean off rust down your needle bar then unless it had good coating of oil, you will have rust somewhere and the needle bar will have to come out and be cleaned of rust as will the sleeve it rides in. If you take out the needle bar you will need to reset it and time it. If you pry on the needle bar you could bend the needle bar. If you pry on the needle bar you will very likely have to retime it. I'm sure there is an Igor reading this. Note to Igor, use oil to do your work as much as possible. Use gentle taps and then big force as a last resort.
The gold you see on that needle bar is more likely dried on old oil not rust. Usually rust doesn't find its way into a joint because there is a protective coating of oil. If you try to force gummed up oiled parts to move you may have so many gummed up parts in other places that are being forced that something will move but it may not be what you expect or desire. You can tell the difference between rust and dried on oil by scraping on it just a little. Rust will be rough. Dried up Oil will feel gummy or oily of course. Oil will dissolve with solvent. Rust will not dissolve with oil or a solvent. It takes an acid like vinegar to dissolve the rust. If an acid is left on a rusted part the part will continue to rust even over night rust will grow. If someone put some kind of stuff to clean off rust down your needle bar then unless it had good coating of oil, you will have rust somewhere and the needle bar will have to come out and be cleaned of rust as will the sleeve it rides in. If you take out the needle bar you will need to reset it and time it. If you pry on the needle bar you could bend the needle bar. If you pry on the needle bar you will very likely have to retime it. I'm sure there is an Igor reading this. Note to Igor, use oil to do your work as much as possible. Use gentle taps and then big force as a last resort.
Ugh. Melting plastic is why DH still only buys the "bad" brake cleaner. He used the "safe" stuff on something here that was near a plastic part - I can't recall what - and melted it. It wasn't a plastic lid and it was a costly mistake.
The reason I thought the needlebar was rusted is that it looks darker than any other dried oil on the machine and looks "textured". Of course, I'm only working from a photo and photos do lie.
Originally Posted by miriam
Tammi, more often than not I see stuck hand wheels on a rocketeer. There is nothing to grip. I've also seen a few where Igor hit it with a hammer and made notches all over the place. I never have the strength to get those off. After I've tried I get DH to do it... He gets a kick out of doing it. One time he tried to free one up for me but I hadn't oiled it up yet and he broke something under the bobbin area. Boy did he have egg on his face.
01-28-2016, 11:00 AM
#32
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Igor, Igora, igoretta its this big family. They might even live near you.
I don't know why that family gets around so much but they do, then they sneak in people's houses and tighten up the 500s and 503s wheels every chance they get. They seem to be able to home in on those machines in a freakish sort of way. It may be a conspiracy.
Just for fun, have you used brake cleaner to vaporize a foam cup?
I don't know why that family gets around so much but they do, then they sneak in people's houses and tighten up the 500s and 503s wheels every chance they get. They seem to be able to home in on those machines in a freakish sort of way. It may be a conspiracy.
Just for fun, have you used brake cleaner to vaporize a foam cup?
01-28-2016, 03:38 PM
#33
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Spring Hill, Tennesee
Posts: 497
Most of the people I know use TriFlow, which is a bicycle oil with Teflon in it. Works with mud and grit in bikes. Be careful not to break the levers by putting too much pressure on them. If serious disassembly is required, take lots of pictures and you may need to get help to reassemble, which is no shame. Just be sure they have good experience.
01-28-2016, 03:45 PM
#34
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,585
Miriam,
My Mom bought a used (only slightly) car one time --- someone had put something other than brake fluid in the master cylinder. One day, when my Mom was driving (with my infant nephew in the car) the brakes totally failed and her car hit the front entrance of the bank where she was going to make a deposit. There was a lot of joking and laughter about "grandma knocking over the bank!"
Jeanette
My Mom bought a used (only slightly) car one time --- someone had put something other than brake fluid in the master cylinder. One day, when my Mom was driving (with my infant nephew in the car) the brakes totally failed and her car hit the front entrance of the bank where she was going to make a deposit. There was a lot of joking and laughter about "grandma knocking over the bank!"
Jeanette
01-28-2016, 09:45 PM
#35
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 23
Thanks so much for the ideas and theories. I think it is rust, the face plate and pressure bar had a bunch, but I'll wait for the ceramic lube, before I get much harsher, especially since the screws in the linkages aren't letting me unscrew them.
I've cleaned, got the Dremel out, figuring that might vibrate things a bit. And because of that great comparison link that Tammi posted have switched to trying liquid wrench, which seems to leave a foamy residue... Been wiping that off before reapplying.
I don't have a torch, but maybe I could try my heat gun... just concerned since the needle bar is a hollow one that it'll be more likely to break.
Thanks so much for all the posts, it's been getting past the point where I've been wondering if I was missing something obvious...
I've cleaned, got the Dremel out, figuring that might vibrate things a bit. And because of that great comparison link that Tammi posted have switched to trying liquid wrench, which seems to leave a foamy residue... Been wiping that off before reapplying.
I don't have a torch, but maybe I could try my heat gun... just concerned since the needle bar is a hollow one that it'll be more likely to break.
Thanks so much for all the posts, it's been getting past the point where I've been wondering if I was missing something obvious...
01-28-2016, 09:52 PM
#36
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
Originally Posted by miriam
Igor, Igora, igoretta its this big family. They might even live near you.
I don't know why that family gets around so much but they do, then they sneak in people's houses and tighten up the 500s and 503s wheels every chance they get. They seem to be able to home in on those machines in a freakish sort of way. It may be a conspiracy.
Just for fun, have you used brake cleaner to vaporize a foam cup?
I don't know why that family gets around so much but they do, then they sneak in people's houses and tighten up the 500s and 503s wheels every chance they get. They seem to be able to home in on those machines in a freakish sort of way. It may be a conspiracy.
Just for fun, have you used brake cleaner to vaporize a foam cup?
I'm convinced the 503 and 500 machines give off some sort of light that only they can see. Uh,.. no, I don't think I've ever tried to vaporize anything on purpose. I'll tell DH though, I'm sure it will make him giggle like a maniac, or whatever the "manly" equivalent of that is.
01-28-2016, 10:24 PM
#37
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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Originally Posted by annf
Thanks so much for the ideas and theories. I think it is rust, the face plate and pressure bar had a bunch, but I'll wait for the ceramic lube, before I get much harsher, especially since the screws in the linkages aren't letting me unscrew them.
I've cleaned, got the Dremel out, figuring that might vibrate things a bit. And because of that great comparison link that Tammi posted have switched to trying liquid wrench, which seems to leave a foamy residue... Been wiping that off before reapplying.
I don't have a torch, but maybe I could try my heat gun... just concerned since the needle bar is a hollow one that it'll be more likely to break.
Thanks so much for all the posts, it's been getting past the point where I've been wondering if I was missing something obvious...
I've cleaned, got the Dremel out, figuring that might vibrate things a bit. And because of that great comparison link that Tammi posted have switched to trying liquid wrench, which seems to leave a foamy residue... Been wiping that off before reapplying.
I don't have a torch, but maybe I could try my heat gun... just concerned since the needle bar is a hollow one that it'll be more likely to break.
Thanks so much for all the posts, it's been getting past the point where I've been wondering if I was missing something obvious...
- stand the machine on its handwheel and let the liquid wrench soak right into where the screws are seated instead of having it drip down the needlebar. Marination vs rotisserie style. If you do this though - prop and brace it really well so it can't fall over - especially if you have furry or little "hands" around. That said, I don't know how much loosening the linkages will help. Perhaps see if you can loosen the set screw for the needlbar bushing as well though, since you might have to take it out to remove rust anyway.
I think a heat gun should be fine if used judiciously. What I remember reading - maybe in that thread I posted - is heat is good - color change (i.e. red hot) is not so good. I don't think a heat gun will do that sort of heat.
I don't think you're missing anything obvious. Some of them really are this tough to get moving again. It didn't seize in a day, sometimes you won't get it loose in a day either.
01-29-2016, 06:25 AM
#38
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 1,963
What about those frost sprays? I think they work in much the same way as heat; by making the metal shrink and expand just enough for parts to parts break free. Alternating with a hair drying and a freeze spray is one of those things that can work wonders too.
01-29-2016, 12:32 PM
#39
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That garage thread I posted talked about a couple of those. About the same result - some loved it, thought it was the best thing ever, some had no luck. Of course it all comes down to how stubborn your bolt or whatever is too. And of course another person brought up a good point there too - usually whatever you used last gets all the credit but it might not have been the last one, it could be the first one that finally seeped far enough in.
01-29-2016, 10:10 PM
#40
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,071
I've had a couple machines that were frozen, and nothing we tried worked. So we figured it wouldn't hurt to try something crazy. We tried Dawn dish soap, and it worked. Had to do some serious swabbing with Q-tips afterwards.
Are you sure the needle bar isn't bent?
Are you sure the needle bar isn't bent?
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