Frank was also having a problem with the upper tension release. He said the disc opening lever “N” in the figure below that is supposed to press the disc opening rod in the back of the tension assembly was not close enough to the end of the release rod to do its job and release the upper tension. If his machine had the tension assembly removed for any reason or the tension knob had been bumped, the position of the tension mechanism could be incorrect.
Hopefully, this procedure will correct that problem.
It is very important to check whether the position of the tension mechanism is correct.
- Set the presser bar lever in its intermediate (embroidery) position.
- Check that the disc opening rod “B” in the below figure is as close as possible to the disc opening lever “N” without actually touching.
- Ensure that the thread take-up spring can move freely without rubbing against the machine arm. Distance “a” in the below figure should be about 1/16” (1.5mm)
If an adjustment is needed, loosen screw 048050 GEB and move the entire tension mechanism along its axis (do not rotate it) then tighten screw 048050 GEB firmly.
Ed
This motivates me to take out the Supernova I found a while ago which still sits patiently in my sewing room, waiting to be tended to. Time to take it out and clean it out to see how it does. Thanks, Ed!
ReplyDeleteThanks ED. This worked! I undid the screw, pulled the tension assy out a bit and cleaned off the bits of crud that had developed, and then repositioned the assy so that the top position of the presser foot lift lever activated the tension release pin properly. Note that there are three positions for the lift lever: Down, Embroidery (no foot pressure, but with thread tension, and Full up/release.
ReplyDelete--frank
Dear Ed, I was given a necchi alco sewing machine in a cabinet for Christmas. It was purchased at a garage sale and has no manual. I can find what I think is the serial no. 118167, but no model no.
ReplyDeleteIt works, has a Matushita Electric motor, model # 3M-752H. There's a sticker on the front that says Necchi-Alco Designed-Guaranteed-Engineered by Allyn-International. Would you have any idea what model this might be? Thank you for your time.
I know of no place to find information on Necchi-Alco machines. My recommendation would be to go to http://www.allynint.com/ and ask there. Allyn International folks have been very helpful in answering my questions about Italian Necchis and I would expect them to be able to help you with information and maybe even a manual. -Ed
ReplyDeleteHi, It seems like this basic upper tension release adjustment mechanism design isn't specific to only the Supernova. Its essentially the same on the BU and Mira I've been working on, and tho I've never seen one in person, the adjustment manual for the SailRite Ultrafeed shows something very similar (I'm assuming it would be the same on all the similar mini-walker's). Now that I know what to look for, its pretty obvious (I'm somewhat chagrined I didn't figure it out myself from the start, so again, many thanks, Ed)
ReplyDelete--frank
Dear Ed , I have a Necchi supernova Julia and your blog has been very useful and is very informative while I service and mess around with it , thank you for this! Could you give me some advice on whether the motor is running ok, I have oiled everything up and it all moves well and is not sticking but the motor seems hesitant, and not much power, I have taken it apart and cleaned it as best I could, and it seems a little better, but just not much power, you can easily stop the machine by holding the hand wheel , is this normal? I don't have another machine to compare it too and I'm also not that experienced with sewing machines so don't know if its normal . any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks James
ReplyDeleteEd, I just read this post. As my Julia and I were getting acquainted I had the same problem. On mine the link lever pivot screw allowed the link lever to wobble excessively and it would not stay on the cam surface of the foot lift lever. I found a proper size thin washer to tighten up the wobble but still allowed pivoting. Also, the knob kept coming off the hardened shaft until I discovered the two internal set screws. Don't think I've seen those referenced elsewhere. Tom
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem with the tension knob falling off of the shaft. I can see the set screws inside the knob but how do you get the internal set screws adjusted?
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteYou need to gently pry the metal ring on the knob face up and off. Do a little at a time and work your way around. Pay attention to the clear window that you see the numbers through - it's tiny, not attached, easily lost, and only goes in one way. Then you can get the knob apart to tighten the screws. I don't recall there being any real adjustment as far as depth goes - I saw where the screws had contacted the shaft before and tightened them up, after backing them out and giving them a drop of blue Loctite. The numbers still aligned with the window and tension setting. You can tell if they are aligned and change it if you have to. There usually is no reason for the knob to have to come apart.
Tom
The machine was going to New Mexico in a U-Haul trailer; the U Haul door was left open and the whole machine and cabinet fell to the ground when they were stopped by a road construction flagger who was alerted to their door ajar.
ReplyDeleteDaughter in law tried her best but couldn't get the machine's tension adjusted. When we got there a few months later the knob would just fall off the machine when it was tipped down inside the cabinet for storage. I brought it home and am trying to get the old gal going again.
The machine fell from a U-Haul trailer, perhaps that loosened the set screws.
I'm having similar problem with tension assembly does not have a pin to release. I removed lever to release tension and cannot get adjusted so tension disc are not releasing. I've tried several times taking apart and putting back together but to no avail.
ReplyDelete