The No-Name Sewing Machine

A lady dropped off a sewing machine last week. She said it didn't sew, she had tried to sell it and got no takers, so I could have it for parts. This was my first view - a plain, white generic plastic carrying case.  I wonder what kind of machine is in there...

Well, that's unusual, a sewing machine with no obvious badge or manufacturer's name.

Maybe it's on the back...Nope, nothing

I'll tip it over, there's bound to be a manufacturer's logo or JA number...Nope, nothing there, either.

I'm sure it will be on the serial number plaque - Nope, nothing there but a serial number.

Here's the only identification information - a tiny sticker saying, "Made in Taiwan".

Tipping it over to look at the serial number, I noticed that the bobbin case was not installed properly.  That could be why it doesn't sew.

Removing the bobbin case and shuttle, I spied red thread behind the shuttle. Maybe that's why it doesn't sew.

There was a serious burr on the point of the hook, so bad that fine abrasive wouldn't take it off.  I had to clean off the burr with a file, then polish with the fine abrasive.

After oiling, I threaded it up to test sew. First thing I noticed was that the tension did not release when the presser foot was raised. The paddle that presses the tension release pin on the back side of the tension assembly appears to be bent.

I tried to bend it back without removing the whole light/needlebar/presser bar/swing assembly but couldn't get it where it needed to be.  If I couldn't make the paddle reach the pin, maybe I could make the pin reach the paddle.  I disassembled the tension assembly and removed the pin from the front and cut a same-diameter finish nail to about 2-3mm longer than the original pin, that has worked for me in the past.

That still wasn't long enough, I guess I'll have to continue turning tension to '0' to thread the needle until I figure something else out or find a longer finish nail or bite the bullet and remove all the mechanicals to get at that paddle.

On the first test run, it sewed pretty well - a bit noisy, but changing the orange, toothed tractor belt for a smoother version quieted it down significantly.

 I learned that it is a left-needle zig zag machine, at '0' stitch width, the needle sits at the far left end of the hole in the throat plate; as stitch width is increased, the needle swings farther and farther to the right. That configuration makes it tougher for a quilter to judge a quarter-inch seam but having the fabric supported on three sides in straight stitching mode reduces the possibility of the fabric getting sucked down under the needle plate.

Now, I need to use it on a project to see how it performs in the long run.

Ed
Ed's Vintage Sewing Machine Shop