Sewin machine help - weel doesn't turn

Hello, ladies, Hopefully someone here can help me. I have a Europen (German) sewing machine Veritas, which i used for the past 14 years without any single problem. It is electric, but no electronics inside, just simple basic machine with a dozen of stitches. Today I started sewing (and last time I used it just a couple of weeks ago) and the hand weel is extremely hard to turn. It is not stuck, but very tight. If I turn the needle knob off (like when i need to spool some thread on the bobbin) it is fine, but when I connect it back, the weel is very tight and the pedal obviously doen't do anything. I opened the machine completely, checked from the top and from the bottom, didn't find any visible problem. Manual said that there is permanent special greezy stuff all over (which are plenty of all over inside), so the only place I need to add oil is around the shuttle. I tried, no results. There is no dealers for my machine, so I need to be able to fix it myself. Any help will be appreciated. TIA Vera

Reply to
Vera
Loading thread data ...

Evening Vera,

Althought you have addressed you message to the "Ladies", I have decided to reply anyway ( just ignore me if I am out of line )

You don't need to go to a machine specific dealer to service your machine, especialy not the older mechanical/electric models. Most of those machine run pretty much on the same principle and most reputable dealers will know how to service them.

Best solution, get a recommendation from other sewers or fabric store ppl. Which repair person do they like and trust. Barring that: let your fingers do the walking.

Jean

Reply to
Jean

Vera, I have Veritas Columba (still have, but do not use), and the only thing I can think of is to take out the needle plate and see if there is anything underneath it (if you have not done it yet). Otherwise go to a professional.

Cheers

Tatiana

Reply to
Tatiana

Try going over to yahoo main website, go to groups, and looking for the yahoo group "wefixit". They should be able to help. Its a group of people who fix sewing machines as a hobby, and they love to share info on that subject.

Rebecca

Reply to
NYC-FMS

When is the last time you cleaned and oiled it? Take a look at the manual, and see what should be removed, cleaned, and oiled, and try that before doing anything else...

Use the vacuum cleaner to SUCK fluff out rather than blowing it further into the bowels of the machine! You may have to remove the bobbin case to clean under/behind it. Leave nothing uncleaned! This includes taking out out of the box/case/table and cleaning under it, and removing all covers and bits of body that are easily removed. Clean off old oil/grease, and re-oil/grease those bits, removing ALL lint and fluff as you go.

You shouldn't need a dealer for that make of machine, just an old fashioned sewing machine shop with a real mechanic in a workshop in the back.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Kate, while the advice of removing the old oil/grease is generally correct, I would be very careful in this particular case: this machine has a lot of plastic gears, which greased with special thick paste-like stuff. I think firstly that ordinary liquid machine oil may not be suitable for this kind of material, and secondly one need to be sure that the new stuff will not damage the plastic (and who knows what it was made off then in Eastern Germany :)). I never removed the original grease from plastic parts of my machine, though I added a bit of lubricant from time to time - not the sewing machine oil, but a rocket engine lubricant - it 's gel-like.

In this case I bet it is something with the shuttle mechanism (I took my Columba from exile yesterday and checked - the wheel turns beautifully, the last time I touched it is more than a year ago).

Regards

Tatiana

Reply to
Tatiana

AKK! The dangers of plastic gears! Thanks for the tip-off!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Re: Sewin machine help - weel doesn't turn tanya snipped-for-privacy@ihug.com.au (Tatiana)

Kate, while the advice of removing the old oil/grease is generally correct, I would be very careful in this particular case: this machine has a lot of plastic gears, which greased with special thick paste-like stuff. I think firstly that ordinary liquid machine oil may not be suitable for this kind of material, and secondly one need to be sure that the new stuff will not damage the plastic (and who knows what it was made off then in Eastern Germany :)). I never removed the original grease from plastic parts of my machine, though I added a bit of lubricant from time to time - not the sewing machine oil, but a rocket engine lubricant - it 's gel-like.

Tatiana

Reply to
sewingbythecea

Thank you, ladies and gentlmens for help! First i contacted the suggested yahoo group and they adviced to clean the old greesy stuff. I did some cleaning around the bobbin case, removing bits of greeze with lint and dust. Add machine oil, assembled it all back and to my big surprise it is working fine. I guess my next big step should be to completely clean and replace the old greese with the new one. What should I use and where to buy it (the greese)? Is it something special for sewing machine? Thanks again!

Reply to
Vera

I am glad that they were able to help you.

I use singer's lubricant. It comes in a red and white tube that looks like a travel sized tooth paste tube. I am not familiar with your make and model of machine though, so again I think you should ask the wefixit group. On some machines ( like the singers) it is extremely important to follow the manufacturer's recommendations as to what parts to oil and what parts to use the greasy lubricant stuff on.

Yes. For example if you use the wrong product when lubricating a motor you can burn it out!

Rebecca

Reply to
NYC-FMS

Thank you all or your help! I cleaned the machine around the bobbin, removed a lot of old gunk, grease particles full of lint, etc. Added good machine oil and viola - it works fine! In the nearest future I plan to do major cleaning/regreasing work on it. Helpfull folks on yahoo wefixit group suggested to use regular petroleum jelly instead of grease. Thank you again, Vera

Reply to
Vera

I disagree with that part. Petroleum jelly can eat through some types of rubber and plastic. Its why they tell you to NEVER use it as a sexual lubricant with condoms! Don't use the petroleum. Get the right stuff from a sewing machine dealer. Any dealer that sells singer products usually has it. It should be around $3.

Rebecca

Reply to
NYC-FMS

It is probably a silicon base stuff...........

Reply to
Pat

my 30yr old Necchi seized up completely a couple of years ago and there was quite a bit of interest here and in rcm. the actual final fix was in the complex linkage that controls and powers the needle shaft. there is a couple of joints that when sticky, have a tremendous mechanical advantage over the power shaft.

when this linkage is binding, it locks the machine up like nothing else can. just lubing was not enough, i had to loosen some of the pivot points (not dissassemble) and make sure the oil penetrated. complete service would likely have fixed it. --Loren

Reply to
Loren Coe

Sorry I didn't catch your original post. You can get "Singer Sewing Machine Lubricant" at Walmart and Joanne Fabrics, this is what Singer markets for using on both metal gears and motor grease cups (both common on older Singer machines).

And watch what you use when cleaning out the old grease. A lot of people suggest using QTips but these leave behind bits of cotton and fluff, which is not what you want to have left on gears. Use toothpicks, pipe cleaners, and such that don't 'shed'.....

------------------------ Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing = in the middle.

Reply to
IMS

Re: Sewing machine help - wheel doesn't turn - update

12:00pm (EST+5) From: snipped-for-privacy@twcny.rr.com

And watch what you use when cleaning out the old grease. A lot of people suggest using QTips but these leave behind bits of cotton and fluff, which is not what you want to have left on gears. Use toothpicks, pipe cleaners, and such that don't 'shed'.....

Reply to
sewingbythecea

Petroleum oils and greases will not spontaneously cumbust. Polemerizing vegeatable oils (linseed, tung) oils will. It is likely he was applying one of these oils, a common wood conditioner/finish, when this happened.

Reply to
CW

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.