My sewing machine came undone!

I've been cleaning my basement and decided to close my sewing machine up. Took off the thread, laid the spindles down, lifted up the front edge, and lowered the head into the well. Unfortunately, one side came unhinged.

I will not admit to how long it took me to figure out I couldn't put it back together by myself without some tips from all of you here. The machine is a

40-year-old White and if the head doesn't weigh 50- pounds, I'd be surprised. There are two little poles onto which the head of the sewing machine must sit. Unfortunately, those little poles are on hinges so the machine can be raised and lowered. I simply cannot do it myself because of the weight of the head, the hinges on the little poles, and the need for another pair of hands.

However, I don't have another pair of hands so must figure out how to do this without dropping the head (which would probably break it and any toes beneath it) while simultaneously holding the the hinged poles in the right position.

Any suggestions will be truly appreciated.

Reply to
Phyllis Nilsson
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Phyllis! get help. My beloved Pfaff was dropped on her head many years ago. She was never the same. I don't know what kind of bribery you may have to resort to but you'll think of something. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

Lift up the head so it's out of the well, then shove a 2 x 4" bit of timber unerneat (or similar - just make sure it's strong!) rest the head on the wood while you fiddle the stick thing. it will still be heavy going but not as bad as nothing to rest it on. *then* put it back as far as you can so the head is resting on the table top

- adjust the screws to make the tight again.

good luck!

jessamy still in google limbo and in the netherlands

Reply to
Jessamy

Get help first! Then follow Jessamy's plan, sounds workable. But you might still need an extra pair of hands. Roberta in D, safety first

"Jessamy" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

Echoing Polly. get help. Offer someone a homemade pie, cake, muffins.especially a BUSY young Mom (she'll send her DH over if you're lucky.) Or you could ask at church (if you attend) or even go tot eh HS and ask for one of the young men that belongs to one of the Service Groups (Can't think of their names off hand) We have really really been lucky here to have 2 teens across the street that are NOT afraid of helping or even going back and getting their folks if its too much for them (we just pay the kidlets the 'going rate').

Please don't hurt yourself cause hernia surgery is NOT FUN. BTDT and heading there once again :(

Butterfly

Reply to
Butterflywings

Jessamy and I had the same thought, but I still can't get it in place. I asked my sister if she remembered who put it back in the cabinet for me after I had it cleaned the last time and she thinks it was my nephew (her son). She said the next time she comes over she's going to see if we can do it together, but the head of that machine is sooooo heavy.

Of course my husband's answer was to buy a new machine . . . bless his heart. Unfortunately I had a sentimental attachment to this one.

Thank you all for your thoughts. Hopefully I can do this soon to get it out of the middle of the floor where I had to put it to get to the back where the little posts are. Is life really supposed to be this difficult for old folks?

Reply to
Phyllis Nilsson

Reply to
Taria

This would not help with the weight problem but could you use a rubber band to keep the two hinged prongs together? If I'm understanding your installation correctly, that should make it easier to guide the machine onto the prongs.

Mary

Reply to
Mary in Rock Island IL

It is worth a try, Mary. I tried putting the piece of wood right up against the hinged prongs to keep them upright, but, unfortunately, I still need more hands and I couldn't keep the prongs upright. When my back stops hurting, I may try it again. It is the weight of the head that seems to force the hinge to move. Good thing I do most of my quilt-making by hand.

Reply to
Phyllis Nilsson

On Tuesday last week a large cement truck drove down our street taking out our cable line and knocking a tree limb on a neighbor's car. The neighbors didn't get the company name, but did get a good look at the driver. The cable guy gave me the name of the company who does the most work in this city and I called. The guy was as nice as he could be. The crux of the matter was it wasn't their truck and they didn't have a driver by that description. He gave me the names of several other companies and I gave those to the neighbor who had her car damaged. He said if there was anything he could do to help, he would.

Our only damage was an eavestrough pulled away from the house, but I told him at the age of 69 my stepladder days were over and my husband was disabled and couldn't fix it either, but I appreciated his offer and was sorry I'd bothered him with something for which he wasn't responsible. He called back to tell me he was sending his son to fix the eavestrough! That was a pleasant shock! He and his wife came out later to make sure it had been done right and I talked with them for awhile. They seem like really nice folks and said they'd been taught to help people who needed it.

We have several able-bodied men in this neighborhood and some athletic teenagers, but they wouldn't help anyone if their lives depended on it. By the way, on Friday of the same week it happened again. This time no one saw who did it, but the cable guy put the eavestrough back together for me. Some folks are just plain nice (just not many of my neighbors).

Reply to
Phyllis Nilsson

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