Seijun

Today I was brave enough to take the face plate off. I figured the inside would be a mess but it was surprisingly clean. And such beautiful simplicity.

I don't have any white microfiber towels, but I will get some later this month to see if any color comes off onto them. The surface is currently dry. It doesn't feel sticky and nothing is rubbing off on a dry towel.

I put the face plate back on and SEWED!! I am so stoked about this. This is my first time using a sewing machine . I have had so much fun figuring out how everything works. I love taking something so old and so forgotten, and bringing it back to life. Seems like everything made today is made to be disposable, yet we are surrounded by these steel and iron gems that have so many years left in them if someone just gives them a chance.

Seijun

The Domestic and I are gradually getting used to one another. Today I learned about thread tension. I played around with the thread tension wheel for a long time but it did not seem to have any effect?? However, when I adjusted the tension screw on the bobbin case, that made a BIG difference. After a long time experimenting, I think I finally have the top and bottom stitches matching. I also have quite a few samples on sad yellowing cloth from the previous owner, showing how the stitches looked 50-some-odd years ago.

OurWorkbench

Good for you I hope you paid attention to the "Adjusting Lower Tension" paragraph on the bottom of page 18 of the pdf manual linked above. Did you make sure that the upper thread was in the "notch"of the tension plate. Did you play with the upper tension after you adjusted the bobbin tension?

Yes, it is very satisfying as you said, "I love taking something so old and so forgotten, and bringing it back to life."

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Mickey2

It's good to read you are having progress.

Some of the old straight stitchers are very nice and easy to underestimate. Keep on oiling it every time you get to play with it, even if it seems more than strickly necessary. It makes a difference when the machine is taken out after long term storage, in a week or two all grime should be flushed out from inners of joints and gears. I think your model has the rather fancy top tension mechanism, and it's not always adviced to pick them appart. I'm sure someone with first hand experience of similar Domestic models will fill you in on how to sort it out.

If you often switch between top stitch thread and lighter sew-all weight it can be handy to have two bobbin cases one set for each type of thread, the adjustments will usually be minor.

Seijun

I did read the paragraph on adjusting bobbin tension. So taking a VERY close look at my stitches, the top stitch is actually looping over the bottom stitch regardless of what setting I use for the top thread. If I understand correctly, this means that the tension on the bottom thread is too tight?

I am not sure if I have the thread correctly positioned in the tension plate. I took some pictures. It is hard for me to tell what is going on. I looks as though the thread is looped around a notch of some kind as well as a spring. Here is the thread with tension applied:
https://goo.gl/photos/C4MB9dPiKB5sFhePA

Mickey2

One way to set bobbin tension is to choose a medium sew-all weight thread (my adjustment standard is Gutermanns sew-all polyester, it works fine, but I think some recommend equivalent mercerized cotton). Avoid using topstitch, extra strength or very fine thread when adjusting for general purposes.

Thread the machine up, new needle and all that; set the top tension to around middle of the range it has (on Singers it's often 0-9, and middle would be some where between 4 and 5). Take two layers of shirt weight cotton fabric (quilt weight) and adjust the tension spring in the bobbin case until you have it balanced.

If bobbin tension is way off, the top tensioner will behave like you describe. The balance you aim for is very delicate and need to be just so. Fine tuning means turning the screw 1/4 to 1/8 turn when adjusting, and test sewing as you go along. It can be very fuzzy at first, but you will develop more of a feel for it. There's also tension gauges available for this.

You could take out the vaccuum cleaner and place a suitable nozzle at the tensioner, it might pick up dust and anything caught in there. Clean around there with a cotton swab, it often helps. Everything looks right to me from the picture you posted, but I can't see any tension disks? There's usually a set of flat disks the thread goes between, the pressure on these is indicated a numbered tension dial (can be a numberless knob or nut too). I hope someone with first hand experience on your model will add something useful.

Sometimes there's dust and thread caught in the bobbin spring, and it's worth to inspect it more carefully.

rryder

When threading the top tensioner make sure the presser foot is raised so you can see that the thread gets properly seated between the tension discs.

Rob

OurWorkbench

This doesn't have the flat discs. Even machines that look like two discs, they are together and should not be separated as indicated in this post -> Adjusting Tension on Wheeler & Wilson 9
There are many different tensions that are on the arm as shown in the following threads:
New National - New Home
Probably new Work Stand template needed and info Please There are two different tension assemblies on the Weed

Good information about checking the tension but it seems as though Seijun may have gotten it figured out.

Also a Rob pointed out that the presser foot should be raised as indicated on page 10 of the pdf for this machine.

Unfortunately, I can't see the picture. I will try a little later on a different computer. It really is hard to see what is going on in that tension. I took lots of pictures and it is still hard to see what is actually going on, especially when some of the thread is reflected in the assembly. It is hard to see what is the thread and what is reflection. After the notch the thread goes down to the spring and then back up to take up slot. The thread travels from the back of the notch then to the spring and you can generally hear a click when it is threaded properly.

Here is a picture of my White with the same tension.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]578888[/ATTACH]

Have you tried adjusting the top tension at different numbers 1 to 8 and does it change the stitch?
You should get different looking stitches if at 1 than at 8.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

OurWorkbench

I also wanted to strongly suggest to not take the tension assembly apart on this machine, especially if you can get it to sew. While there are some tensions that I would take apart to clean, this is not one of them.

Note there are no responses to HELP!! Need info on how to put White Rotary back together.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

OurWorkbench

I was able to see the image of the tension. It does look right if you are pulling on the thread or are sewing with it. I just threaded my White that has the same tension. If I pulled on the thread (holding the spool steady) to the needle the spring should tighten my moving up towards the top of the machine. When you take the tension off the thread the spring should relax towards the presser foot.

I hope this helps. Oh, I did also move the numbered tension and there isn't a whole lot of difference when I pulled on the thread. I did this without threading the needle, but I was using size 40 crochet cotton.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.