cashs_mom

Maybe it would be better to just buy and new plastic machine and be done with it if you are that worried.

themadpatter

I was born in 1956 and my sister was in 1958. My mom was the original owner of my beloved ancestral Necchi SnM2. (I am officially adopting this abbreviation, lol.) My sister was coloring on mom's machine, which was up, and must have been turned on, probably for the light, which is also the on/off switch. Colleen somehow got her finger under the needle while her knee pressed the knee control. Yanked her hand back, and broke the needle off in her finger, right at the nail bed. Yikes. That was a trip to the doctor's office. And I learned the hard way that, even when the lever has popped up, and the coils are no longer red, you *CAN* get zapped by the toaster if you stick an all metal butter knife in to fish out your toast. As an adult. Learned me some electricity stuff that day, I sure did.

J3General

This is just an 'FYI' on one person's opinion on making a sewing room and its machines safer dor grandkids. I have seven or electric sewing machines out in my sewing room and I keep my machines plugged into surge protector/power strips with each power strip having an on/off switch. With six grandchildren, all 5 years old or younger, I feel this strategy minimizes "sew through" accidents. I allow them with supervision to play with one of my hand-cranked sewing machines. Miriam here had earlier suggested needle bar finger guards which I plan to do as well.

I periodically inspect electrical wires for frayed or exposed wires to address the electrical shock risk.

Daylesewblessed

This thread caught my eye, and when foot controller problems came up on it, I kept on reading -- very enjoyable!

My question is this: What is wrong with the slow foot controller to one of my FW's? I know it is the controller causing a sluggish, but steady pace, because another FW controller on the same machine brings the lively pace I expect.

I thought I would bring up this problem, so that the discussion wouldn't move to surge protector power strips.

P.S. I was "electrocuted" in the bathtub frequently as a kid on the farm. It happened randomly (when the well pump was running, I think) when I touched the faucet handles to adjust the water temperature. By the time I was 12, I enjoyed lukewarm baths. It always bothered me that my dad would never believe me about this problem.

Mickey2

Do you have the chance to try a different controller? It will let you know for sure. If it runs slow, but nothing is really wrong: Step 1 clean and oil the machine well, keep up a tentative maintanance routine and any sluggishness will free up. Step 2 clean and regrease the motor, it can make a big difference in speed. A full service of the pedal can make difference too; making sure it pushes fully down on the copper connectors is a must. Cleaning the carbon stack will make it more accurate, but I'm not sure how much it will affect the speed.

Featherweights can be a bit cumbersome since you need to remove the bottom pan and grease the gears. The parts near the bobbin case needs to be picked clean of any dust and bits of thread.

OurWorkbench

say what????? Mickey2 you quoted Daylesewblessed and asked what had already been stated per Bold and red letters.

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

Daylesewblessed

My husband and I solved the slow controller problem yesterday. We watched Carmen Henry's video on singer-featherweight.com concerning a hot and racing food controller. Our problem was different, but the solution was the same.

Mickey2

If your reading were a bit neater you would have noticed the quote you refer to end with "...I expect". It leaves room for uncertainty.

OurWorkbench

I understand English may not be your native language, but when because another FW controller on the same machine brings the lively pace I expect. It indicates that poster had tried the other controller that had brought the lively pace that one expects for that machine, or brings the lively pace that is expected for this machine. Also confirming "I know it is the controller causing a sluggish, but steady pace" because it had already been tested with another controller confirming that it was the controller, and not something else.

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

Mickey2

LOL, the colored sections are not helping! I have spent two months in the library reading German (which is some time since I have done), and it has really messed up my immediate understanding of syntax when reading. Germanic languages might be related, but the way we put words together differ more than the words themselves. I have about six weeks more with my nose in the books and then I hope to return to normal state of mind.