SteveH

Well? Updates? Finished your first bespoke garment on it? hehe

nanna-up-north

Sorry, Steve... the last 2 weeks have been hellish and I'm in NC this week to move my youngest son back to Mi. But I dream about that Davis every night and I am so anxious to get back at it. I will be back home this weekend and will be back asking tons of questions again. I have some of the tension parts cleaned up and I keep putting blaster on that back slide. It's still stuck.

So, keep pestering me.... I get busy with all the other stuff I have to do..... but, I really want to be home working on that Davis.

jlhmnj

Perhaps a small piece of 1x2 furring strip or scrap lumber almost as wide as the plate will help remove since its being so stubborn.

Jon

nanna-up-north

When I get back to Mi, I'll try that. Thanks, Jon.

nanna-up-north

Well, I'm back in Mi and I finally got a chance to work on the Davis today. I've been wanting to get at the insides of the front plate area.

But, as I was taking things apart, I noticed that spring thingy on the face plate. It looks like it should be some sort of tension thing.... The spring doesn't seem to be attached to anything. Is that correct? And when I got all the parts taken off, the threaded post looked a little crooked.... not much but I'm wondering if you think so as well. Should I try to straighten it? It's not off much if any at all.

I took all the parts out, cleaned them (but I can see I need to clean everything a little more) and then put everything back together. But, something isn't right because the hand wheel doesn't go all the way around. That small part on the right side fits over a lever looking thing that didn't appear to be attached to anything... well, that knob on the front turns a slotted wheel inside that area. I think the lever fits in there. I'm going to have to take everything apart again and put it all together step by step to see where I messed up. I did take pictures of everything as I took things off but it's really hard to see how things are connected behind things..... any help out there?? Jon?? Steve??

nanna-up-north

Oh, I forgot to mention..... the back slide plate is still stuck. I found some wooden shims in the basement and I'll try to use that to tap on that plate tomorrow. I have to cut one so it will fit.

SteveH

I wish I understood Vertical Feed machines better, then maybe I could help. I am picking up a early Davis VF this weekend but not quite as early as yours...(I'm still on the hunt) Maybe that will help me understand your issue better.

nanna-up-north

Thanks, Steve. I'm being daring and saying that I think I can figure it out. But, I know Jon has one like it and maybe he can be of help. If not, I'll send a message on the Davis yahoo group. It's not rocket science.... I do understand rocket science.... a little.

jlhmnj

Hi,

The part your working on is an archaic form of take up. The later Low arms used a form of take up similar to the New Homes starting in 1876. This takeup has a spring and a disc which holds the thread and travels downward when the needlebar is at it's lowest. Personally, If it performs this function I would leave well enough alone as the bend hardly looks noticiable from the pics.

The main thing to clean in the Vertical feeds are the 1/2 dozen or so rollers. These should spin nicely and oftentimes get clogged with dirt and a flat spot is worn if they don't get cleaned every so often.

The part that will make the hand wheel not turn is the large knob or stitch length that faces the operator. The design is not that good and if set for to large a stitch the mechanism jambs. Get it back to 0 and then add a little to get the correct length however the knob is oftentimes difficult to turn. You also want to make sure every roller is seated in its proper spot when the face plate is put back on.

Though not essential, it's good to take a step back and try to figure out how the mechanism works and then the genius of the thing can be appreciated. It still almost appears like magic how these machines operate.

Jon

jlhmnj

Should have mentioned to work on the machine with handwheel tipped on soft surface so everything is easier to reassemble. Line up the rollers in the proper spot and piece of cake. A roller out of place will also jam up the mechanism if it was turning before. If you get stuck on something I can take some pics of the exact machine if needed.

Jon