jlhmnj

Jim

Sounds like you're almost finished. The weak part of the feed which it sounds like you've noticed is the roller bearing which oftentimes get gummed up, stop rolling, and get a flat spot which causes loss of motion in the feed. Fascinating mechanism. Looking forward to completed pics.

Jon

oldsewnsew

So the old girl is finally back together, well actually it's a different head, that I got in a trade for 2 60's machines I no longer wanted. Both heads are in good shape mechanically, but this one, was never drilled and tapped for motor mounts. The other one got its decals ruined when some idiot used Dawn dishsoap and water to clean it. (they turned green, and lost detail). It's not perfect yet, by any means, chiefly that the largest stitch length isn't as long as I'd wish, and any stitch length less than 4, doesn't move at all. But I wanted to get it off the work bench, cause there are other things waiting their turn. As you can see the cabinet is rough, and I was in a hurry, so I did the oil and vinegar treatment and put a new belt on it. It was a bit of frustration, cause the new belt, had the staple too close to the edge and I didn't notice before I shortened it, it pulled out. So I had to shorten it a bit more than I'd like. When I was putting the head back in, I kept looking for set screws, to hold it on the hinge pins. There aren't any as the lift mechanism is such that it doesn't need them. Since getting the treadle, I've had to locate a pedal and crossbar, come up with a pitman arm, bought a set of attachments. I need a couple drawer handles yet, and I'd love to find a manual, for the NVF. It needs a refinishing job on the top. But hey, it's finally looking like she used to again.[ATTACH=CONFIG]486225[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]486226[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]486227[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]486228[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]486229[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]486230[/ATTACH]
I have a few extra parts, as well like the presser bar and a couple others, just in case. It's been an interesting process, and I'd like to thanks all the folks here for their help.

SteveH

Very Nice. I love the attachments. PM regarding manual sent.

oldsewnsew

looking at Jon's post, reminds me to go back in and double check the feed roller related parts.

jlhmnj

Jim,

NVF and cabinet look real good.

The stitch length knob has set screw for better stitch length range which would be the easiest possible solution to try first.

Jon

oldsewnsew

i loosened it, but need to make a screwdriver tip that will go over the pin in the center, or something. But thanks for confirming Jon.

jthomp39

So, I just got a Davis new vertical feed and rebuilt it and cleaned it. I was having a lot of problems with the timing and it seemed that even when it was supposedly “in time,” it would still skip stitches occasionally. I noticed that the eye of the sewing needle on the diagram on the machine was about 1/8th of an inch lower than on the universal needles I was using. This was consistent with what I was seeing in the machine as the eye of the needle was barely below the “hook” at its lowest point. Furthermore, when it would rise that 1/16th of an inch, the eye of the needle and the bobbin were perfectly lined up. I then put the needle in 1/8th of an inch lower with my ruler and suddenly, all of the stitches were forming perfectly.

bkay

I'm no whiz at sewing machines. However, there is a needle that some older machines use that is longer than the universal used today. There is a workaround and there are also some of those needles available on ebay occasionally. Several of the regular posters have a good understanding of the situation and solutions. They will be along.

Welcome to the board.

bkay

JoeJr

Welcome to the QuiltingBoard. I don't know what needle it takes, but if you can make a 15x1 work by dropping it down, and you can measure the drop down distance, cut a sliver from a refrigerator magnet to fit in the needle groove. Once you have this sliver in place you can just set your 15x1 needle against it.