Joe

Got a nice old singer stylist 457. Great machine only does straight and zig zag stitching but it works great for my quilts because of the big throat. Anyway it's been put away for awhile and I was trying to set it up the other day and when I was trying to get the bottom thread up the needle kept striking the hook and eventually broke. Any suggestions?

Tartan

Check to make sure you have the right needle and that it is inserted right to the top. If the needle is fine then the timing is probably off. Check to see if the bobbin hook feels loose and then watch the needle and hook do a revolution and watch to see where the timing needs adjustment.

Joe

How hard is it to adjust the timing?

Tartan

For me it would need a trip to the sewing machine repair shop. Maybe one of the experts will give you some pointers.

Cari-in-Oly

If it worked fine before, my guess is the needle isn't in right. Sitting won't throw the timing out.

Cari

DonnaMiller

Put a new needle in and take the needle plate off and watch the action of the needle and the hook. That will give you an idea of what it is.

miriam

Timing so rarely gets off..... Yet timing is blamed for everything. Some of those Singers have a belt around the bobbin area and some have plastic gears. Those should be checked. Your hook should now be checked for burrs since the needle was hitting it until it broke. Check your manual for correct needle insertion. Check inside your needle clamp for lint and other gunk. Check for lint in the bobbin area. It may be a good idea to have the machine fully serviced.

Joe

Thanks all, I'm probably going to take it in to get serviced. It's a great old machine, very powerful which is great when I do the quilting and binding.

SingerCLA

The Singer 457 has a plastic gear on top and a timing belt in the bottom. Spin the hand wheel (without a needle in) and check to see if the hook is spinning around the bobbin. You can remove the bottom to check to timing belt, and the top to see if the plastic gear has failed. A google search of "Singer 457" will turn up 'Becca's crazy project' where she describes replacing the gear on this machine. (most likely the problem)