New to the Boards - Inherited Koyo Centennial
08-05-2019, 10:07 AM
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Gainesville, Missouri
Posts: 520
New to the Boards - Inherited Koyo Centennial
Good morning, everyone. I am new to this forum, having found it during a rather rigorous search for information on a machine that I inherited several years ago. I will try to keep my post as short as possible.
In 2015, I met a young woman through my fiance and his friend (her fiance)who was highly interested in sewing. She was incredibly sweet and quiet, we talked about various things (she was mostly interested in how I modify several patterns into one), but then mentioned that she was given a machine by her grandmother and that she was having a hard time sewing with it. Her biggest issue was that it was skipping stitches and on the rarest of occasions, the stitches would gather under the fabric and create a giant mess. As we kept talking, her fiance suggested that they bring the machine by for me to at least look at and maybe help troubleshoot the problems. I asked her what was the name of the machine and when the last time it was serviced, she said she wasn't sure but she thought it was a Singer and that supposedly, it had just came back from being serviced the week before (the 'supposedly' will play in shortly). Since I know Singers well having learned how to sew on one and had one for a number of years, I figured I could help and agreed to take a look at it. A few days later, they brought it over and I set it in a corner of my quilting room.
When I opened the cabinet the next day to take a look at it, I was kind of surprised to see that the machine is definitely not a Singer. After a quick look to find the serial number and a brief search online to find threading and oiling diagrams, I discovered I had a Koyo Centennial machine, one that I had never heard of before. I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, once I had the diagrams printed off, I set about working on the machine.
'Supposedly' serviced is a little bit of a laugh, I don't think the machine had been serviced in the better part of 20 years, the internal mechanisms were gunked up with oil, lint and dirt, the light was flickering horribly, the cord was chewed up and the needle itself was rusted and put in the wrong way. Now, I know for a fact that when you take a machine in to get it serviced, they not only clean and oil the machine, they also replace belts if needed and fix small issues, such as a flickering light and the cord either repaired or replaced with a new one, not to mention put in a new needle if there are issues with it and put it in the right way.
After, I got out my sewing machine screw drivers and cleaning kit and spent the next four days very carefully and methodically cleaning this baby, oiling it properly, putting in a new needle the right way and repairing the cord. I am happy to report that the machine stopped skipping stitches and stopped gathering thread, yay me! When I felt like I could give the machine back, I called her up to say that it was done, it was then that she told me her fiance had found a newer machine for her and that for all the time and effort I put into the other machine, I could keep it. That was actually fine by me, since working on this machine as much as I did, I had gotten over protective of it.
There are still issues with the machine, the needle seems to be stuck in the left position, the embroidery stitches are not working, neither is the zigzag width dial, but the machine runs very smoothly, no knocks, bumps, grinds, screeches or squeaks. I do have tentative plans to get it to my usual machine guy to have him give it a very serious once over and see if he can get the needle put back into the center position and of all the things to happen, the light burned out. I have no real inclination to use the embroidery stitches, any embroidering I want on a new piece of clothing I've always done by hand, so even if he's unable to fix all of the issues, I'm not going to be that upset, it'll be used for straight seams only, sewing clothes but mainly for quilting.
In my mind, sewing machines are investments and if they are taken care of properly and serviced regularly, they will literally outlive their previous owners. I've sewn on newer machines before, I liked how they stitched things, but give me one of these old cast iron hulks that needs a good sturdy cabinet to house them in and I'm one happy girl. Even with the issues, I love this machine and I just got my hands on on the owners manual, I'll be printing it off later and putting it in a three-ring binder for off-line use.
I'm so happy I found this site, I can't wait to get to know everyone.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615689[/ATTACH]
In 2015, I met a young woman through my fiance and his friend (her fiance)who was highly interested in sewing. She was incredibly sweet and quiet, we talked about various things (she was mostly interested in how I modify several patterns into one), but then mentioned that she was given a machine by her grandmother and that she was having a hard time sewing with it. Her biggest issue was that it was skipping stitches and on the rarest of occasions, the stitches would gather under the fabric and create a giant mess. As we kept talking, her fiance suggested that they bring the machine by for me to at least look at and maybe help troubleshoot the problems. I asked her what was the name of the machine and when the last time it was serviced, she said she wasn't sure but she thought it was a Singer and that supposedly, it had just came back from being serviced the week before (the 'supposedly' will play in shortly). Since I know Singers well having learned how to sew on one and had one for a number of years, I figured I could help and agreed to take a look at it. A few days later, they brought it over and I set it in a corner of my quilting room.
When I opened the cabinet the next day to take a look at it, I was kind of surprised to see that the machine is definitely not a Singer. After a quick look to find the serial number and a brief search online to find threading and oiling diagrams, I discovered I had a Koyo Centennial machine, one that I had never heard of before. I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, once I had the diagrams printed off, I set about working on the machine.
'Supposedly' serviced is a little bit of a laugh, I don't think the machine had been serviced in the better part of 20 years, the internal mechanisms were gunked up with oil, lint and dirt, the light was flickering horribly, the cord was chewed up and the needle itself was rusted and put in the wrong way. Now, I know for a fact that when you take a machine in to get it serviced, they not only clean and oil the machine, they also replace belts if needed and fix small issues, such as a flickering light and the cord either repaired or replaced with a new one, not to mention put in a new needle if there are issues with it and put it in the right way.
After, I got out my sewing machine screw drivers and cleaning kit and spent the next four days very carefully and methodically cleaning this baby, oiling it properly, putting in a new needle the right way and repairing the cord. I am happy to report that the machine stopped skipping stitches and stopped gathering thread, yay me! When I felt like I could give the machine back, I called her up to say that it was done, it was then that she told me her fiance had found a newer machine for her and that for all the time and effort I put into the other machine, I could keep it. That was actually fine by me, since working on this machine as much as I did, I had gotten over protective of it.
There are still issues with the machine, the needle seems to be stuck in the left position, the embroidery stitches are not working, neither is the zigzag width dial, but the machine runs very smoothly, no knocks, bumps, grinds, screeches or squeaks. I do have tentative plans to get it to my usual machine guy to have him give it a very serious once over and see if he can get the needle put back into the center position and of all the things to happen, the light burned out. I have no real inclination to use the embroidery stitches, any embroidering I want on a new piece of clothing I've always done by hand, so even if he's unable to fix all of the issues, I'm not going to be that upset, it'll be used for straight seams only, sewing clothes but mainly for quilting.
In my mind, sewing machines are investments and if they are taken care of properly and serviced regularly, they will literally outlive their previous owners. I've sewn on newer machines before, I liked how they stitched things, but give me one of these old cast iron hulks that needs a good sturdy cabinet to house them in and I'm one happy girl. Even with the issues, I love this machine and I just got my hands on on the owners manual, I'll be printing it off later and putting it in a three-ring binder for off-line use.
I'm so happy I found this site, I can't wait to get to know everyone.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]615689[/ATTACH]
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 08-05-2019 at 12:41 PM. Reason: remove rant
08-05-2019, 12:26 PM
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: dallas tx.
Posts: 5,172
Hello and it looks like to me if you pulled the metal bar to the left onto a straight stitch or it puts the needle into the middle and then turn the design lever over to the straight stitch, it will be in the middle. I don't know if that will work or not. It is a pretty machine and I love these old ones. the tension looks turned way up to a 10. I can't see it good, also I'm not sure, but, it looks when you pull the thread around the tension, go up to get the spring, then back down under the bar pointed down, then up to the take up bar and back down towards the needle. I think I'm just talking.lol too much.
Last edited by barny; 08-05-2019 at 12:41 PM.
08-05-2019, 05:08 PM
#6
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,183
That's a bit fancier than my vintage Remington, but I can tell you to try changing settings with the foot down and if that doesn't work, try it with the foot up and make sure the needle is in the most upright position. Some of the machines were fussy about that sort of thing.
I haven't done in for awhile, but I used to pick up post-war Japanese metal machines and clean them up/fix them up for a charity that gave them to recent refugees. I am not particularly handy but with the nice solid machines you can figure out what is catching or whatever, but then again I only went as fancy as a zig zag.
Welcome to the boards! Plenty of like minded folks around here
I haven't done in for awhile, but I used to pick up post-war Japanese metal machines and clean them up/fix them up for a charity that gave them to recent refugees. I am not particularly handy but with the nice solid machines you can figure out what is catching or whatever, but then again I only went as fancy as a zig zag.
Welcome to the boards! Plenty of like minded folks around here
08-05-2019, 06:06 PM
#8
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,385
Glad you got the manual. Sometimes, to change to the zigzag or decorative stitches one needs to have knobs or levers in a particular position before something else can be changed. With the top off, one might be able to tell where it is supposed to move to oil and clean. Another thought is that there are some machines that the bobbin and associated/connected parts move as well as the top. The top gears and cams move the needle bar from the top and the connects to the bottom so that the hook assembly is in the correct position to make the stitch.
A way to double check if it is left homing is if you have a straight stitch foot or straight stitch needle plate (which should be shown in the manual) and see where the hole is in the needle plate and where the needle should be in the foot in relationship to the feed dogs.
Also, sometimes one can get it freed up, but the next time it doesn't work the same. This is sometimes because the gunk got moved and then "freezes" up again. Sometimes it takes multiple cleaning and oiling to get it all flushed out.
Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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