Saved a machine - thanks to this board!!
#1
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Victorian Sweatshop Forum
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I saw a kenmore 158 at the curb this week so I brought it home. The handwheel would not turn much. So I did as I've read to do on this board so many times.
I opened it up and began to clean it up. I found lint in the bobbin case and thread wrapped around the handwheel. I cleaned all that and then began to oil it with Tri Flo. It was dry as dust in there! I put it in the garage and when I'd walk past it, I'd jiggle the handwheel a bit. I gave it a bit of oil every day. Every day the handwheel moved more. Last night it seemed to be moving freely.
Today I brought the machine in, reassembled it and plugged it in! Works fine! I am quite proud of this. I know many of you experts have saved machines in way worse shape but this is good for me, a beginner. I don't need any more machines so I'll give it away. Thanks for all the instruction fellow sewists! I have taken your lessons to heart.![Smile](https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png)
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I opened it up and began to clean it up. I found lint in the bobbin case and thread wrapped around the handwheel. I cleaned all that and then began to oil it with Tri Flo. It was dry as dust in there! I put it in the garage and when I'd walk past it, I'd jiggle the handwheel a bit. I gave it a bit of oil every day. Every day the handwheel moved more. Last night it seemed to be moving freely.
Today I brought the machine in, reassembled it and plugged it in! Works fine! I am quite proud of this. I know many of you experts have saved machines in way worse shape but this is good for me, a beginner. I don't need any more machines so I'll give it away. Thanks for all the instruction fellow sewists! I have taken your lessons to heart.
![Smile](https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png)
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#7
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Victorian Sweatshop Forum
Posts: 4,096
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Great job! Don't you love the simple fixes?
I haven't found a machine at the curb but I've been given a couple of "non working" machines. In both cases it turned out to be something simple. The last one turned out to be one wire disconnected in the controller.
Cari
I haven't found a machine at the curb but I've been given a couple of "non working" machines. In both cases it turned out to be something simple. The last one turned out to be one wire disconnected in the controller.
Cari
#8
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,131
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[QUOTE=KenmoreGal2;7260523]I saw a kenmore 158 at the curb this week so I brought it home. The handwheel would not turn much. So I did as I've read to do on this board so many times.[/QUOT
Is that a model 1316, 5 built-in stitches, 1 amp., all metal machine that you have resuscitated? I hope the new owner will appreciate what they are getting. These are perfect for passing on to someone who really wants to sew. Good for you!
Is that a model 1316, 5 built-in stitches, 1 amp., all metal machine that you have resuscitated? I hope the new owner will appreciate what they are getting. These are perfect for passing on to someone who really wants to sew. Good for you!
#10
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,506
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It feels good to win one. My first rescue was a curbside 401G - it was covered in garbage - doggiedoodoo, grass, etc. The table was trashed. That ugly machine was not turning and the stitch selectors were frozen & motor growled, wires missing. tension buggared. I worked and worked on it. I think I used WD40, Liquid Wrench and 3in1 oil. It was a disaster. The 3in1 oil set up like concrete and I had to redo all that. The LW wasn't so cool on the finish and I think leaves a residue. The WD40 did nothing to help the situation and gassed me.. After that I went over it with Kerosene - it was slow go with that. I think I finally got it moving except for the cam stack. I kept oiling it and it would move one day but not the next. I think it took me about a year to get it right. I intimately knew that machine after a while thanks to a repair manual. I think when I discovered Tri-Flow was when I got that stitch selector correct finally. I acquired other machines like it and learned quite a bit along the way. I doubt if I would have tackled that 401G if I hadn't done other repairs on 'working' machines. I'm thinking you might need a challenge next. Keep picking the trash!!!
Last edited by miriam; 07-19-2015 at 02:22 AM.
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