A sewing machine lesson. Bernina 910
11-03-2023, 12:10 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2021
Location: Yellow Springs, Ohio
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A sewing machine lesson. Bernina 910
I learned a lesson on this machine that I thought I should pass on. A friend brought it to me saying she had been given it by a local university that was going to throw it away. It’s newer than I usually like to deal with, but since she said it was her ‘favorite machine’ (because of the brand name?) I thought I would give it a try.
Wouldn’t turn. I took the top off, and looked inside. Slight movement but no more than that. That little voice in my head kept saying it had to be something simple. I downloaded the service and owners manual, and looked for simple, overlooked things.
I looked on line, and there was a lot of info about an auto park feature that stops the machine with the needle in the up position. I looked into this, taking the rear and front covers off. Nothing seemed right. Try this test, and if it doesn’t, replace the circuit board. Screws are missing, someone has been in here before. The bobbin case is missing. The hand wheel turned freely without the machine and when I took the hand wheel off, it was broken internally, and there was pieces of busted plastic and a broken off shoulder bolt in there. This screw had broken off of the internal gear, leaving a little piece in the hole. Tricky to get out. I priced the hand wheel at $37. I watched a video about setting up the auto park feature, and noticed that the hand wheel on theirs was also cracked in the same place as mine. I began to wonder if it was worth it.
I decided to go ahead and try to find out why it won’t turn. I took a close look at the bobbin carrier, and found that I couldn’t remove the shuttle hook. I had to use a screw driver to pry it loose. It was really stuck in there with old fuzz mixed in oil. I cleaned it out, and sure enough the machine turned!
So there was hope! I took the gear under the hand wheel that had the broken off screw in it off, and poked at it with a pick, like a big needle, and got it moving so I was able to unscrew it. Now that is luck!
I am not sure if the hand wheel got broken by people trying to get the machine to turn or because of the auto park feature. This feature will drop a lock into the gear behind the hand wheel at full speed if you take your foot off the foot pedal abruptly. And it requires a ‘magnet’ that doesn’t appear to be working, (replace the circuit board…), so I left those parts out and ordered the screw and a bobbin case. I’m not sure that auto park feature was a good idea… This makes it a $35 Bernina 910 that you have to park using the hand wheel. (I can use the broken hand wheel.)
The lesson I learned is that when your gut says it’s something simple or that should have been done and wasn’t, keep looking. And do routine maintenance! It would have been a waste if the only thing wrong with this machine that was headed for the trash was a lot of fuzz under the shuttle hook!
Wouldn’t turn. I took the top off, and looked inside. Slight movement but no more than that. That little voice in my head kept saying it had to be something simple. I downloaded the service and owners manual, and looked for simple, overlooked things.
I looked on line, and there was a lot of info about an auto park feature that stops the machine with the needle in the up position. I looked into this, taking the rear and front covers off. Nothing seemed right. Try this test, and if it doesn’t, replace the circuit board. Screws are missing, someone has been in here before. The bobbin case is missing. The hand wheel turned freely without the machine and when I took the hand wheel off, it was broken internally, and there was pieces of busted plastic and a broken off shoulder bolt in there. This screw had broken off of the internal gear, leaving a little piece in the hole. Tricky to get out. I priced the hand wheel at $37. I watched a video about setting up the auto park feature, and noticed that the hand wheel on theirs was also cracked in the same place as mine. I began to wonder if it was worth it.
I decided to go ahead and try to find out why it won’t turn. I took a close look at the bobbin carrier, and found that I couldn’t remove the shuttle hook. I had to use a screw driver to pry it loose. It was really stuck in there with old fuzz mixed in oil. I cleaned it out, and sure enough the machine turned!
So there was hope! I took the gear under the hand wheel that had the broken off screw in it off, and poked at it with a pick, like a big needle, and got it moving so I was able to unscrew it. Now that is luck!
I am not sure if the hand wheel got broken by people trying to get the machine to turn or because of the auto park feature. This feature will drop a lock into the gear behind the hand wheel at full speed if you take your foot off the foot pedal abruptly. And it requires a ‘magnet’ that doesn’t appear to be working, (replace the circuit board…), so I left those parts out and ordered the screw and a bobbin case. I’m not sure that auto park feature was a good idea… This makes it a $35 Bernina 910 that you have to park using the hand wheel. (I can use the broken hand wheel.)
The lesson I learned is that when your gut says it’s something simple or that should have been done and wasn’t, keep looking. And do routine maintenance! It would have been a waste if the only thing wrong with this machine that was headed for the trash was a lot of fuzz under the shuttle hook!
Good for your perseverance.
