I can claim no credit for fixing the tension. Helen Howes provided me with a complete, new-to-me tension unit (the original was even more broken than I'd realised), and all I had to do was swap them over.
The bobbin winder was another matter, though. It worked but, oh my, it was grubby. I followed this video for taking it apart for cleaning. From my experience the crucial things are: 1) you cannot take too many 'before' photos to work from when reassembling it; 2) take it very slowly and carefully, so no pieces which are held in tension spring out and get lost; 3) label everything. I can't stress this last one enough.
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| The bobbin winder's 18 separate parts |
To my great joy and relief, when I came to put it all together again there were no missing pieces and no pieces left over. Along the way I learned about all sorts of new things such as worm wheels and eccentric screws.
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| Eccentric screw - the thread is offset from the centre |
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| Before and after cleaning |
Next. Remember the stopper on the hand crank mechanism?
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| This one |
The one which I thought was made entirely out of very old sticky tape?
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| I was wrong. It was worse than that. |
It was actually made of old sticky tape and old sticking plaster. Such old sticking plaster that it disintegrated as soon as I touched it. Urgh. It has now been replaced with a leather version, following Helen's instructions.
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| The new, and definitely improved, version |
Finally, I made a new spool felt. Modern sheet felt is far thinner than the Singer version, but fortunately I've kept all my hatmaking hood offcuts, and the leftovers from my lampshade hat were the perfect red.
So here is the end result. I have seen far more ambitious and compete restoration projects than this, but I'm very happy with mine. Maud will never look as though she has just rolled off the production line at Kilbowie (and sometime I will write a full post about Singer's Scottish factory), but I wouldn't want her to. She’s a 105-year-old working machine, and I prefer her appearance to reflect that.
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| All done |
I've learned so much from this project, and gained a lot of confidence about what new things I can actually do if I try. And most importantly, Maud now sews like a dream. Here’s to another 105 years!
Congratulations, enjoy sewing with her! (And here's to no left-over parts!)
ReplyDeleteThank you! And yes, it's always a relief when parts-put-together = parts-taken-apart!
DeleteFantastic! Helen Howes is a genius. I loved this post! Fabulously well done! I look forward to seeing what you make on Maud.
ReplyDeleteThank you for directing me to her website, Kate, she has so much knowledge. But yes, in a week where we had all that, "Girls don't do physics because it's too hard", tosh in the press, I've greatly enjoyed practising my mechanics skills!
DeletePhew! Good job, there. That's a pretty complex bobbin winder module. When they don't work well, it's so frustrating. I cleaned the tension assembly on my 1911 Singer 27 and found it fiddly at best, but was so proud when it worked. May Maud continue delightfully for you...they have such character that they become good buddies, even when sometimes you and they are at odds!
ReplyDeleteVery best from an occasional reader,
Natalie across the pond
Thank you Natalie. It's so satisfying to get these old machines working properly again, isn't it?
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