Help please.... My Singer 27K (old) has indigestion

AmazeR wrote:
Oh, dear, isn't a Bernette a cheapie sold by Bernina?

Yeah, but my DD is 9 and I thought that it would be a good machine for her
to flog.. I have a Bernina 1030 and a Globelock M-34 and I wasn't about
to spend a fortune on a machine for her.. My mother bought me a similar
machine to learn on but it was a Singer (very basic machine - which I gave
back to her when I bought my Bernina) It gave me no end of problems! But
I learnt how to sew!

I would think that a machine that gave "no end of problems" would be
terribly discouraging to someone who is trying to learn how to sew.

If you look around, there is no end to the number of older, simple
straight-stitch and even some older (40s and 50s vintage) zigzag
machines you can find through the newspaper classifieds and thrift shops
that have been maintained in perfect condition and are under $50. I
bought some for $5 or $10 that the only thing wrong with them is that
they needed a new belt because the existing one had succumbed to old
age. The machines themselves are dream machines. I could still be
rescuing more if I had room for them.

After handing down my old reliable Kenmore to my daughter, when my son
was ready to learn to sew, I went looking for a machine for him and --
note that this was before I learned better -- bought a low-end but not
lowest-end White machine for him. That was a $250 colossal mistake.
The thing would never hold its tension for more than a few weeks after
it came back from reservicing and reservicing ad nauseam. Finally I
wisened up and dumped it and found my son an older I think 50s vintage
Elgin machine that had decorative stitch cams, and it has been a great
machine for him. My youngest, now 12, has been the proud posessor of an
older Kenmore machine with 16 stitches since he was 9 or 10. Both of
these machines cost me between $20 and $50 and have been well worth it.
They will take the abuse of a new sewist and come back for more! Some
of the newer cheapie machines have to be handled like royalty.

--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

I started my 8 yo dd out on my lil FW...loves it...

The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized
LC in Sunny So Cal
Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

Help please.... My Singer 27K (old) has indigestion

(AmazeR)

Well, thank you for all your help.. My daughters machine works fine now.
We changed the needle, cleaned out the upper tension area and adjusted
the tension to the fabric and it goes perfectly.
Thank you very much
BTW, the machine is a Bernette 330. We have noticed that the upper
tension is very sensitive to fabric weight. At present for denim fabric,
we have the upper tension set at 6.8 (which I consider to be quite
high), but there you are..
Mavis
---
Those darned Bernettes can be a trial and a tribulation. They're
related to Bernina only because they have 'Bern' in the name, you know.
Other than that, they bear no relation to the vaulted Bernina name and
quality.
I've got a 330, too, and it worked great for about 6 years or so,
with power to punch through jean hems--no small feat. The whole time I
used it, though, the feet drove me nuts-they are out-sized: big, clunky,
with excessive side-to-side play, and they get in the way of seeing your
work. The necessity of seeing exactly where you are stitching is crucial
when you do alterations. Many times, you are working in small, tight
places on garments. I've been told that smaller feet are not available.
Eventually, the foot shank sheared off, and the Bernette now awaits a
new shank. Like you, Mavis, I am having to crank the tension up to the
6/7 range to keep a decent stitch. (But don't forget to adjust the
pressure screw for very lightweight and heavyweight fabrics--tension
adjustments alone won't do it.)
Mind you, I have used my old (60's--70's) SIngers for 20 years before
they began to show signs of wear. A casual user would get a lifetime's
use from one of these older machines.
Cea

snip

Eventually, the foot shank sheared off, and the Bernette now awaits a
new shank. Like you, Mavis, I am having to crank the tension up to the
6/7 range to keep a decent stitch. (But don't forget to adjust the
pressure screw for very lightweight and heavyweight fabrics--tension
adjustments alone won't do it.)
Mind you, I have used my old (60's--70's) SIngers for 20 years before
they began to show signs of wear. A casual user would get a lifetime's
use from one of these older machines.
Cea

Thanks for the reminder about this Cea.. I'll show my DD.

This is not my machine but my daughters.. See another post..

Thank you everyone for your help on this topic though. Seriously, it
doesn't matter what machine one has.. if we are having troubles with it
and experience some help through the ng then I for one am most
appreciative..

Mavis

I would think that a machine that gave "no end of problems" would be
terribly discouraging to someone who is trying to learn how to sew.

If you look around, there is no end to the number of older, simple
straight-stitch and even some older (40s and 50s vintage) zigzag
machines you can find through the newspaper classifieds and thrift shops
that have been maintained in perfect condition and are under $50. I
bought some for $5 or $10 that the only thing wrong with them is that
they needed a new belt because the existing one had succumbed to old
age. The machines themselves are dream machines. I could still be
rescuing more if I had room for them.

After handing down my old reliable Kenmore to my daughter, when my son
was ready to learn to sew, I went looking for a machine for him and --
note that this was before I learned better -- bought a low-end but not
lowest-end White machine for him. That was a $250 colossal mistake.
The thing would never hold its tension for more than a few weeks after
it came back from reservicing and reservicing ad nauseam. Finally I
wisened up and dumped it and found my son an older I think 50s vintage
Elgin machine that had decorative stitch cams, and it has been a great
machine for him. My youngest, now 12, has been the proud posessor of an
older Kenmore machine with 16 stitches since he was 9 or 10. Both of
these machines cost me between $20 and $50 and have been well worth it.
They will take the abuse of a new sewist and come back for more! Some
of the newer cheapie machines have to be handled like royalty.


Thank you for all your recommendations on this.. Unfortunately, I have
already purchased the machine (now that the looping thread problem is
sorted - it goes well)..

I don't live in a metropolis but a small town and the machines you are
talking about don't seem to be on sale here.. The Singer my mother gave
me did me fine even with all its quirks.. I think the Bernette will work
out just fine for my dd and already she loves it.. If it becomes too much
hassle down the track, I'll suggest we trade it for something else..
Might even have to take a trip to the metropolis'...

Mavis

I must try them, because all my previous experience with
Janomes has been horrible!

Well, I only sew for me, and I have never had an electronic or computerized
machine (I like workhorse appliances in everything) and my current machine is a
strictly mechanical New Home/Janome model 23L which I bought about five years
ago when it was their TOL mechanical. I got this one because, at the time I
was looking, the Home Show was on, and all the dealers but this one were
demonstrating their all-singing, all-dancing $5K, $6K, $7K machines, and I
wasn't interested in spending that kind of money. This one sewing/vac guy was
also demonstrating some lower priced machines, and I liked the look of this
one. It was also less than $1K. I tried it out, played a while, showed it to
DH (yes, he was with me) and when I said I liked it he pulled out the plastic
so fast it blurred!!!! I also got a 20 year guarantee on it.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

When you set up your tension, test on medium weight cloth with a #12 or 14
needle. If you then sew something that requires you to increase tension
much, change to a larger needle. The same for lightweights. If you have to
loosen your tension very much to get a good stitch, change your needle to a
smaller size. I sew everything from spinnaker cloth (stack three pieces of
this and it is the same thickness as a piece of paper) to heavy denim on my
401 and never change the tension more than 1/2 graduation either way, just
change needle sizes.

wrote in message
...
We have noticed that the upper
tension is very sensitive to fabric weight. At present for denim fabric,
we have the upper tension set at 6.8 (which I consider to be quite
high), but there you are..
Mavis

AmazeR wrote:

I don't live in a metropolis but a small town and the machines you are
talking about don't seem to be on sale here.. The Singer my mother gave
me did me fine even with all its quirks.. I think the Bernette will work
out just fine for my dd and already she loves it.. If it becomes too much
hassle down the track, I'll suggest we trade it for something else..

If your machine "did you fine," as you say, then it was a decent
machine. The White machine I got my son was absolutely nothing but
trouble after the first few seams.

--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

Kate Dicey wrote:

For serious professional sewing I use the Lily. Brilliant machine -
love it! But I will NEVER get rid of the old treadles! And I have a
Featherweight waiting for me... I hope!

You *DO*????? How exciting!!!!!! Or are you speaking figuratively?

--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

If your machine "did you fine," as you say, then it was a decent
machine. The White machine I got my son was absolutely nothing but
trouble after the first few seams.

Oh, don't get me wrong.. I had such glee when it left the house!!!

And I just LOVE my Bernina.. It eats the Singer I had hands down!

The Singer was a HUGE PITA, I can tell you! I almost swung it by the cord
several times.. Only thing stopping me was it was really my Mothers..
although she has a VERY old Singer plus another machine (which I can't
remember what it is for the life of me!) Must ask her if the old Singer
still goes..

Mavis (who dd shopping today for FABRIC and PATTERNS!!) She had a ball..
gonna be like her momma ;-))