Little help, please

I have a 1957 Singer 111W155 walking foot machine with cabinet and
everything but the light.

First question, where can I get a light? Or will I just have to put one
together from pieces and parts from another machine. It would be nice to
have the original.

I downloaded the manual, and after several trials and errors, got it all
threaded and sewing. Now, it breaks the thread on the first stitch. I've
retraced the threading, and looked for all the obvious, and come up with
nothing.

When I spin it first, and get the bobbin thread up through the hole, I put
the bobbin thread under the cloth to be sewn, and the needle thread on top.
I've gone slow, even to the point of making the first stitch by hand turning
the wheel. Then as soon as I hit the gas, the thread pops.

Trial sewing on Sunbrella with needle # and thread # suggested in downloaded
manual.

Ideas appreciated. I'm trying to find someone local who knows these things
and who will make a house call, as the thing weighs as much as some
motorcycles I've owned.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

"SteveB" toquervilla@zionvistas wrote in message
...
I have a 1957 Singer 111W155 walking foot machine with cabinet and
everything but the light.

First question, where can I get a light? Or will I just have to put one
together from pieces and parts from another machine. It would be nice to
have the original.

I downloaded the manual, and after several trials and errors, got it all
threaded and sewing. Now, it breaks the thread on the first stitch. I've
retraced the threading, and looked for all the obvious, and come up with
nothing.

When I spin it first, and get the bobbin thread up through the hole, I put
the bobbin thread under the cloth to be sewn, and the needle thread on
top. I've gone slow, even to the point of making the first stitch by hand
turning the wheel. Then as soon as I hit the gas, the thread pops.

Trial sewing on Sunbrella with needle # and thread # suggested in
downloaded manual.

Ideas appreciated. I'm trying to find someone local who knows these
things and who will make a house call, as the thing weighs as much as some
motorcycles I've owned.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

Dug out my downloaded book, and was able to make a couple of adjustments
deep in the machine that SEEM to have it humming now. It was a long couple
of hours, and I'm ready to rest. But I did get it sewing straight, not
breaking the thread, and only two threads coming out when I finished a row.
Hope to get this running soon and start on the awnings and shade cloths for
the garden.

Steve

Dear Steve,

There are two types of lights for machines. Is there an old one still
in the machine? One pushes and twists in; the other screws in like a
regular lightbulb.

As for the broken thread. Are you certain you have the correct
bobbins for that machine? Sometimes two bobbins may look alike, but
really aren't. I had Berninas and Vikings in my studio, and the
students kept trying to use the metal bobbins from the Berninas in the
Vikings, with the same result you're getting. Look in your manual
where it talks about bobbins, and make certain that you're using the
right one. If you are and still have problems, try turning the bobbin
over so the thread feeds opposite from the way it's feeding now. If
that doesn't work, you probably need help from an expert.

Teri

SteveB wrote:
I have a 1957 Singer 111W155 walking foot machine with cabinet and
everything but the light.

First question, where can I get a light? Or will I just have to put one
together from pieces and parts from another machine. It would be nice to
have the original.


Steve, is there an opening in the back of the head? Perhaps covered
with a removable plate? If so, you can get an old light that was
produced and usually added to machines when motors were put on to
replace the treadle. Check with Cindy Peters at
http://stores.ebay.com/Stitches-in-Time or Guy Baker at
. Both have parts for old machines,
particularly Singer, but others as well.

I know I've got a couple of them around here somewhere, but you would
not want to wait until I found them. LOL!!!
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

SteveB wrote:
"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
snip
Pogonip? golfer? photog?

http://www.answers.com/topic/pogonip

"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:
I have a 1957 Singer 111W155 walking foot machine with cabinet and
everything but the light.

First question, where can I get a light? Or will I just have to put one
together from pieces and parts from another machine. It would be nice to
have the original.


Steve, is there an opening in the back of the head? Perhaps covered with
a removable plate? If so, you can get an old light that was produced and
usually added to machines when motors were put on to replace the treadle.
Check with Cindy Peters at http://stores.ebay.com/Stitches-in-Time or Guy
Baker at . Both have parts for old
machines, particularly Singer, but others as well.

I know I've got a couple of them around here somewhere, but you would not
want to wait until I found them. LOL!!!
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

Thank you so much. I have copied the url's to my sewing folder. My light
has the articulated arms that end in a round ball, so I believe the light I
am seeking is one that would clamp onto that ball. I will look at those
sites and inquire.


As a PS, the other night, I got out my downloaded manual for the machine,
and made a couple of adjustments to the main mechanism, and so far, it is
sewing much better. I'm going to read more, and study things more, and
perhaps try two more adjustments in the manual. The two things I did adjust
were major to the operation of the machinery, and were way out of whack.
With the help of the directions, I was able to puzzle out this, and make the
necessary adjustments. Simple, really. But I do have a mechanical aptitude
luckily.

Pogonip? golfer? photog?

Steve

BEI Design wrote:
SteveB wrote:
"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
snip
Pogonip? golfer? photog?

http://www.answers.com/topic/pogonip



Aha! You had looked it up! The pogonip comes in the early, early
morning, before sunrise (or at night, when it's dark), and when we're
lucky, the morning sun burns off the fog, but the low temperatures leave
the ice crystals on everything - each twig, each slightest bit of
matter. So we have a crystal world that glints blindingly in the
brilliant sunlight. It's breathtakingly beautiful - also breathtakingly
cold - and it does take your breath.
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

Pogonip wrote:
BEI Design wrote:
SteveB wrote:
"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
snip
Pogonip? golfer? photog?

http://www.answers.com/topic/pogonip



Aha! You had looked it up!

Naahh, I sorta remembered from when I asked you that
question some time back.

The pogonip comes in the
early, early morning, before sunrise (or at night, when
it's dark), and when we're lucky, the morning sun burns
off the fog, but the low temperatures leave the ice
crystals on everything - each twig, each slightest bit of
matter. So we have a crystal world that glints
blindingly in the brilliant sunlight. It's
breathtakingly beautiful - also breathtakingly cold - and
it does take your breath. --

Sounds very like a description of *you*, judging by that
(40-year-old?) picture you shared a while ago. ;-

Beverly

BEI Design wrote:
Pogonip wrote:
BEI Design wrote:
SteveB wrote:
"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
snip
Pogonip? golfer? photog?
http://www.answers.com/topic/pogonip


Aha! You had looked it up!

Naahh, I sorta remembered from when I asked you that
question some time back.

The pogonip comes in the
early, early morning, before sunrise (or at night, when
it's dark), and when we're lucky, the morning sun burns
off the fog, but the low temperatures leave the ice
crystals on everything - each twig, each slightest bit of
matter. So we have a crystal world that glints
blindingly in the brilliant sunlight. It's
breathtakingly beautiful - also breathtakingly cold - and
it does take your breath. --

Sounds very like a description of *you*, judging by that
(40-year-old?) picture you shared a while ago. ;-

Beverly


:^0

--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

"SteveB" toquerville@zionvistas wrote in message
...

"Pogonip" wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:
I have a 1957 Singer 111W155 walking foot machine with cabinet and
everything but the light.

First question, where can I get a light? Or will I just have to put one
together from pieces and parts from another machine. It would be nice
to have the original.


Steve, is there an opening in the back of the head? Perhaps covered with
a removable plate? If so, you can get an old light that was produced and
usually added to machines when motors were put on to replace the treadle.
Check with Cindy Peters at http://stores.ebay.com/Stitches-in-Time or Guy
Baker at . Both have parts for old
machines, particularly Singer, but others as well.

I know I've got a couple of them around here somewhere, but you would not
want to wait until I found them. LOL!!!
--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.com
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/

Thank you so much. I have copied the url's to my sewing folder. My light
has the articulated arms that end in a round ball, so I believe the light
I am seeking is one that would clamp onto that ball. I will look at those
sites and inquire.


As a PS, the other night, I got out my downloaded manual for the machine,
and made a couple of adjustments to the main mechanism, and so far, it is
sewing much better. I'm going to read more, and study things more, and
perhaps try two more adjustments in the manual. The two things I did
adjust were major to the operation of the machinery, and were way out of
whack. With the help of the directions, I was able to puzzle out this, and
make the necessary adjustments. Simple, really. But I do have a
mechanical aptitude luckily.

Pogonip? golfer? photog?

Steve

The lights are table mount, you can get them in gooseneck now. I would
suggest a simple clamp on light you can get most anywhere cheap. The clamp
to the table.

--
Ron Anderson A1 Sewing Machine
18 Dingman Rd Sand Lake, NY 12153
http://www.a1sewingmachine.com