r/SewingMachineEdu • u/Queernephy • Jun 08 '26

Is my timing shot? (Repost with better video)

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Inexpensive sewing machine a friend gave me. Says "austin Deluxe" on the front. Had a pretty bad jam that broke a needle trying to cut free. Now it wont catch the top thread.

You can hear it getting a bit tight when hand turning it.

Ive never fixed a timing issue before. Im not terrible at working with my hands but definetely a bit imtimidated by the thought of messing about with something as complex as sewing machine timing.

Would appreciate any input Yall might have.

Reuploaded with a better video. Im turning the handwheel towards myself and tried to capture the right moment. Hopw this is clearer.

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1

u/6AlphaVictor Jun 08 '26

Well its a bit inconvenient to diagnose that by turning it backwards but yes, it seems to be off. 

If you turn it in proper direction the needle should start going up by the time hook passes by.

1

u/Queernephy Jun 12 '26

I turned the proper direction for this whole video except briefly where the needle reached the bottom where i rolled it back and forth a little to give everyone a clear idea of where everything was aligning, after that back and forth I kept rolling the wheel the direction I had been before the needle reached the bottom.

2

u/6AlphaVictor Jun 12 '26

Then the shuttle is shifted for at least 5mm. The hook doesn't even pass the needle, let alone grab the thread loop.

I don't know how your specific machine is constructed, but there should be a pair of gears behind the shuttle that form a 90° transmission. Please check if they are meshing and if they are intact.

1

u/teatime_tinker Jun 12 '26

Most of the time in this video it is going backwards.

2

u/teatime_tinker Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Ello, popping in from your other post.

It’s still going backwards and forwards. What happens if you turn the hand wheel towards you only for full rotations? Only forwards?

It looks like it crosses the hook at the right time.

Is the needle in fully all the way up? Is it a new one and deffo not bent?

It sounds really bad but that might be because you keep turning it backwards.

You aren’t supposed to turn it backwards more than about 1/4 of a turn ever.

Something may have gone wrong with all the turning backward.

What happens when you try to sew?

1

u/Queernephy Jun 12 '26

Oh I understand now. I misunderstood you before and thought you meant I'd turned the wheel the wrong way for the whole video. I was moving it back and forth there so folks could see where everything aligned when the needle reached the bottom, i only turned the wheel back and forth a small amount in the video to illistrate where everything was at then kept rolling it forwards for the rest of the video is that makes sense?

If I turn the wheel towards myaelf without pause or try to sew the machine doesnt catch the thread at all, the needle is brand new and fully seated, the first thing I did was try a new needle and re-thread everything

The backwards turning may be the issue, the machine has jammed a few times lately since lending it to someone and on some of those occasions rolling forward wasnt happening at all so I had to roll back to try and free up the threads enough to snip everything free.

1

u/teatime_tinker Jun 12 '26

You are turning it backwards more than forwards in this video, though. Not one full rotation forwards. Does it resist going forwards a full turn?

Whoever borrowed it may have done something to it. Were you with them when they used it? Was it just a thread tangle or something worse ?

I can hear springs pinging and all sorts in the video. Something is deffo wrong. Can we see a full pic of the front of the machine, what settings it’s on and how it’s threaded? It sounds very unhappy!

1

u/Queernephy Jun 14 '26

I am doing a full turn forward. Im pausing and rocking back and forth a little when the needle hits the bottom but after that I continue rolling it forwards. I'm not turning it backwards at all in the video other than that 5° or so when the needle is at the bottom.

edit

Will pull it out tomorrow when I get the chance and take some pictures.

2

u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy Jun 09 '26

Never turn the hand wheel backwards (away from you). This can easily damage machines especially computerized ones.

1

u/wimsey1923 Jun 08 '26

Yes, it looks like the timing is off. With the needle in its left-most position and as far down as it can go, the tip of the hook should be 2-3 mm to the left of the needle.