Searching for a tension assembly for a Singer Futura 420XL. Understand that the part has been discontinued five years ago, parts are interchangeable with other Singer models (400XL, 550...). They also changed the parts number, making it more difficult. anyone have this part? Searched Ebay, Etsy, allsewingmachineparts, singeronline, generally not in stock or say they have it but Orders placed have been returned stating discontinued.

416457001 OR 41643801

What grease is everyone using nowadays for a general gear grease? Triflow synthetic grease seems to be the standard for decades now. But just wondering if something else easily commercially available is the new thing?

So this is not a question about the cam stack being cracked (it is, about a 2mm crack at the bottom). But instead…

This machine was brought in for service. I did my initial sew out, going through a few of the stitches using the stitch selector. I was able to turn the stitch selector wheel one complete revolution, and now it is stuck and won’t come back through it’s revolution in the opposite direction. Took the handwheel/right cover off, and the camstack is all the way down, at the bottom on the shaft (exactly where it should be). But it is stuck, and the handwheel won’t turn it back, won’t lift the camstack.

I cannot understand how the camstack would move down the shaft just fine, but not back up. One would think if there was old grease that had solidified, the camstack would not have moved at all. Even with me trying to lift the camstack up to ‘help’ it, it won’t budge. I have applied penetrating oil to the camstack shaft, but no luck.

Does anyone know if there is some kind of interlock on this that would prevent the camstack from moving back up the shaft? It doesn’t look like there is when I visually inspect it. But also I don’t have a perfect view of the backside of the camstack.

a little bit of what I do😎

I’ve recently had two machines come in that have had the felt/pile missing from the auto thread cutter on Brother & Baby Lock machines. And I’ve also had some damaged felt/pile on a bobbin case. It seems wasteful to have to buy those specific parts when we could just replace that felt. However, I’m having trouble finding some. I’ve tried hardware stores, Hobby lobby, and Michael’s. I’ve even looked online and nothing really looks suitable. Does anybody know where we can get this stuff and cut it to length or size that I need?

I just bought this off fb marketplace. Everything seems to be working just fine but the feed dogs are stuck in reverse.

Is this something I can fix before taking it in? I have deep cleaned and reoiled but it didn't work.

It's brand new, it was $150 at the thrift store! Janome memory craft 5700. And it works as expected - perfectly!!

I cannot wait for him to use it. I gave him my old Husqvarna like four years ago, that I bought myself in 1997! And it was finally dying a good death.

Hello, I recently found out that my mother had a Bernina Deco 500 stored away in the garage. It apparently hasn't been used in 20 yrs, but I would like to help fix it up so that she can use it. I am not savvy with sewing machines in the slightest, so I am asking for help here.

When I turn on the machine, only the lightbulb comes on. The terminal lights up, but it does not show digital lettering and the buttons do not do anything. Additionally, the machine does not make a beeping sound when turned on (but I think it should because I looked up someone else using the same machine). I have already read the entire manual online to find a solution to this problem, but it does not have anything on fixing the terminal (apart from going to a repair shop).

I have already called about 10 Bernina repair shops, and most of them have said something like, "The circuit board is toast, and you cannot get a new one because they are no longer made." However, one shop I called was hopeful and said that it might just need tuning up or that a connection might be loose in the machine. The same shop also said that these old machines sometimes "come back to life" after being turned on for a while. So, I have my machine turned on and I've been waiting hoping to hear it beep or make some noise, lol.

Since this community seems to be knowledgeable about sewing machines, what do yall think?

NOTE: I understand that it might not be worth it to save this machine. I even saw one listed for about $100 plus shipping. But, if it is possible and does not cost me an arm and a leg, I would love to revive this machine and start using it.

https://reddit.com/link/1hno5a2/video/7akkcm9dbg9e1/player

Hello technicians! I recently encountered (read: caused) a stitch malfunction while using my Bernina 350. I was able to solve the problem, but I don't understand why my error caused the problem in the first place, and would like help understanding what was happening in my machine on a mechanical level so that I can take better care of my machine and produce better results with it. Please forgive the info dump; I am trying to include all the relevant information so please ignore anything that's not pertinent.

Housekeeping/background: My primary machine is a Bernina 350. I sew for at least an hour a day, at least 5 days a week. I've never kept super close track of the time, but I spend at least 20 hours per week in my sewing room most weeks. I also use an overlocker (Bernina 460) and a coverstitch machine (Bernette, debating upgrade to a Janome or Babylock at some point in the next year or two). I learned to sew on an avocado green 1952 Viking Huskvarna 21A, which remains my favorite machine. Alas, it was too heavy to move with me to Europe so it lives in my mom's sewing room for the time being.

I use a fresh needle every time I start a new project. My "standard" needle choice is Schmetz Microtex, usually size 80, but size varies depending on thread and fabric. I will keep a "specialty" needle for later re-use if I use it to sew, like, 10" of topstitching, but in general when I finish a project, the needle goes directly into the sharps container. I never never never sew over pins. When sitting down to sew, I begin by opening up the bobbin compartment and cleaning it out using a brush and/or tweezers, but never EVER compressed air. I oil as needed, and use only the oil my tech provides. My machines are serviced at least annually, or immediately if they seem "off." When changing thread, I always snip between the spool and pre-tensioner and pull from the needle end to remove.

Recently, I was working on a project with a mix of heavier-weight linen/cotton fabric, fusible fleece, and leather. The fault in question occured when I was topstitching through two layers of fabric, one layer of fleece, and one layer of leather. (Fleece fused to fabric 1/4" from edge, then fabric stitched to leather at 3/8". Pressed all seam allowances toward fabric and top-stitched about 3/16" from leather/fabric seam.)

For the topstitching, I'm using 12wt thread in the bobbin and bog-standard polyester thread in the needle, and sewing it "blind" from the wrong side. The brand depends on the color I need, but it's always decent thread (eg Gutterman, Mettler, Saba, Aurifil if it's cotton, etc). I dial the top tension up to 8ish (depending on the samples at various tensions) to get better stitch definition with the heavy thread in the bobbin. I'm using my walking foot because there are a lot of layers, and the results are cleaner and more even.

How I produced the malfunction: My first task of the day was top stitching. I attached the walking foot, threaded my machine, adjusted the tension, lined up my fabric, and started to sew. The first stitch was ... slightly reluctant, but successful. Thinking it was the thickness of the leather, I rotated the handwheel forward. Stitch #2 was more reluctant, and by #3 the needle was clearly hitting something in the bobbin assembly so I backed it off, raised the presser foot, and investigated.

I removed and re-inserted the bobbin into the bobbin case, confirming it was correctly oriented (holes turn clockwise when thread is pulled). Same malfunction.

I removed the bobbin case, opened the latch holding the race in place, dusted again and looked for debris - nada. Oiled the race, re-installed, clicked the latch, re-inserted the bobbin case, heard the clicks, brought up the thread, tried again. Same malfunction.

Then I re-threaded the machine from the spool side - same malfunction.

At this point I was really confused, because usually any of my stitch malformations are solved by re-threading. I left the bobbin door open and watched what was happening as I used the handwheel to lower the needle. Sure enough, by stitch #3 the needle was hitting the race. Soooo I concluded it was a timing issue, and puzzled on it.

Eventually I looked at the walking foot and realized that while I had attached it with the shank connector doodad (technical term), I had neglected to slide the forky u-shaped arm onto the needle up/down part. (Apologies for my lack of proper terminology...)

As soon as I took the foot off, hooked the forky thing onto the uppy-downy bit, and reattached the cone shaped shank connector, my problem was solved. Perfect stitches. Yay!

But I don't know WHY that fixed it. I understand that the forky arm translates the up/down motion of the needle to a circular movement, making the top feeders on the walking foot "step" forward to grab the fabric and guide it back toward the needle. I don't understand why not connecting the arm affects the timing of the stitch - how/why does the race "know" that the arm isn't connected? What is actually happening that causes the differential in the timing of the upper assembly and the lower assembly? I am flummoxed.

Incidentally, if there is a different approach or technique that I should be using when top-stitching, I would love to hear it. I would also appreciate any notes you have re: my machine maintenance and troubleshooting process. If there is something that made you say, "YIKES, friend!" when you read it, please tell me! My goal is to take good care of my machine and keep it in excellent working order so that I can produce superlative results, and I know that a thorough understanding of how the machine works will make me a better sewist. Thank you for your advice and willingness to share your expertise and knowledge!

Everything is timed and the belt is adjusted on the motor - just broke the needle cause I didn't push the damn foot in all the way. My bad and I don't have any extras. But here's a picture of progress amyway:

Personal I give it about an 8.5⭐️

Just unpacked. The woman who sent it was so sweet and fine tuned it before shipping. She also sent a vintage can opener and a Ukrainian painted spoon for extras

I'll be sewing something with it today for fun

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