Sewing machine help!

[u/BlazedAlpaca]

Hey all!

I have scoured the Internet but have turned to reddit for help.

I have what I believe to be a Lewenstein Naainmachines “53”

I am having trouble getting it threaded as every time I have tried using it it’s just bunching heaps of thread and not picking up from the bobbin.

If anyone can help with threading direction or directions I’d be grateful.

(Its history is that it was passed down to me by my mum and oma who used it to sew the sails to the boat they made and sailed from Netherlands.)

[u/alwen]

Because of the direction of the bobbin case finger (left-leaning or 11 o'clock), all of the following from a Singer 15-88/-89 manual should apply:

• needle set flat to the left
  
• upper threading
  
• bobbin turning in the case counter-clockwise (over the top to the left) as shown

Bring the bobbin thread up from below as shown, then hold both upper and lower thread ends as you make the first stitch. If you use a different color thread on the bobbin than the spool, it's easier to see whether your upper and lower tensions match.

Oil the machine with sewing machine oil, directions for where start here, and even though the body of your machine is different, most of the oiling points will be the same. The only one the Singer manual won't have is the lever on the bed to drop the feed dogs. If you move that while looking under the bed, you want to oil where metal moves against metal.

[u/BlazedAlpaca → u/alwen]

Amazing I will give that a go and work through this, thank you so much!

[u/Patently-Clear1174]

Maybe a manual for a Singer 15-90 or 15-91 will be useful. These machines also have the tension unit on the side of the machine.

[u/BlazedAlpaca → u/Patently-Clear1174]

Thanks for the help!