Technical Difficulties

I was having a productive day. Avoided going out in the cold and took a 13 mile stationary bike ride. Showered and took my second cup of coffee in to the Quiltorium. 

Late morning and the light from the winter sun was low in the southern sky, casting long shadows on my happy place. It was a perfect day for sewing!



I got to work on Clue 6. My first batch of ten was pretty accurate. Two of them didn't need more than a dog ear trim.


I am using corals, oranges, pinks--all the colors of a great sunrise/sunset. I hope that works!

Got 50 sewn pressed and trimmed, then cut another fifty coral triangles and got to work on the second batch.  After refilling a bobbin on my 301, it seized. Could hardly get the needle up so that I could remove the sole plate and start looking for the problem.  Motor seemed fine with clutch disengaged, but when the clutch was back in, it was as stiff as could be.

I took everything apart and re-oiled it. Went underneath and re-lubed the gears and oiled all the undercarriage points. Now it sews again, but there is still a more metallic sound to it, so I put it in the case and will figure out where to get it serviced.  I am bringing the 221 back online. She runs, but also needs the full undercarriage lube before I proceed any further. Tomorrow is another day. Another cold day. A perfect day for sewing some more.

Now I'm off to watch the 3rd inklingo live video on Facebook.

Comments

  1. Oh, no! I hope it turns out to be something simple. Will you take it in for repair? That's always a challenge for me, since I'm not in one place very long...

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  2. Thanks Louise. I had time to give my 221 some extra TLC and that one sounds better. I haven't yet touched the 301 again, because I have been trying to keep up with the clues for On Ringo Lake. That has been a marathon. I have been doing more reading and youtube watching about the 301 and I need to give it a little more TLC than I had been up until now. I have some new gear grease due to be delivered tomorrow, and will clean the old gunk out of the gears and regrease them, make sure I clean and hit all the oiling points again, and see if that makes it sound less metallic. I try to stay very aware of changes in sound on all my machines, and most often clean the bobbin area and under the sole plate every time I change the bobbin. I would like to avoid taking it in for a tune up if I can, because my serger also needs a professional cleanup, and that's a costly machine to take in.

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  3. Oh no! It sucks to be slowed down with machine problems. The 301 should be totally fixable by yourself. It’s probably a thread inside the bobbin area, behind what you normally remove for cleaning. I can send you some documents that should be able to help you fix it. Email me - daffy-cat AT hotmail DOT com

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