I bought a White Family Rotary sewing machine made in 1909. While cleaning it up, I unscrewed part of the tension assembly on the face plate not knowing that these can be very difficult to get back together. I need help!
Sewing Machines - White Sewing
Answers & Comments
Hello,
please do you still have the manual for this machine ?if the answer is YES then you will have to get back to me the serial number of your machine i mean the model number and the name of the machine ,
But if you can not fine the manual again then you will have to take the machine down to the producer or their store to give you an helping hand
i will be waiting for your reply thank you and thanks for using fixay.
The machine is called the White Family Rotary USA. The serial number is FR 305590. As I said in an earlier message, it was made on April 26, 1909. After I bought the machine at the antique store, I found a website called treadleon.net where I read about cleaning the old machines before I started doing anything. Unfortunately, the warning not to mess with any of the tension assembly was not in that part. There is a post on the site in the "sewing machine workroom" about taking the face plate off of the White machines. He tells about how the tension assembly has eleven different parts and that they need to be assembled in a certain order and apparently the tension has to be calibrated somehow. Part of the assembly is on the outside of the machine and part is inside the face plate. The problem is that he doesn't give the order or mention the procedure for recalibrating the tension, so here I am. I e-mailed him and he no longer has any White machines. He sent me a scan of a few pages from an old manual that he had that talks about the parts and the tension assembly, but again, it does not give the order to reassemble or mention how to recalibrate. I hope this helps. I have looked all over the internet trying to find a repair man's service manual that contains this information, but have not had any luck.
Hi,
Set up your sewing machine on a table with good lighting available. Plug in the electrical cord. Insert a new needle into the shaft on the needle bar and tighten the thumb screw to secure the needle. The needle bar is the area on the shaft where the assembly for the needle thumb screw is located.
Step 2 Thread your sewing machine according to the manufacturer's directions. This requires slipping the thread through various retaining and tensioning loops to allow for the proper drag while sewing. There is usually one loop at the top to go through first, then a second above the thread tension knob. Bring the thread into the tension knob area and pick up the loop of the tension wire. Bring the thread back to the next upper thread loop and then down to the needle bar where you thread the needle.
Step 3 Wind a bobbin with the thread that you intend to use. You may have to partially unthread your machine to do this. Make sure there is tension on the thread while you are winding it so that the thread winds properly. Insert the bobbin in the bobbin case and place it in the shuttle race then draw up the thread with the needle thread to prepare to sew. The shuttle race is located in the lower body of the machine under where the needle enters the throat plate.
Step 4 Cut a scrap of fabric from the fabric you intend to use for this project, at least 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Double the thickness of your scrap by folding it in half lengthwise. Insert your scrap under the sewing foot and lower the foot into position. Sew a seam approximately 6 inches long then remove the scrap to check the stitches. If the stitches are loose on the bottom, adjust the tension knob to a higher number for more tension. This is done by turning the knob so that the indicator mark moves to a higher number. If the threads are loose on the top you will need to make the opposite maneuver.
Step 5 Sew more seams on your scrap, stopping to check your thread tension for your stitches until you have stitches on top and on bottom with no discernible looseness.
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I'm afraid you don't understand my problem. Once I unscrewed part of the tension assembly on the outside of the machine it has became necessary for me to completely remove the face plate to fix it. There are 11 parts to the White Family Rotary tension assembly. They have to be assembled in a certain order and recalibrated. I am afraid to do anything else without complete step by step instructions so I won't mess it up even more.