borletti bcd 1002 sewing machine

[darryl]

I've had this machine for years now, but never used it. Now I want to. I mostly have figured out how to 'string' it, and it actually sewed a couple of times, but things aren't right. The needle is touching one side of the hole in the foot as it goes downwards, but does seem to go pretty close to centered where it enters the hole in the 'deck'. The needle looks pretty close to straight, and both posts in the machine look straight. Obviously something is off slightly, so I'm going to blame the needle. I will attempt to bend it slightly so it clears the hole in the foot. As it is, it's also destroying the thread because it's pinching and wiping it against the side of the hole.

What are my chances of bending the needle without breaking it? That's my first fear, as I don't have a replacement needle and am not sure if I can get one. I don't know how generic they are, if at all.

I also am not sure about which way to thread the needle. There's a flat on one side of the needle just above the hole- should the thread come in from that side, or the other? Does it matter?

There's an adjustment on the top of the machine, not labeled, and when I turn it a pin in a slot on the side of the head goes up and down, maybe 1/2 inch in total. Anybody know what that might be for? I can't see any effect from turning it.

There is no threading schematic on the machine, but if I follow the thread through the guides and the variable friction thing, it looks right.

The only 'selection' you get to do on this basic machine is for the length of each stitch. That works. I think my basic problem is that the needle doesn't come down totally centered through the foot, and that may be critical.

I'm really just looking for some guidance here. The only sewing I've done has been by hand, usually with a pig-sticker of a needle and string instead of thread.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/heinrich/borletti_zps7e2ae76b.jpg

[darryl]

I had a good look at all that- it's clean, all the parts look good, nothing binding-

[Black Forest]

Are you sure the foot is not misaligned or bent? Post a picture of the machine and maybe one of us can tell you exactly how to thread the machine. Take a picture from the top looking down on it to show your tension rolls.

I doubt you will be able to bend a needle. What is the diameter of the needle you are using?

[darryl]

Ok, an update- the needle is a 90/14 for what that means. It came on the machine so I'd assume it's the right one, at least for typical thread. The foot assy doesn't look bent- nothing does. The adjustment knob I asked about is a foot pressure adjustment. That sort of popped into my head, and I confirmed that by adjusting and lifting on the foot. I figure threading is correct- the slots and guides are in just the right spots for the thread path, and it sews correctly before the thread breaks. It might make 3 inches, or it might make 1/2 inch- then the thread breaks.

I have a couple of clues- there is only one spot where tension is applied, a pair of spring loaded discs, and it's intermittent. It seems like the tension suddenly increases for no reason. It does have a tension release when you lift the foot, and that's working, but I think the thread is getting tight where it wraps around the shaft holding the discs- maybe there's a bit of a groove worn into it there, or the thread is not consistent. I'll look in the morning. Backing off the tension adjustment helps, BUT- the position of the foot is wrong. I think there needs to be a spacer placed to move the foot to the left.

You can see where the dogs come up to move the cloth forward, and they are not centered under the foot. Looking at this another way, the wear marks on the foot where the dogs touch it are offset to one side. I realize that the dogs should never touch the foot, only pinch the cloth between, but you can see where there's been metal on metal- off to one side. If I centered the foot over the dogs, the hole in the foot would coincide perfectly where the needle comes down. As it is, the needle drags the thread down one side of the gap, which abrades the thread, which then gets harder to get through the needle, which makes everything worse, then the thread breaks. I had the tension a little high to help compensate for this, so it just compounded the problem.

It probably didn't help that I was testing with some heavy duty denim. I can see that being hard on the thread that was on the machine. It looks pretty hairy, and it wouldn't take much for it to back up rather than go through the hole- then you have a blob of thread that won't go through anything and the remaining strands break.

This looks to be a rugged machine. All I need it to do is work properly, which I think I can achieve. I'll muck with it again tomorrow.

[The Artful Bodger]

Are you sure the foot belongs to the machine?

Also, re the thread through the needle. Look underneath and try to understand how it works, most machines I have messed with (about 3 in total!) operate by looping the loose thread around the bobbin carrier and if the thread is going through the needle the wrong way it will loop around the point of the needle.

[Black Forest]

Maybe you have the wrong foot on the machine. The thread should run along the grove in the needle down to the hole in the needle. It also depends on the orientation of the needle. If the scarf is facing the wrong way the thread will break. The scarf is the grove in the needle or the flat on the needle. On all machines that I have used the thread goes through the needle from left to right.

[bruto]

I'm not familiar with the particular machine, but have fussed with other sewing machines for a long time.

First of all, if it's at all possible to get a new needle or needles, I'd start there. Bending a needle is very difficult to do right, and it's often much more critical than you'd think.

As others have said, make sure the needle is right way around, so that the thread comes down through the groove, and out the non grooved side.

The machine looks pretty standard as far as basic configuration goes. I note that Borletti and New Home seem to have something in common, and most of those machines resemble older off-patent Singers in general operation and principle.

On most machines with standard bobbins, there is also a specific direction in which the bobbin unwinds. When the thread exists from the case, one direction will pull the thread straighter off the bobbin. This is the direction you do not want. It's a little hard to state clearly, but make sure that of the two bobbin orientations possible, you choose the one that produces the greatest angle of change when it unwinds. the machine will probably sew either way, but will be subtly worse, or inconsistent, if the bobbin unreels the wrong way around.

The thread tension is supposed to be intermittent, so that it can feed the thread, and then hold it against a matching tension in the bobbin case when it loops and the needle rises. It can seem pretty tight when you check it by hand. It's hard to know exactly whether it's right without sewing. A good sewing machine should be able to sew a stitch properly centered (i.e. with the loop not visible on either top or bottom) even on a piece of thick paper or a file card. I usual test machines with paper first, because you can clearly see the stitches. Remember that if the top tension seems good and is more or less centered, but the sewing is poor, you can change the bottom tension. The bottom tension is more sensitive to slight variations in the thread, though, which is why you use the easily accessed top for fine adjustment.

As for the foot, I'm still guessing the foot is wrong or something is bent, but if the centering of the hole in the foot is the only problem you're encountering, then one alternative might be simply to file out the hole in the foot so the needle clears it. After all, zig zag machines will straight stitch just fine with a wide hole in the foot. Depending on what resources are available in your area, it might not be a bad idea to find a shop somewhere that sells and services sewing machines. Take your model number with you, and they may have some reference that tells you what foot, bobbin style number, etc. your machine is supposed to take. Bobbins vary slightly in numerous ways, and again although the machine may sew in some degree with the wrong bobbin, it will not work its best. Many machines take parts that look identical but are not. I think (guessing here) that some early Singer patents expired long ago, and almost every machine there is became based on them, but they changed dimensions in subtle ways.

[KJ1I]

On all machines that I have used the thread goes through the needle from left to right.

On this side of the water, the thread in all my machines goes through the needle front to back. As to the needle, the 90/14 is only part of the equation. It specifies the size/diameter/whatever of the needle in European/American dimensions. Higher is heavier, thicker, intended for heavier, thicker fabrics. There is a second designator for needles that defines the length, head style, etc. such as 130/705H, 16/257, 135x17, DBxK5, and many, many others.

And as Black Forest said, the thread goes along the groove. And I also think you have a problem with the foot.

[KJ1I]

You might try contacting / joining

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/borlettivigorelli/info

to get info on the correct needle. The group moderator owns a BCD1002.

Once you get the correct needle designator, try

http://www.wawak.com/products/category.cfm/cid/1085/Needles/

I use them a lot for notions and supplies. Excellent prices and fast shipping (and very reasonable shipping cost - $4.89 < $100, free over $100)

[lynnl]

If the hook timing gets out of sync that can cause interference between hook and needle. But if you can plainly see the needle rubbing something else, that's probably not your issue.

[Bob Fisher]

Slide the plate off to be able to see the hook.operate the machine by hand and watch the thread where it enters the needle. As the needle begins to withdraw a loop should form and the hook can engage the loop. Needles are cheap and sized for the thread in use. Never saw one that didn't thread left to right, does'nt mean there are none.Bob.

[darryl]

Funny thing is, it will sew either way I thread the needle, but it doesn't go very far before it breaks the thread. From all appearances, it should be threaded from the left- that's where the groove in the needle is, and that looks like the right orientation for the needle, ie with its flat to the right. It looks like most of the problem is because the foot is too far to the right. That's a simple fix, so I'll space it over a tad and try again. It may not be the right foot, but the length and general orientation is right. And it may be the right part, but just missing a spring washer or something that would give it the proper position.

As far as the tension, I understand about centering the loop so it's not visible on either side of the cloth. I discovered that while I was messing with it. The bottom tension doesn't seem to be adjustable- at least where the thread exits the bobbin holder under a springy metal leaf, there's no means of adjusting that.

I'm pretty sure I've got a handle on it now, thanks for all the advice.

[KJ1I]

The bottom tension doesn't seem to be adjustable- at least where the thread exits the bobbin holder under a springy metal leaf, there's no means of adjusting that.

There should be a small screw attached to the "springy metal leaf". It is used to adjust the bobbin tension. Set it so that if you pull about 6" of thread out and let the bobbin hang, it doesn't unwind. If you give the thread a very gentle bounce, the bobbin should then slide down about 6". Then the top thread is adjusted based on the fabric/thread combination.

[jdunmyer]

ntermittent. It seems like the tension suddenly increases for no reason. It does have a tension release when you lift the foot, and that's working, but I think the thread is getting tight where it wraps around the shaft holding the discs- maybe there's a bit of a groove worn into it there, or the thread is not consistent.

Are you sure the thread is supposed to wrap around the shaft and not simply pass between the tension disks?

[darryl]

The way the guide slots are, there's only one way to pass the thread through the tension discs. I checked to see if there's any grooving on the shaft, and there isn't- a bit of polishing, that's it. I might look at how the spring is placed in there- it should be sort of self-centering. I'll also look at all the guide holes- there should be no sharp edges or grooves.

I'm about to change to a different thread, which is smoother and stronger, and which I'd be using in various projects. I'm not about to start making dresses and skirts, shirts, aprons- I'll be fixing pockets on my shop coat, and things like that. The color won't matter, and I have enough of this to last me. Once I get the machine set up for it, I should be good to go.

I have another roll of what I've been calling thread- it probably is, but it's heavier than the usual threads. I don't know if the machine can handle it, but I think that if I can thread it through the needle, it should be ok. If I can work with this stuff, I won't run out of thread until 2045