How to set the Stroke and Tension of the Check/Take-up Spring on a Singer Model 403A Sewing Machine
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TENSION UNIT VIDEO: • The Needle Thread Tens...
How to set the stroke and tension of the check spring take-up spring on Singer model 403A. These adjustments affect stitch quality. Tutorial with close pictures. Also, Singer models 301,401A, 404, 500A, 503A, and many vintage Singer sewing machines.
The check spring is part of the needle thread tension unit.
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High Andy. I think I'm addicted to your excellent postings. One question on a point I hope I haven't missed. I note that the section of thread from the spring is going vertically straight up to the eye in the tension arm thereby bypassing the large horizontal U shaped thread guide at the top of the thread tensioner backplate. My manual indicates that the aforementioned section of thread should be passing through the left hand (blind) end of the U shaped guide. When threaded up that way, the section of thread is not vertically straight when tensioned, but angles up to the U retainer and then goes up to the tensioning arm eye. The introduction of that angle changes (increases) the length of the arc travelled by the spring/thread union point. That being so, it seems that it would be quite important to have the tread trapped within the U retainer while adjusting the spring travel? Would appreciate your thoughts on this point.
First, thanks for watching my channel. Of course the manual is correct and the proper threading is inside the the upper thread guide ( the "U"). I've set the stroke and tension both ways and have not noticed a difference in performance of any kind, but if you have then you'd be correct to have the thread through the "U". It's my bad to do the video with the thread outside. I try to be very accurate when sharing info, but find there are so many things going on when making the video that I sometimes miss something, like the "U". I'll pin your comment to the top here so it's the first people see. If you'd care to make and post a video on your channel of the difference you feel it makes, please let me know and I can refer people to it for clarification.
Absolutely amazing. so many tiny things, coming together, such tight timing constraints, yet the machines are so forgiving. as a young man at the age of four, I was fascinated, and confused by my mother's machine,,,,, she made such nice stuff, yet I constantly heard : "this darn thing, ,, oh crap, NOW it's out of time ! the thread broke, , etc" (I think I asked about timing last week before buying the 301). thank you for this video, I got lucky, with my cleaning and assembly of the tensionater. I LOVE your 404, It is a gorgeous machine , , , ,now, this is where it started: coins, stamps, firearms, lawnmowers, cars, Sunbeam mixers, Japanese cutlery, and although I promised my Girlie, and my son that I would only buy ONE machine, now I'm hooked, I only need a 404, 201-1, and 201-2 (Iron, belt drive), a 404, a 201K aluminum belt drive, and a 29 K 51 leather cobbler patcher, and a 404, and some 15 - 91s, , , ,Oh, and a featherweight, and a 404, and one of each color 301s (Don't tell anyone, but I'm going to put a PA 5 - 8 motor in the 301 (0.7 Amps instead of the PA 2 - 8 (0.53 Amps), wish me luck on that. thanks again for your wonderful videos, and all of the knowledge which you share.
I stopped at 30 machines, so I get it, haha. So many machines but so little time (and space)
There's always room for one more . . . @@andytubesewing1953
I forgot , , , and chainsaws. @@andytubesewing1953
Thanks for that thorough explanation. Before viewing this video, I had not clearly understood how the check spring affected stitch formation. Your videos are giving me more confidence to tackle some long-standing problems in my heard of machines.
I appreciate the comment, Pat. Thanks for your interest in VSM. If I can help with your "wrangling" let me know, and good luck.
Brilliant! I was working on this exact thing today on my 503A. I missed a couple of checks you talk about here so I’ll go back tomorrow and look again. It’s sewing fine though so it just may be right! Thanks Andy.
Hard to argue with a fine sewing machine. That old saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Thanks for the nice comment.
While working on Stormy’s (500A) stroke and tension, I am so glad I rewatched this video and your other videos on setting the stroke. I must admit I did not understand stroke and tension until now. As I watched your videos again, the information gelled for me and I now understand what setting the stroke means and the relationship between the check spring and the stroke. Stormy is now calm and the top thread is no longer too tight and jostling the bobbin case all over the place. Your videos on stroke and tension are so valuable and always good for multiple viewings. So thank you immensely! Now I’m checking the stroke and tension on all my other machines.
I had no idea about the stroke & tension of the check spring until I came across it in the service manual one day. It explained some of the problems I was encountering on a few machines I had restored. I'm glad Stormy is in such good hands, Carole. I've always enjoyed your meaningful comments on my videos and am happy you still take the time to leave them. Take care.
Excellent video. Very useful information. Thank you 👏.
I appreciate your nice comment. Thank you. 🙏
Another very useful video. I was able to successfully adjust the tension of the take-up bar and set the stroke. My machine was much quieter when stitching and stitches were well balanced. Thanks yet again!
I love hearing this. Thanks for taking time to comment, and for watching my channel.
Andy, you've helped me so much!! This is a brilliant and invaluable video. Thank you SO MUCH.
It's only fair as you just made my evening with your nice comment. Welcome, and take care.
Great information Andy
Thank you! I appreciate you watching
I sure did learn a lot. Thanks Andy.
That's great! Thanks for watching my channel and taking the time to comment.
Thank you so much for this superbly detailed video. You've really helped me understand and tune the tensioning system on my husqvarna 19e.
No kidding? I just googled that machine. Impressive. I'm glad the video was helpful and thanks for taking time to comment.
Thank you thank you!!!! Exactly what I have been looking for!!! So helpful!! I have been looking everywhere for this I formation... it did not help I did not know what terminology to use to search but you answered all my problems :)
I'm glad you found this video then. I remember the first time I came across these directions and thought "What the heck is the stroke"?
Who knew? It did help get better, quieter stitches so I made this video. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Take Care.
Many thanks sir. Best wishes from Ukraine.
So nice of you! I'm happy you found my channel there. budʹte v bezpetsi i podbayte.
@@andytubesewing1953 Thanks again. You too.
Thanks!
I appreciate your generosity, Glenda, and thanks for watching my channel.
Someone pulled the thread take up wire straight on my new-to-me Kenmore. Is it possible to reshape it?
I've tried a couple times in the past but did not have much success. Reshaping was crude and sometime the shape would change overnight, like the spring wire has a memory and when it was forcefully bent then re-bent it wanted to go back to the bad shape. I think it's the time of "spring wire" that is used. I would just buy new take up springs for $2 to $5 for Singer brand, cheaper if buying in bulk. Singer used the same type spring on a few models at a time and I would buy 10 for each type. I do not know anything about Kenmore models other than they were made by several different companies over the years and then "badged" with the Kenmore name. The same with Montgomery Wards and JC Penney machines. If you know the model number of your Kenmore you should be able to search for a take up or check spring by brand and model and find them.
Thanks @andytube ! I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often on old sewing machines, people thinking the wire needs to be removed, children pulling it. I haven’t thrifted a lot of machines but some have been in bad shape yet that wire is fine.
Thanks for this.
Glad you found it. Thanks for the comment.
This is really great, thank you for making it. I'll be donating a bit, well earned! I fix industrial machines and am trying to understand a problem I have with most new machines I work on. With very light fabrics, there is bunching at every stitch. It's not the top or bobbin tension...if I lower the top thread tension it just gets loopy underneath. I thought the stroke might be the problem so I found your video.
Anyway, I'm really commenting because I have a question. The machine is made so the stop, in the default state, is in the center more or less, right? Around where it was when you began the video. Now, why would you need to adjust it at all? Is the needle bar height slightly different from default? Is it the type/width of thread? I understand why you'd adjust it for something thick, but you're using a normal thickness card there.
Thank you.
"The machine is made so the stop, in the default state, is in the center more or less, right?" Kind of, yes. It's not needle height b/c that would change timing. It left the factory adjusted so the spring came to rest on the stop as the eye of the needle entered fabric. No matter how good the manufacturing process, each sping tenses a little different. That's why they made the Slack Regulator t adjustable. Otherwise, they could have just made a stop molded onto the body. This spring variability also answers why you would ever need to adjust it. At some point in the life of the spring, it will lose some tension so being able to adjust the Slack Regulator and move the stop (set the Stroke) allows you to compensate for spring wear. I have taken springs others threw away, cleaned them, and put back on the machine, and adjusted the stroke and the stitching was a nice as with the brand new spring.
I know nothing about Industrial Machines, but a lot of things besides tension can cause "bunching" or "puckering". I do not sew at all, but when testing a machine after restoration if I have puckered stitches and it is NOT tension, I use a thinner needle and shorter stitch length to fix it. That usually works for me. You mentioned "very light fabrics" and for what I think of as VLFs I would use a number 9 needle with a 15-20 stitch length.
With any stitch, you want balanced tension so the thread lays flat. You changed the top tension and got under loops... you created an imbalance. You did not also change the bobbin tension though, but who wants to do that each time, right? If using a #9 needle and short stitches still leave a little bunch or pucker, I'll put paper under the fabric. Thin paper I can just tear off afterward. Tissue paper or even a cheap napkin single layer. Just something to help the stitching form properly.
I know there are other things that cause the problem also, just Google it and get 20 opinions, haha. The needle, the thread thickness, you're "helping the fabric along" and messing it up, no, you SHOULD do taught sewing; hold the fabric tight before and after the needle. Oh, brother, no wonder I don't sew.
BTW, when I have to use a thinner needle I use a corresponding thread size too, and always !!! use the same type/size thread on the bobbin and needle.
That made a lot of sense and I think is probably the reason my top thread jams. However, after taking it apart and putting it back together, it's still not working. The check spring seems to get stuck rather than springing back to rest when the tension assembly is fully assembled. Any ideas?
Without threading the tension unit does the spring move freely and normally? If not there may be a bent part or the springtail is not engaging. When this happens on a machine I will disassemble down to the tension stud/post and be sure the recess for the spring into the body is clean of lint and debris. Then I start to reassemble checking after each piece. So I put the spring in by itself and test it, then remove it and assemble the discs, guard, and spring and insert them and test the spring, then add the indicator dial and test, etc. I'm trying to isolate which/what part/parts are causing the hangup.
@@andytubesewing1953 it seems to move freely until I put the nut(?) that holds it all in place back on, at which point it seems to get hung up on the half of the indicator that presses against it. I wonder if the small loop of the check spring might be warped or something?
@@alessandrahayes8544 I'll respond to your question about the small loop first; I'm thinking if it was that loop the problem would happen right away as soon as you put on the indicator. I was thinking you would put on the indicator and gently press it back against the guard while lifting and dropping the spring. Again, if it was the loop wouldn't it happen and that point, well before the other parts and the thumb nut were installed?? Also, try this test for me please, (after the above test) after putting on the indicator dial, gently press it back against the guard and lift the presser bar lever. You should see and feel the indicator being pushed toward you by the tension release pin inside the stud. When that happens, if the indicator was catching the spring loop, the spring should now be free to move.
Very interesting. I'm gradually coming to grips with this subject.
But I'm wondering if rotating the numerated dial to put more tension on the thread coming from the spool would affect the stroke too. I feel if it's harder to pull the thread from the spool it'll be harder for the check spring to get to rest and so the stroke may have to be adjusted. I'll play with it to see what happens on my machine but I'm curious to know if this is a factor or not.
OK, check it out and let us know. For me, what lets the spring come to rest is the end of the stroke and the take-up lever going down. That's what lets the thread go slack for the hook, but it will be interesting to test your theory. Good Luck.
On my 347 machine I noticed that the loop is up and doesn't rest on the stop. It does nothing. No resistance. So my thread gets stuck in those gears sometimes.
If I'm understanding your comment, the loop of the takeup/check spring is stuck in the up position? It does not move with the needle thread by going up and down? That's what no resistance means? So if that is the case what can cause that is the tension assembly is not installed correctly, the tail on the check sprong broke off at the back of the spring coil, the coil of the spring cant coil and release because it is impacted with lint/dirt, the tension assemble is not properly adjusted, you did not thread the tension correctly. If you are unsure of your threading path you can download the manual for free and look at page 9 for threading instructions. Here is the SInger webpage for the free manual: www.singer.com/search/support?title=347 When you feel the needle thread is properly in place but you still have the problem I suggest you watch a video I made for working on your type of tension assembly. Remove, clean, replace, adjust. You can find the video at this link: czcams.com/video/PSCY72bJ3x8/video.html If you can't get it working properly then let me know. Good luck, and thanks for watching my channel.
@@andytubesewing1953 thank you!
@@amberlache92 absolutely, and good luck.
Hey Andy, can I use this method for the 99k? I may have asked this question before but I don’t recall. Thanks.
Why not just use the video I made specifically for model 99K? czcams.com/video/rioRhSbog6U/video.html
@@andytubesewing1953 I did but I didn’t see the part where the check spring meets where it’s supposed to when the needle eye hits the fabric. I’m thinking I saw it on a different video but with a different model. I’m guessing it’s when it hits inside that gap where the check spring sits, the bottom part but it’s hard to see. These machines are so forgiving that even when things may not be quite in sync it still sews pretty good. It was actually the Spartan I was working on today. I think the Spartan and 99k have the same assembly. I’ll go look at my 99k and play with it for awhile. Thanks.
@@rhondamercado7527 OK, sorry, Please check your email for the service manual. The theory of the stroke of the takeup spring is that the spring comes to rest and stops putting tension on the needle thread the moment the eye of the needle penetrates the fabric ON THE DOWNWARD STROKE This is so that when the hook point snags the needle thread there is no tension on it and the hook can pull around the needle thread and wrap the bobbin thread (lock stitch) without puckering or pulling on the stitches,
I tried to adjust the take up spring, but I'm at the end of the groove to adjust and the eye of the needle is about 5mm above the fabric. Now I have lowered the needle bar shortly. Was that a good idea? Or what should I do better? If you have an email address I could send you a photo of my problem.
I'm not sure what "I'm at the end of the groove" means, sorry. Here are all 26 videos for model 403A, including the needle bar, timing, cleaning, etc. Maybe they can help czcams.com/play/PLsCOZgzzaiKKyqvdDRwS-9MfLuwSNJTcg.html thanks for watching my channel. Good Luck.
I know the video. Thanks a lot. I mean the end of the slot where I tighten the set screw. for me the eye of the needle is always somewhere else with different thread tensions. what thread tension should i use for setting?
@@linuspelt3561 I mentioned the needle bar video b/c you mentioned you lowered the needle bar. Oops, not good! If your needle thread tension unit is set properly the normal sewing tension for regular fabrics would be between 3 and 5 on the dial of the tension assembly. The tension of the take-up spring should be enough to keep the needle thread slightly taught while the needle bar is going down. You don't what the thread to be floppy and get caught on or under the presser foot or needle clamp. Just enough tension to keep the thread in line so to speak. That is usually done during installation of the needle thread tension assembly by having the loop pointing downward ( straight down or slightly towards 6:00 o'clock) while you slide the springtail onto the gear slots of the tension stud. Once it is installed and you bend the loop up onto the "rest" or "stop" and that creates a very good tension on the loop of the take-up, or "check' spring.
Thank you for your quick answers and great tutorials. I played with the settings and am now satisfied with the result.
@@linuspelt3561 Nicely done. Thanks for keeping your machine in service. Take Care.
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