Using the bobbin winder on the Naumann Vibrating Shuttle is refreshingly simple.
First, take the thread though the wire hook and little tension discs to the right of the spool pin.
Then take it down to the bobbin winder, trap the thread with the end of the bobbin at the right hand side, and pass the thread through the hole at the top of the little bar on the winder.
There is a lever at the bottom of the bobbin winder. Push the lever up, and the winder will engage into position against the balance wheel.
Now fill the bobbin.
To disengage the bobbin winder, push down gently on the metal plate that rests against the bobbin. This is an automatic release mechanism, which will automatically release the winder once the bobbin is full, so there is no chance of overfilling a bobbin.
The bobbin can now be taken out. Job done!
It was all stamped on the front inspection plate so you couldn't possibly lose it - needle size, thread thickness and stitch length. If only the range of threads were still available now.
This is the machine I have just cleaned up for a friend, a Seidel and Naumann Vibrating Shuttle. Not only did I have to use paraffin to work its magic in unsticking the foot, but also the stitch length adjustment mechanism was jammed. I had to take off the handcrank and the wheel to get to the lever, which is to the right of the pillar above the bobbin winder. It was well and truly stuck, but eventually I freed it up and re-set it so that the stitch length can be adjusted and set to forwards or reverse.
This smart little tin is for holding the bobbins.
They slot neatly inside. Unfortunately there were only three with the machine rather than the full complement of five to fill the tin. I shall have to see if I can get two more.
The machine makes a perfect stitch. I'm sure that when I return it it will soon be put to good use.
Last week I collected a beautiful German sewing machine from a friend so I could clean it up for her. It had a few problems I needed to sort out, the most obvious of which was the foot. I undid the thumbscrew so I could take off the foot and found that the foot was stuck on fast. Someone had obviously been trying to get it off in the past and loosened the presser bar in the process, because it was loose and the foot could turn as if it were the hand on a clock. Tightening the presser bar back into position was easy enough, but I still needed to get the foot off.
The answer was paraffin. I tied a bit of cloth around the foot, spooned paraffin onto it until it was thoroughly soaked, and left it overnight. The next morning the foot just dropped off. The paraffin had broken up all the old oil residue that had dried between the presser bar and the foot.
The same trick worked at the opposite end of the machine and ungummed the stitch length mechanism too.
The machine is now cleaned up and raring to go...
