A Bit of Maintenance for a Shuttle

Recently I had a frustrating day with the tension on my Singer 128K, and the only way I could tighten the bobbin tension was to fish the shuttle out of another machine and use it instead of the shuttle from the 128K.

This is the offending shuttle.  I have finally had a look at it.  First I unscrewed the tension spring and removed it.  Here is the shuttle with the tension spring removed, and you can see that there is a bit of residual muck which had been hiding underneath.  This took only a minute to remove with metal polish.

Here is the underneath of the tension spring, which also needed cleaning up.

On the right hand side there is a tiny groove visible, which is where the thread passes.  The bobbin tension had been too loose.  Even with the screw fully tightened, the tension spring was not holding the thread firmly enough against the shuttle.  

The solution was simple.  All I had to do was exert a little pressure with my fingers on that part of the tension spring to encourage it to lie closer to the shuttle: had I used too much force I would have risked breaking the metal at its thinnest points, so I hesitate to say I bent it.  The change in shape is imperceptible on mere inspection.  Once the shuttle was reassembled and I tried out the stitch, all I needed to do was make a tiny adjustment to the top tension and the stitch was fine.  

Job done.  Now the 128K has its own shuttle back in use. 

The Hybrid Shuttle

Every now and again I get messages from people who need help with their vintage machines. Last week I had a message from a gentleman in Germany who has a Little Vesta minus its shuttle, and he needs to know what he should look for.

This shuttle is from my Little Vesta sewing machine.  The shuttle for my Vesta Transverse Shuttle is identical to this one, and instructions for threading are shown in the Vesta manual.

It is known as a hybrid shuttle, because it is a later development of the boat shuttle, threading in exactly the same way as a shuttle for a vibrating shuttle machine.

It is easy to recognise by its smooth flat side.

This particular shuttle is 4.8 centimetres long and about 1.1 centimetres across (or, for those like me who have a deep seated affection for imperial measurements, one and seven eighths of an inch by seven sixteenths of an inch - more or less).  It is much shorter than the hybrid shuttle for the Frister and Rossmann machines, which are much larger machines.

The first place I always look for bits and pieces for old sewing machines is Helen Howes's excellent website.  She knows more about machines than I ever will.

Stitch Formation in a Long Bobbin Machine

This is a Singer 28K.  I have removed the front and back slide plates and put a narrow strip of material under the foot to take the stitches.  The top thread is pink and the bobbin thread green.

When the needle goes down under the needle plate it forms a loop just at the very moment the shuttle is moving forward in the shuttle carriage.  The point of the shuttle is aimed straight through the loop.

Then the whole shuttle passes through the loop.

The top thread glides under the shuttle.

Once the shuttle has passed through the loop, the needle takes the top thread back up again, the loop is tightened, and the bobbin thread is held firmly in place on the underneath of the material.

It was years before I understood what was going on underneath with the shuttle.  I read a description online, complete with diagrams, but still couldn't fathom it out, until one day I was trying to sort out a problem with a transverse shuttle machine and was looking from underneath and I actually saw it happen.  Truly a moment of revelation. 

Welcome to the two new followers, Gavin Henderson and Anne Parker.  Thank you for joining!

The Vesta Manual

Threading the shuttle made easy, as shown in the manual for the Vesta Cylinder Shuttle machine (a transverse shuttle machine with an enclosed, flat-sided shuttle).

These instructions apply to any make of machine with a similar shuttle.  If your shuttle looks like the one in the picture below (whether or not it has a flat side), then follow these instructions.

These are the best illustrations I have ever seen in an old manual.

Is it a tiny man with a regular sized bobbin and shuttle, or is he normal size and the shuttle is a giant mock-up, for demonstration purposes only?  

I think I know the answer.....

Shuttle for the Jones Family CS

This is the shuttle for Maria's machine.  It was totally rust free and only needed a wipe to get a bit of greasy oil off.

This photograph shows the tension spring.  I did not touch the screw - screws on shuttles should be left well alone when cleaning a machine.  Testing the tension comes later.

This photograph shows the capital F stamped on the shuttle.  F for Family, so the right shuttle for the machine, not a rogue replacement.  Shuttles from other models are not necessarily compatible.

A Shuttle from an Older Transverse Shuttle Machine

This is a boat shuttle from a much older machine.  On this side is the tension spring.

On the other side there is a thin bar that protrudes slightly at the end of the shuttle.  

The flat side is open, so the shuttle looks like a little boat.

This shuttle belongs to a Stoewer Transverse Shuttle machine which I have yet to clean up.  When I have done that, if I can work out how to explain how to thread this shuttle, I will post more pictures.

A Shuttle for a Late Transverse Shuttle Machine

This shuttle belongs to a 1930s Frister and Rossmann Transverse Shuttle machine.  Viewed from this side it looks just like the shuttle for a vibrating shuttle machine.

However, the other side is flat, so it can fit in the narrow shuttle carriage.

This type of shuttle is a hybrid shuttle.  It  fits into the same sized space as the open sided boat shuttle which was used on older TS machines, but the flat side is closed.  Loading the bobbin and threading the shuttle is done in exactly the same way as with the bullet shaped shuttles for Vibrating Shuttle machines. 

Ejecting a Transverse Shuttle

This photo of a Little Vesta machine shows how easy it is to remove the shuttle on a TS machine. The photo is taken from the back of the machine.

The slide plate is attached to a very nifty little mechanism.  Pull it open as far as it will go (it is designed not to slide right off), and up pops the shuttle.  Couldn't be simpler.

Transverse Shuttles

All the machines I have shown so far have been Vibrating Shuttle machines, where the shuttle carriage is to the right of the needle and the shuttle moves back and forth in an arc.  Singer patented their design for Vibrating Shuttles in 1886.  Before then they had been manufacturing Transverse Shuttle machines.

These photographs are of a Frister and Rossmann Transverse Shuttle machine manufactured (probably) in the mid to late 1930s.  German manufacturers continued making Transverse Shuttle machines until the outbreak of the Second World War, when most manufacturers switched over to the production of arms.

The shuttle moves from side to side in a straight line behind the needle.  It fits snugly into its little bed, as shown in the second photo where I have slid back the plate.

The needle is threaded from front to back, whereas on a VS machine it is threaded from left to right.  Different, but the same principle - in both cases you take the thread through the needle towards the shuttle.

TS machines make an excellent stitch, equal to that of any VS machine, which no doubt explains why the Germans didn't stop making them until history so rudely intervened.

Ejecting yet another shuttle

This machine has no tab or lever to eject the shuttle...

... so use your finger at the tip of the shuttle to make it pop up.  Couldn't be simpler.  The original digital technology.

And ejecting another shuttle

This is a Serata treadle, which is shown in the "How to Treadle" video.  It has a very handy little lever.

The shuttle doesn't just pop up, it practically comes flying out.  It is a very nifty little mechanism.

Ejecting the Shuttle

Some machines have a little tab or button to press to make the shuttle pop up out of the shuttle carriage.  Make sure the shuttle is as far forward as possible... 

...press the tab, and up it pops, just enough to enable you to take it out of the machine without putting any pressure on the tension spring.

These photographs are of a Singer. 

Treat your shuttle with respect

They look like bullets.  Hardly surprising then that sewing machine manufacturers readily changed over to arms manufacture in the two World Wars.

This shuttle is from a Singer 28K.  Shuttles from other makes of machine may look slightly different, but the bobbin is loaded and threaded in the shuttle in the same way in most cases.

The cut out plate of metal which is screwed onto the outside is the tension spring.  Never pull at the tension spring to get the shuttle out of the machine. 

 A sharp tip is essential for stitch formation.  The shuttle has to pass through a loop of the upper thread.  If the tip is damaged it could snag or miss the loop.

I used to rack my brains trying to work out what happens when a long bobbin machine forms a stitch, until one day the light dawned...