----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Fox <pgf@...>
To: Wheeler and Wilson-Sewing-Machines <
[email protected]>
Sent: Sun, 24 Apr 2022 14:09:29 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: [Wheeler_and_Wilson-Sewing-Machines] Reversing the bobbin winder on a #9
My #9 (1889 or so) came to me with a treadle from which the pedal, the
pitman, and the band wheel had all been removed. I used to wonder why,
until I noticed the three clearly non-factory holes in the pillar,
which were almost certainly added to mount a motor. When they added
the motor, they likely stripped the irons at the same time. I guess
that made sense, to a modern sewist in the 1920s or 30s.
More recently I got a new treadle. (This is the one I asked about the
other day, missing the drop leaf support arm.) It came with another
#9, and when I installed mine in the treadle, I noticed a significant
difference: the bobbin winder wheel on my original head sat to the
left of the pivot arm, had a tire on it, and rode somewhat off-center
on the hand wheel. The wheel on my "new" machine has no tire, sits
to the right of the pivot arm, and, probably like all of your #9
machines, the wheel rides on the belt.
My conclusion was that when they electrified, they also reversed
the bobbin winder in the arm, since there was no longer a belt to
drive it. Flipping it side to side let them drive it from the wheel.
You can see the two bobbin winders in the first attached picture.
I wanted to flip it back, but it's not at all obvious how one removes
the bobbin winder from its pivoting arm, and it was a little scary
finding out. I tried unscrewing it, by clamping the spindle in the
jaws of my drill press, but that got me nowhere. So I decided it must
be pressed on. I had a spare I could use from the "new" machine,
so I resorted to a hammer. :-)
I balanced the wheel on top of the (loose) jaws of my vise, with the
spindle hanging down, and used a nail punch and a small hammer to hit
the end of the axle. A few taps and I felt it give. It took me more
time to find the axle after it fell on the cellar floor than it did to
get it out. I cleaned all the pieces (for the first time in many many
decades, I'm sure), flipped it around, set the wheel on a
block of wood with a small clearance hole for the axle to come
through a bit, and tapped it in the other way.
So. If your bobbin winder points the wrong way, don't replace it. Just
hit it with a hammer. (Carefully. :-)
(Many Singer bobbin winders have similar construction. I'll certainly try
this trick next time I need to clean one up.)
paul
=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma)
Attachments:
ww9_winder_01.jpg:
/g/Wheeler_and_Wilson-Sewing-Machines/attachment/4111/0ww9_winder_04.jpg:
/g/Wheeler_and_Wilson-Sewing-Machines/attachment/4111/1
