My machine will not feed the material. When I run the machine without fabric the feed dog levers move and are slightly above the plate. But the fabric will not move. I cleaned as much as I could get to on the machine and it worked for a while. Then it started again. Is there a part of the feed dog that can wear out?

Mary, November 2007

My machine is the New Home Model 920 and I bought it new at least 20 years ago or more. This is the first problem I have had with it.

I normally had the tension set centered between 3-5 (which is the mid/normal setting). And I typically use the tricot setting as I do a lot of mending on jeans. On this setting the teeth move front to back and up and down, when I ran the machine without fabric (sort of a ferris wheel rotation). The feet are above the plate. Sewing using 1 layer of denim material, the fabric was not being fed. If I doubled up the fabric it would feed. I reset the tension to about 7-8 and was then able to feed a single layer of denim. But this tension setting on the New Home is almost at the max and is not the normal setting that I always had it set at.

I have cleaned & oiled the machine. There was only the big plate that covers the arm (I did get the bobbin plate off) that I could not get the screw loose to take off. That my husband will be doing when he looks at the machine.

Typically I have the stitch length set at 2 but will try the 3.

Is there anything that could wear out on the tension setting control?

Mary, November 2007

Hello Mary,
The teeth should be just above the plate, be sure the teeth are coming just aboive the plate, make sure you have not lowered the teeth down slightly by the drop feed dial, it takes years for them to wear out, increase the pressure on the foot,
make sure you have your stitch length set 3 or more.
Ken

drivewithken@blueyonder.co.uk, November 2007