The pressure foot on my Brother sewing machine is stuck in the up position. How can I repair this?
By Debbie M
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If the machine is a computerised one you can try 'shock reboot' by turning on the machine and pulling the plug from the electrical outlet while the machine is still turned on. Wait five minutes and plug it back in, the foot should revert to normal operation mode.
If it is a 'mechanical' electric non-computerised model, something may be jamming the take-up lever. You can try removing the head cover to see if there is a build up of lint. Be extremely careful doing this because even an unplugged machine can generate a severe electrical shock. Unplug the machine and wait for at least an hour before trying to open the head cover to avoid a very nasty electrical shock.
OR (recommended method) you can take it to a repair tech-he/she will know how to open the head cover safely and will have the parts to repair your machine if there is something broken in there. The repair job should also include a servicing (something that is best done annually for optimum sewing machine productivity), and including parts (if needed) will cost you between $80 and $100USD.
I'm not familiar with Brother machines but the Singers I am familiar with use a spring or a gear on the take-up depending on age and model. You could have a broken spring or gear and the best person for that job is a professional repair tech.
If your machine is what is considered a vintage machine (more than ten years old) be sure to ask the tech to use 'newly milled' replacement parts instead of salvage parts if possible.
A lot of techs who work on vintage machines have to use 'salvage' parts because newly milled ones are no longer available for many vintage machines. However, because a salvage part comes from unknown conditions they aren't always reliable-the tech will not know how many sewing hours are on that part, nor will he/she know the conditions the machine it came off worked under.
If the part comes from a machine that was abused (rarely if ever cleaned and oiled, permitted to work under linty, dusty or sandy conditions, run too fast through too thick a material, etc) the part will fail even quicker than a salvage part from a machine that was well taken care of.
But even a well-cared for machine salvage part, if it has a lot of sewing hours on it won't last long.
Be sure of what you are getting if you need to take the machine to a repair tech.
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