Bobbin Thread Will Not Catch?

Frugal Sunnie
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June 17, 20130 found this helpful

Here is a link to a free download of the manual for this machine, there is an extensive troubleshooting chart starting on the pdf page 57 that may help you figure out what the problem is:

www.singerco.com/.../1275_5523-(q50dst)(en-e-f)(110307)).pdf

But to be honest it sounds as though your bobbin gear has gone. This is a job for a repair tech. Be sure to ask the tech to give you the old part that needed replacing-you'll see that there is a small bit of metal and a rather large, swirly bit of plastic (usually silicone).

Make sure to tell the tech that you want a NEW part installed. A lot of repair techs use salvaged parts with who knows how many sewing hours on the part-this part especially gives no warning it is about to quit and the tech won't be able to tell you how long it will last if it is a salvaged part.

I used to do a lot of 'vintage' (older than 10 years) machine repair as part of my home based sewing instruction business but have given up on the electric vintage machines because parts are hard to find. I was using salvaged parts from machines I found at jumble-yard-charity sales and that became disappointing as the parts always failed sooner rather than later if there was any plastic on the part.

The number of sewing hours+the conditions the machine lived in (dust, lint, running too fast, forcing fabric through the needle feed) takes a toll on plastic parts. Machine manufacturers started using plastic in the late 60s.

The really old machines (pre-late 60s) are usually all metal and are easily refurbished. But the newer ones have tonnes of plastic innards. They wear out faster and aren't as reliable as the old girls:)