Questions about new-to-me sewing machine

[xxl_hanger]

It's been sitting in a garage for about 10 years though.

It's imo not the best advice to oil such a machine only. I have two old manuals (one from Singer and the other one from Meister). Both say with almost the same wording that if the machine has not been used for a very long time that you should use petroleum first at all oil places in order to dissolve the old oil substances. You should run the machine at high speed for a short time and then let the machine rest for one night. I serviced a machine which has not been used for about 30 years and where in prior years most likely bad oil has been used. Therefore I repeated the petroleum procedure the second day. On the third day I started to oil the machine.

I think I got all the moving parts, at least the ones I can see.

Take a long medicine injection and try to dissolve all old oil remnants and oil all moving parts, also the ones which are connected with the control wheels or which you cann't see.

I can't seem to get the tension right

Try to clean the bobbin case with spirit (alcohol). Also below the spring. Then check the bobbin case tension this way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COydYUhLGS4

Your top tension assembly unit looks the same than on an old Singer. Try to disassemble it, clean all parts and then reassemble it. There are some videos on YouTube where you can see how this works on an old Singer. Especially the correct positioning of this take-up spring is important.

There should be always tension on this spring up to the point where the needle stitches into the fabric.

Now, it skips a lot of stitches and it doesn't pull the bottom thread back up in to the fabric evenly.

There can be a lot of reasons why this happens. Read page 4 in this Singer manual.
http://parts.singerco.com/IPsvcManuals/20U31_33_35.pdf

Try to change your needle and check whether the spool in your bobbin case is properly inserted and whether the bottom thread is properly and evenly winded up on the spool.

Check the needle bar height. I have no good English description. Try to read it in German. There are some drawings included with English description.
http://www.mengeonline.net/Naehmasch...Adjustment.pdf
similar drawings here:
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/866...2.html?page=18

or read here specifically for your older Brother:
http://www.sewconsult.com/free_servi...g_and_tensions

Also, the material bunches up behind the foot a lot worse than I remember my old cheap one doing.

Check your feed dogs. Look they dog-eared or still like new? In its highest position they should be about 1mm above the needle plate. look here:
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/866...page=17#manual

The electrical cables need to be replaced, too.

Post a picture from this cables please.

This was a free machine and it's very old.

You have a good old Brother. It's worth any effort. I'm sure it's not the machine, it's something else and you have the once-only chance to learn a lot from all your problems. It could be that only a little adjustment is required and then all your problems are gone. Perhaps it's only your bobbin thread and/or your needle.

[SpitballJedi]

So, this thing seems to be working okay know. After watching videos and reading your tips, the machine seems to be okay.

I picked up some new electrical cord to replace the old cracked one. Looks like an easy job and everything is accessible.

The rubber ring on the bobbin winder is garbage. It's crumbling and one side is flat. I can't get a good wind from it. I can't seem to find one on-line either. I know they are there, but my machine isn't ever listed.

The ID: 5/8" and OD:1.25" maybe 1/16 shy. Can I just use any brand that fits the measurements? I may just take the ring to the shop and see if they have one.

I'm getting close to some DIY.

[FLScouthanger]

So, this thing seems to be working okay know. After watching videos and reading your tips, the machine seems to be okay.

I picked up some new electrical cord to replace the old cracked one. Looks like an easy job and everything is accessible.

The rubber ring on the bobbin winder is garbage. It's crumbling and one side is flat. I can't get a good wind from it. I can't seem to find one on-line either. I know they are there, but my machine isn't ever listed.

The ID: 5/8" and OD:1.25" maybe 1/16 shy. Can I just use any brand that fits the measurements? I may just take the ring to the shop and see if they have one.

I'm getting close to some DIY.

Yep. Just take the old o-ring in and get something as close to original as possible. They're pretty easy to find in specialty sewing stores and some big box (I.e., JoAnn's, etc.) stores. Good luck!

[Monkeyboy42]

For the bobbin winder you're probably safe on whatever fits. If this is your only issue at this point your are in a good place. Older machines are generally much more reliable than newer ones due to the metal vs plastic parts.

To be safe taking it to a shop is not a bad idea. They may even let you try out then"right size" in store.

[SpitballJedi]

Okay, here's the latest update on my machine....IT'S WORKING!!!!!!!

I took the disintegrating old rubber tire for the bobbin winder to 3 different shops until I found a replacement. The first one just said they didn't have one for a Brother. The second took it to the back and came back a couple minutes later and said they didn't have one close enough to work right. The third one took me to the back and showed me a drower with about 100 of them and we went through them until we found one. This is the store that will likely get most of my business..lol. It is very slightly, maybe 1/16 smaller OD, but it works like a charm.

I also replaced the electrical wire from the pedal to the machine because it was cracked and exposed in many places. Someone did some repairs to it at some point using duct tape. It was very convoluted, too. There was a receptacle in the case where the motor and light separately plugged in and then the power supply and pedal were wired to that. It was basicaly an old wall outlet mounted with duct tape for the light and motor to plug in to. I was in the middle of setting up my solder stuff to solder the new lines and then realized I could bypass all that nonsense and just wire the thing bypassing the receptacle and 2-prong machine wires.

Now, instead of a big recepticle box, duct tape, and thumb tacks holding it all together and in place, it is nice and clean with wire-nuts and I used some screws, washers, and zip-ties to keep the wiring secure. I even drillled a new hole to run the wires better and make better use of the space.

I've sewn some scraps with 2 different color threads and made adjustments to the top and bottom tensions and everything seems to be working well.

The fabric still wants to bunch up a little when it comes out behind the foot, though. Could it be related to top tension? Old foot? The scraps are cotton t-shirt and I used Gütermann Sew-all.

I'm very stoked about the progress. Thanks for all the help here.

[Ramblinrev]

Start by setting the t-shirt scraps aside. They are knit and knits have their own foibles and quirks. You don't need to try and separate the fabric quirks from the machine quirks. Find yourself some woven fabric and mess around with that. This is where those old sheets come in. You know, the ones the better half wanted to throw out but you said "No... I may want those someday." Well put a big smirk on your face and announce "Today's the day." Then buy her some flowers so she doesn't remember the smirk. Now that you have a woven fabric to play with go through all the various trouble shooting steps you have used. This is one place where I think the bobbin tension may be a little tight so you might want to loosen it a TINY amount. No more than 1/8th a turn and see what happens. If that helps you know you are on the right track. Make ONLY ONE adjustment at a time and if that adjustment makes no difference, or makes things worse, return it to its unadjusted position and try another adjustment.

[SpitballJedi]

cool. Thanks for the tips