GOAL SETTING. TWO: Service the Bailey

(I acknowledge that  I am breaking a blogosphere taboo by publishing more than one post in a 24 hour period. )

Four years is a long time in a sewing machine's world.  All sorts of things can happen during that time:  congealing oil, condensation, temperature change, rust.   Even brand new machines can get gunked up and can need servicing. 

I was concerned about the Bailey since I had not used it in that long.  True one winter I kept a little heated hut over it (http://mysewingmachineobsession.blogspot.com/2012/01/room-of-its-own.html).  But this past winter I moved it from the sewing loft to the apartment.  I don't think the temperature swings were as extreme in the apartment as they were in the loft.  I probably should have put the little igloo back over it.  I didn't

Given what I know about machines, I truly wanted to check out the Bailey before I started sewing with it again.  Yesterday, Betsy and I tore into it. 

I don't have a photo of the shuttle gears.  I wish I did.  Next time I clean them and oil them I will snap one.  They aren't that big.  Singer 201 gears are bigger. Singer 201 gears are all metal.  The Bailey has one either nylon or plastic gear articulating with a metal gear.  Go figure.  The motor is a universal sewing machine motor and looks easy to replace, should the need arise. The belt meets a plastic handwheel.   There are some plastic bushings and that piece from the upper shaft to the lower one could be beefier, IMHO.

I wish it were easier to access the tension.  To do so you have to remove the whole front panel; ok it's only two screws.  I will quit complaining.

I prefer face on tension assemblies.  I don't like the "lie in" ones.  We found a piece of thread stuck in there.

 

It was not hard to remove. Had it been a face on tension assembly, one would have seen it straight away when it became lodged.  I have used face on tension assembly machines in this application before and they worked just fine.  But this is what it is.

I sure would like to know what he used as the starting point for this "bastardization."  

 The hand wheel and belt look adequate.  I think that the hand wheel is plastic.  In 25 years likely it will need replacing.  

By 3:30 we had it all back together and set up on the frame.

Admittedly, the first row of stitches SUCKED POND WATER.  I had forgotten to tighten the tension.  We managed to complete one row of stitches, break a needle and give up for the day.  But the goal was accomplished.  The Bailey was serviced.