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How to Troubleshoot a Singer Treadle Sewing Machine

Isaac Merritt Singer first offered the treadle sewing machine in 1850. The machines are made from metal parts with a leather band connecting the treadle wheel to the hand wheel. The machines were produced until the 1920s. A full treadle sewing machine is a machine with a cabinet and a foot treadle. These sewing machines can be found at auctions, antique stores and sometimes even at estate sales. Many of these machines still function or still have the potential to function with a little work.

Things You'll Need

Leather cleaner
Rags
Mild detergent
Screwdriver
Flashlight
Tweezers
Cotton swabs
Kerosene
Leather needle
Pliers

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the leather belt. Open the staple that holds the two ends of the leather strap together. Inspect the belt for cracks or breaks. If the belt is intact, clean with leather cleaner. Set aside.
- 2
  Clean the outside of the machine carefully. Wipe off dust and dirt. Mix a solution of mild detergent such as dish washing detergent and water, and wash any dirt from the exterior of the machine and cabinet. Do not allow water to drip onto the gears under the cabinet.
- 3
  Remove the screw holding the cover on the machine. These screws will be in different areas depending on the model. Remove the cover. Inspect the interior gears. Look for broken gears or shafts.
- 4
  Pick any debris from the interior gears with the tweezers. Clean the gears and workings with cotton swabs dipped in kerosene.
- 5
  Slowly turn the hand wheel. The wheel is attached to a shaft that turns the gears. Follow the movement inside the machine. If the needle still doesn't move, determine the point at which the rotation stops. Make sure that the gears are touching and that the gear shafts have not shifted over time. If the shafts are all aligned, then a gear is missing.
- 6
  Clean any dirty gears below the cabinet with kerosene. Press on the treadle. Some treadles are positioned on a central shaft that is rocked by pressing alternately with your toe and heel. Other treadles use a spring to push the treadle back up when depressed by the toes. Check the mechanism of your machine. If the treadle depresses and has to be pulled back up, it will need a replacement spring.
- 7
  Watch the gears and make sure that the large flywheel rotates. If it doesn't rotate, or if the treadle is very stiff and hard to press, check the gears for rust.
- 8
  Replace the old belt or replace with a new belt. Fold the belt in half and wrap the belt around the groove in the hand wheel. Thread half the belt through the front hole in the right-hand side of the cabinet and half through the back hole. Crawl under the cabinet and wrap the belt around the large fly wheel underneath. Re-insert the staple in the hole. If replacing with a new belt, overlap the belt and mark the spot and cut the belt. Poke a hole in the center of both ends and insert the staple to connect both ends and fold the back of the staple closed with the pliers.
- 9
  Press on the treadle. If the treadle moves freely, but the needle doesn't, check the belt. Make sure the belt is very tight and is not slipping on the hand or fly wheel.

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