Leonidas' Surgery - Part Three

The final post recording the dis-assembly of my Singer Spartan, "Leonidas".

As stated in my previous posts on this subject, This is NOT a tutorial, nor do I claim to be an expert.  I purchased this machine for $15.50 and I have taken a few risks with it as a learning experience.  My only intention here is to share my experience, that's all...

So, picking up where I left off before my Anniversary Post...

The next thing to come off the machine was  the thread tension device...

There it is.  Looks pretty simple.  One bolt and a few pieces of metal speared
by that single bolt...

Well, OK, so not a few pieces, 9 pieces, plus the bolt!
All are grimy and nasty and need some serious
cleaning...

 

The shaft arm that everything is connected to is held in place by one small
screw head bolt on the back of the machine.

And the assembly slips right out without the screw holding it in place.

Feed Dog Cover Plate

 

There are the feed dogs... Look at the nastiness embedded in that bobbin area
I would have liked to have just covered this up and not removed it, as putting
it back in place is tricky from what I've heard, but there is NO WAY that is
coming clean without removing it.

So, I flipped it over to remove the feed dogs (which
are held in place by a small screw on the underside
of the machine.

While I had the machine flipped over I remembered that I had not yet asked
about this rod on the bottom of the machine that is bent... I don't know if it
is supposed to be or not.  I asked a few experts via a Vintage Singer form,
But it was Bonnie Hunter who came through with the answer by sending
me a photo of the bottom of her machine... It is NOT supposed to be bent!
So, I'll be removing that at some point applying some heat and
straightening it out!

After the dogs were removed, the rest of the Bobbin
casing just lifted out...

LOOK At that nastiness in there!

Upon taking apart the Bobbin Carriage Assembly I found this little red piece
of felt wound tightly around this little spring.  I almost tossed it thinking it was
a large piece of lint, but then thought better of that as it looked like it was
there for a reason.  So again, off to the Vintage Singer forum to ask, and
within minutes I learned that this piece indeed supposed to be here. (Although
it does not appear on the schematic I was using at the time.  I have since
found a better one and I am using the more accurate newer one...)

The next piece (below) is part of the bobbin carriage, but it was SO gooked up
I had to soak it in "Open & Shut" to loosen up the crap and separate the two
pieces.

I have no idea what to call this piece, but that tiny screw
was stubbornly holding these two pieces together...

The Bobbin Winder.  I need to figure out how to separate the black piece
from the wheel and shaft... both need to be reconditioned, but thus far I
have been unable to separate them...

You've heard of the "Emperor's New Clothes", well I am about to strip King
Leonidas of his clothes... Shhhh, don't tell him...

The means of removing the King's clothes...
And his new outfit...

If you know the answers to -- "How do I disassemble the Bobbin Winding Wheel?"  Please shoot me a note, I'd love to hear from you!!

So, with that the dis-assembly is complete.  Now it's time to start getting rid of the black, chipped, worn paint and get it back down to bare metal.  Then the fun part begins...

Thanks for Reading!

Until Next Time,

Paul