Consew 255rb2 with a bent wheel

[Hankua]

Hi all! Noob here...
I'm dusting off the machines in the basement and the Seiko lsw8bl (consew 255rb2) has a bent wheel. It came from nickosew several years ago and was damaged in shipment. Les in repair suggested putting a bolt in the shaft to see if it was bent also. The parts book calls the wheel cap screw 6.75x24 L11. Google comes up empty on that size. Finding a bolt sounds like a project, but I'll try HD this weekend. I'm also going to call parts to see if they can help me out with a replacement wheel.  Any ideas?

Thanks Hank!

[JuneC]

You'll most likely have better luck finding a screw at your local Ace Hardware than HD.  HD seems to sell only common threads used in construction.  The finer threads used on most sewing machines are hard to find but I've had some luck at Ace.

June

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

When damage in transit occurs, it's usually the handwheel that takes a hit.

I can send parts same day for new handwheel, handwheel set screws (one flat, one ball or round point) and the outside adjusting screw.  This is never a problem.  BTW...handwheel set screws and adj. screws are NOT metric, SAE, standard.  They are originally a Singer thread pitch and size, in this case same as Singer 111W155 handwheel set screws.  Either way, you need the correct screws here for sure.

That's the easy part really.

What I can't do is determine without seeing the machine if the top shaft is bent.  If so, it may repairable.  If not, the top shaft must be replaced.  This is one of the biggest jobs you can do on a machine like this.  The entire top shaft must be removed, and this is no small feat, as a lot of the upper arm parts must be removed.

One question I do have, and this may be water under the bridge at this point, but damaged goods while in transit are insured by say a UPS or FedEx.  I am just wondering how this issue occured years ago and is now just being addressed.  I'm only asking because I seem to find out withing minutes of delivery when good arrive damaged in transit in most cases.

[Hankua]

Hi Gregg and community!
This machine was an ebay buy 3 or 4 years ago (head only) and I did not get it checked out by a local expert. It took me a while to get the right table top (wrong one sent first), stand and motor. I did call nickosew about the wheel wobble but cannot remember exactly what was discussed, and might have been don't worry about it. The machine went UPS, and they have some 3' or 4' drop requirement; the claim probably would have been denied. A machine this heavy should go Greyhound or be crated and trucked IMHO. Water under the bridge at this point.......

My thinking now is do some minor repair and put it in service or sell it on craigslist/ebay with full disclosure. The machine looks nice and sews fine so thats why I'm leaning towards repair. Les in repair (nickosew) said he uses a 3/4' pipe to make some adjustment to a bent main shaft, but told me they never get perfect.

I have all the original parts for the handwheel, but would like to put a bolt in the main shaft to see if it's bent and if so how much.  Nickosew is a site sponsor and I have to say Les in repair was very nice and took the time to explain how he makes the repair to a bent shaft. He did confuse me with (when replacing the handwheel the 1st screw in operation lines up with the mark on the shaft, otherwise the timing may be off). Is it that critical how the handwheel go on?

Thanks again Gregg and community!

[bobbin]

I am not trying to be a jerk but this is a perfect example of why I always buy from a dealer or go check out the (used) machine myself (and run the hell out of it), and then bring it home with me!  No way would I buy just a head without already having the bench for it in my possession and knowing I could drop it into the bench and fire that baby up!  That kind of deal has danger written all over it, IMO.  Eliminate the middle man, I say.  ;) 

Hank, I can tell you that Gregg will give you the real skinny and treat you right.  I can't speak for Bob but I know Mojo has nothing but good things to say about him and his outfit. 

[Hankua]

Thanks bobbin for letting me know how bad I screwed up  ;D  Seriously, forums are the way to reach people in the know about specific areas of knowledge and I should have done just that.  Online forums are something I've been doing for only 1 1/2 years and it looks like this is the right place to ask about my sick Seiko. She deserves better than being stuck in a corner collecting dust. :D

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

Hankua,

I feel like I remember reading on the UPS website about a 4' drop rule as well requirements as well, as in I think they are required to do so before it arrives at your door.

As for the pipe trick, I thought we were the only ones who did that!  Got to be careful not to hit it too hard, or you could crack the machine frame.  But, certainly has been done before...

For the screws on the hand wheel, the round or ball point screw falls on the the keyed slot on the shaft; the flat point screw falls on the flat spot on the shaft.  Doing this ensures that the hand wheel will not loosen on it's own, and should stay on the shaft were it is supposed to.  Tighten those two screws down with a good flat head screw driver that fits correctly, and tighten down hard by hand.  

There is no timing on the hand wheel, and you will disrupt anything with the 255RB by not landing the screws onto the flat or keyed spots.  But, because you use the hand wheel to make stitch length adjustments, the stitch length indicator on the hand wheel where you see numbers from 5~24 if memory serves me correctly will not locate properly with the indicator on the frame of the machine.

[Hankua]

Thanks Greg!
Hank

[Hankua]

Update: Knocked the hook out of wack on my 20U, so I went to see the repair guy who was highly recommended by a lady who bought several machine from me (spring cleaning).  "Angel" told me on the phone that there was a possibility of breaking the main shaft if he tried to straighten it out. Basically he was telling me to leave it alone and about the wobble "don't look at it".  "Angel" is funny, 73 years old and works in a shed behind his home (I think he had a shop before).

The main shaft is bent a little, between the machine body and wheel 1mm wobble, very outside of the wheel 3mm wobble. For replacing the shaft I think Nickosew said it was around a two hour job plus parts and shipping for me, and that's very remote at this point. Sell as is or tune-up, are my two choices; decided on tune-up for now.

I'm either going to bring the Seiko to his shop or have him come see me,  I have a 810 post bed that needs to be set-up and adjusted and he agreed to do the work. I think he wants me to set up the stand and table first.

Hank