Catching Bobbin Thread on Bobbin-Case Pin

[Neon]

My Singer 211 is giving me lots of practice in patience.  LOVE prewound bobbins, but they seem to affect my tension.  Switched to bobbins wound with matching thread.  Now, the tension is better, but the thread keeps getting caught around the pin/clasp of the bobbin case that holds the bobbin in.  I've begun sewing without the bobbin cover so that at the least little hint that the thread is caught I can lift the fabric, lift the pin, release the thread, close the pin, and sew for another few inches.   Any ideas?  Thank you for any help you can give me.

[MinUph]

New bobbin case top.

[Neon]

Is there a bobbin case top or are you suggesting that the pin (or whole bobbin case) needs to be replaced?  I don't see that there is a top to the bobbin case.

[MinUph]

I guess I should have called it the bobbin case. The part that is removable and has the clasp on it. Maybe the spring is not as strong as it once was. They are not expensive and well worth a try.

[sofadoc]

Here's how you change the bobbin case.       

https://youtu.be/zvEsOKqdPZ4

[kodydog]

That's a good video sofa. Sometimes you just have to take it apart, clean it and give it a good oiling.

[gene]

That video does it differently than I do it. I always drop at least one of those little screws down into the machine. :-)

gene

[SteveA]

I liked that video and after watching it I went and took my 31-15 apart and cleaned it.  Tomorrow I'm going to look for the gears and put white grease.  It's hard to believe that one little thread could cause a problem but it's nice to now be aware so that I check the case once in a while.  My machine is 1928 - I've owned it 15 years - timed it once when I bought it into the shop and never did anything else.  I don't use it like the pros here use their machines but I suspect these old machine will outlast us.  No walking foot - no reverse - no bugs :)
SA

[Neon]

Thank you for the video.  When this deadline is passed, the machine will enjoy a thorough cleaning.  To get through this project, I cut a piece of template plastic the same diameter of the bobbin and punched a hole in the middle.  This seemed to raise the bobbin higher and since doing that, the thread has not caught around the bobbin-case pin/clasp once.  Does that indicate the clasp spring is weak, needing a new bobbin case?

[sofadoc]

.  To get through this project, I cut a piece of template plastic the same diameter of the bobbin and punched a hole in the middle.  This seemed to raise the bobbin higher and since doing that, the thread has not caught around the bobbin-case pin/clasp once.  Does that indicate the clasp spring is weak, needing a new bobbin case?

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They make little star-shaped discs to prevent your bobbin from over-spinning when you stop suddenly. Are you using pre-wound bobbins? Some paper shell pre-wound (or no shell at all) bobbins cause these kind of problems. Some pre-wound manufacturers try too hard to make a "one size fits all".

[kodydog]

I'm wondering if your bobbin tension is too loose causing the thread to jump up and wrap around the pin. Rose use to rip the paper disk off a used prewound bobbin and slip it on top of the bobbin in the casing. This would help make the tension tighter.

When we switched from prewound to wind-our-own it was a bit of a challenge. We were switching back and fourth as we were using up the perwound bobbins. The bobbin size between the pre wound and wind-our-own bobbins was slightly different. Every time we did this we had to either adjust the top tension or add a paper disk in the bobbin to get the stitch right. 

[Neon]

The bobbin tension could definitely be loose.  At the moment, the template plastic is doing the trick and my time to complete this project is down to 28 hours.  When the boat is out of the driveway and on its way to its permanent home, I can take time to mess with the tension.  In fact, I hope to find someone to work on my sewing machine and figure out why it sticks at a certain point.  Thank you so much, all of you, for the helpful tips and advice! 

[sofadoc]

Seems like if your bobbin tension is loose enough to cause the problem that you're having, you would also be having loose stitches. The bottom thread would be looping on top. That tiny little tension screw on the bobbin case can be adjusted without removing anything.

[gene]

Here is how I adjust my bobbin tension.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7L9R22FuNw

gene

[kodydog]

It seems like when we were using the paper prewound bobbins we were constantly adjusting the tension. Never really thought about it until now. I'm thinking those prewound bobbins aren't consistent in size.