Does anyone know how to reset the timing on a Singer 7466?
It lost timing the other day while my wife was trying to sew fabric too thick for the machine. After that the needle was coming down at the wrong time and would impact the bottom of the spinning bobbin holder (sorry I don't know what it's called haha) instead of coming down into the groove. And of course it wouldn't thread a stitch either.
I figured the grub screws under the lower bobbin had come loose so I removed the plastic cover, loosened the grub screws under the lower bobbin, and turned that lower bobbin thingy so that the needle came down at the right time and would properly thread a stitch when turned by hand. Then I tightened it back up and put it back together.
However, the computer didn't like that. It would only make it to the point where it actuates the dog feed, act like it's bound up, then start beeping and flashing. I think it's actuating the dog feed at the wrong time. And it looks like that's actuated based on optical sensors on the top shaft.
Ok, I figured no problem. I could put the lower bobbin thingy back in exactly the same spot it was before and look for lost timing somewhere else. Maybe the timing belt running down to the bottom shaft had skipped a tooth or something. And I figured I could put the bobbin back in exactly the same wrong spot it was before by going off of the marks the needle had scraped into it. All I had to do was take it apart again, loosen those grub screws, turn the wheel with one hand while holding the bobbin with the other, and...
That's when I noticed that the entire lower shaft was slipping at the toothed pulley!
See how the grub screws on that end have chewed it up? Because of that the whole bottom shaft can rotate almost 180* out of sync. Now, if I had noticed this before I messed with the alignment on the other end then this would be an easy fix: I could just loosen this pulley a little, rotate things back into line, and tighten the screws on this pulley really tight (and maybe braze them so this doesn't happen again haha).
But I now have absolutely no reference for putting everything on the lower shaft back in line. I can't use the needle vs bobbin as a reference because I changed that, and I can't put the bobbin back because I need this as a reference. A catch 22.
I tried emailing Singer but they weren't very helpful. Here's what they said after I explained my situation to them:
Unfortunately, I do not have any information where you can find technical or parts manuals.
Service Manuals are not available, they are designated for the Singer Dealers and their Service Technicians that work on the machines.
We are not able to provide timing information for your machine. You would need special tools and gauges that are required to repair timing. Settings vary from one machine to the other and in many cases the technician simply knows when everything has been timed just right.
It sounds like they don't want me joining their club. Magic tools, secret knowledge, exclusive access, way too complicated to bother explaining... give me a break!