Needle Bars That Serve No Drinks

Necchi 575 FA (Free Arm)

On the same day I picked up the Singer Genie, I went far out of town for this Necchi  575FA, knowing it was not an Italian made model but I didn't have one of these and was curious. As with so many I rescue, it had been out in a barn and was dirty, dirty, dirty but cleaning her up was going to be fun. It wasn't too bad inside so I had hopes for a well run sewing machine. It has a nifty "sleeve" or table top that slides on and the lever that locks it in place plus a small storage compartment in the back:

Storage compartment at back slides out

As I tested out the stitching I noticed it was skipping stitches when I would try the widest width. I changed the needle but no difference. I did not want to re-time the machine, either. Timing deals with the precise moment the needle enters the bobbin casing:

Note needle tip as it enters

It needs to enter the small hook so that the hook can grasp the thread shown below as the hook travels to the bottom:

Hook with thread (bobbin removed)

That didn't seem to be the problem, though so I went online and tried to find possible solutions. Could it be the needle is too high or low? I tested it out by lowering the needle in the tiny slot where it's held by a screw and it worked! All the stitches came out great but now I needed a permanent fix, not just to instruct the next owner to set the needle a smidge lower. Lowering the needle bar shouldn't be too hard but this sewing machine had so much packed into the left side I wasn't sure how to proceed. I found the needle bar and screw that holds it in place so I lowered the needle until the screw was in a spot I could slip a screwdriver in to release:

Right above the red arrow is the screw.

It worked! I got the needle bar lowered, tightened back up, and tested the stitch selection out:

This Necchi might not be made it Italy but it is still a good one, easy to use with a variety of features to make it appealing. It even has a handle for portability so the desk it came in might not be hanging around too long. In the end this Neechi had a needle bar adjustment and doesn't even have a hangover. Sweet.