This post was written months ago, but apparently, I forgot to publish it. I went back to look for it after writing about my most recent project on it. It's a bit late now, but Bernina 717 deserves to share her story.
She was listed on Craigslist in a different state. A Bernina 717 in a cabinet and reasonably priced, so I had to see if I could get her back to Chicago. The machine was up near Mankato, MN which is between the Twin Cities where my sisters live and Chicago. Ok, not really on the way, but for a Bernina a bit of a side trip could be made.
Originally, I was planning to be in the Twin Cities before Valentine's Day to meet my new niece. She turned out to not be in a rush and missed her due date by at least a week. So, I did not end up going to MN until about a month later. Mom went up after my niece was born to help out though and when she came home she was willing to make a detour through Rochester, MN on her way back to Illinois. The lady who was selling the machine had infinite patience and I really do appreciate her giving me time to sort out how to get the machine home. She even helped me look into the cost of shipping the machine when travel plans were up in the air.
The machine had a cabinet, foot control, and power cord, but there were no accessories or manual. I put the machine in the front room with a view out the window for awhile until I could clean her up and try her out.
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| In front of the sunny window |
Here is a close up of the machine before I cleaned her inside and out. The hand wheel shows wear, but most of the other scuffs and discoloring should clean up.
The first step was taking her out of the cabinet and then I took a look inside. While the machine did sew, clearly it was not running as smoothly as it could. There was quite a build-up of gunk on some of the gears. Q-tips and alcohol got it cleaned up, but it was a red substance caked on there that I hadn't seen before. Usually things turn brown, but this was a decidedly red jelly substance. Is there a grease or oil out there that is red colored?
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| Distinct red coloring isn't noticeable in this picture |
The zig-zag lever was frozen and I used heat and Tri-Flow to get is loosened up. The needle position piston was also stuck so I couldn't move the needle right-left-center, but that loosened up as well with heat.
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| The back side needed cleaning and the pressure foot lifter and spool pins had a bit of rust |
Here she is all cleaned up and back in the cabinet.
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| Almost looks brand new |
Has anyone reading this used a Bernina 717 before? Any comments, suggestions, warnings as I look for a project to try out on this machine?
I have one. It had a cracked plastic/nylon gear wheel, which caused a sort of dead spot (it would stop sewing and I had to turn the handwheel to get it going again). I got this fixed. The thing that is finicky is the double wheel for adjusting needle position and zigzag width. I think the needle position control has deteriorated a bit. It seems to move farther to the left than to the right, so best to check the width in regards to the markers on the plate, as the "centre" setting doesn't seem to be exactly in the centre any more. Also, the centre dial will not twist all the way to the left (zero marking). Not sure what this means yet.
ReplyDeleteKushami-
DeleteAre you referring to the stitch width dial for zig-zagging? If that doesn't go all the way to zero then you can't do a plain straight stitch, correct? I have used this machine a few times now for piecing quilts and sewing one shirt. I really like how smoothly it works. What will you sew on yours?
Oops, I never replied to this! I can sew a straight stitch okay because luckily when you set the stitch selector on the top of the machine to straight stitch, it ignores the setting on the zigzag dial. It is the needle position dial that won't go all the way to the left (zero), so I can't move the needle all the way to the left. I think it only matters in terms of not being able to line up the right side of the foot with something and get the stitch line a certain distance to the left. Funnily enough, the dial for zigzag goes past the zero into negative. I wonder what would happen if I sewed a negative zigzag – go back in time? :-)
DeleteRed gel maybe Marvel Mystery Oil? I knew someone who used it years ago for sewing machines.
ReplyDeleteOh never mind, on the gears it would be grease, not oil
ReplyDeleteHello, I just came upon your site by searching Bernina 717. I have really enjoyed the couple of hours I spent reading your blogs. There is a Bernina 717 machine for sale on Kijii for $250.00 Canadian and I am wondering if it would be a good investment. The various sewing machines listed are often much different prices for the same machine. Where do you usually look for your fabric for sewing? Thank you for your time and anticipated answers. Diane My email address is diane.courtrunner@gmail.com
ReplyDelete