-1-

Instruction M

anual

For generic HA

-1 15 class

Sewing M

achines

-2-

Your

HA

-1 S

ewin

g M

achi

ne

This

is a

gen

eric

inst

ruct

ion

man

ual f

or s

traig

ht s

titch

se

win

g m

achi

nes

that

are

com

mon

ly k

now

n as

HA

-1s.

The

HA

-1 m

achi

ne is

mec

hani

cally

a c

lone

of t

he v

ery

old

Sing

er 1

5 cl

ass,

such

as

the

15-3

0 or

15-

87. M

any

late

r 15

clas

s Si

nger

s, su

ch a

s th

e 15

-91,

use

d a

diff

er-

ent s

huttl

e/bo

bbin

cas

e ar

rang

emen

t whi

ch w

as m

ostly

re

vers

ed f

rom

this

sty

le. H

owev

er, t

his

early

sty

le b

e-ca

me

so p

reva

lent

that

Sin

ger e

vent

ually

sw

itche

d ba

ck

to th

e ea

rlier

arr

ange

men

t. H

A-1

mac

hine

s ha

ve b

een

sold

with

hun

dred

s of

dif-

fere

nt n

amep

late

s, bu

t ar

e al

l es

sent

ially

the

sam

e.

Mos

t of

the

HA

-1 m

achi

nes

have

bee

n bu

ilt in

the

far

east

ern

coun

tries

sin

ce t

he e

nd o

f W

W2.

The

re h

ave

been

num

erou

s m

odifi

catio

ns,

but

the

basi

c m

achi

ne

has

rem

aine

d so

sim

ilar

that

this

inst

ruct

ion

book

will

co

ver t

he im

porta

nt p

oint

s for

man

y m

achi

nes.

The

bobb

ins

are

the

com

mon

15

clas

s, an

d th

e ne

edle

s ar

e kn

own

as 1

5X1

(US)

, 705

(H

or

B, E

urop

ean)

, or

HA

X1

(Jap

anes

e or

oth

er f

ar e

aste

rn),

follo

wed

by

the

# th

at d

esig

nate

s th

e si

ze. A

US

size

16

= a

Euro

pean

si

ze 1

00, s

ize

14 =

size

90,

size

12

= si

ze 8

0. T

he E

uro-

pean

# t

ells

the

act

ual

size

of

the

need

le, s

uch

as t

he

100

is 1

mm

in d

ia.,

the

80 is

.8m

m in

dia

., et

c.

Prep

ared

by:

B

ill H

olm

an

Mad

ison

, WI

-3-

TO R

EPLAC

E THE N

EEDLE

To replace the needle, raise the needle bar to its highest point

by turning

the hand

wheel

(Fig. 3)

TOW

AR

D

YO

U

by hand.

Loosen the

needle clamp screw

(A) on the

right hand side, and the needle clam

p will open, allow

ing the old needle to slip out. R

emove the old needle and

slide the

new

needle up,

(FLA

T

SIDE

T

O

TH

E R

IGH

T) as far as it will go.

When the needle hits the stop,

it is

positioned correctly.

Tighten the

needle clam

p screw

securely. For best re-sults change needle frequently.

Note: U

se only 15X

1, 705, or HA

X1

class needles.

NEED

LES AN

D TH

REA

D

Never use a bent needle, nor one w

ith a blunt point, since this causes im

perfect stitches and may cause the needle to break.

Unless the needle is in all the w

ay, flat side to the right, the ma-

chine will not function correctly, and you w

ill not get good results. The size of the needle should conform

to the size of the thread, and both should be suitable for the m

aterial being sewn. In m

ost applications, use the sam

e thread top and bottom, and alw

ays use good quality thread and needles.

-4-

THE

BO

BB

IN C

ASE

Im

port

ant

In

the

follo

w-

ing

oper

a-tio

ns, t

he n

ee-

dle

mus

t al-

way

s be

abov

e th

e su

r-fa

ce o

f the

m

achi

ne. I

n ra

isin

g th

e ne

edle

, al-

way

s tur

n th

e ha

nd w

heel

to

war

d yo

u.

REM

OV

ING

TH

E B

OB

BIN

CA

SE

INSE

RTIN

G T

HE

BO

BB

IN C

ASE

Slid

e or

lift

the

acce

ss p

late

. (Fi

g. 4

) With

left

thum

b an

d fo

refin

-ge

r, op

en th

e hi

nged

latc

h (A

-Fig

. 2) o

n th

e bo

bbin

cas

e, a

nd h

old

secu

rely

as

you

with

draw

it

from

the

pos

t. (D

-Fig

. 2)

*Not

e th

e po

sitio

n of

you

r fin

gers

on

the

latc

h, b

ecau

se it

is im

porta

nt to

grip

it

the

sam

e w

ay w

hen

rein

serti

ng it

into

the

mac

hine

.

Afte

r ins

talli

ng th

e bo

bbin

in th

e ca

se, g

rip th

e la

tch

with

you

r fin

-ge

rs in

the

sam

e po

sitio

n* a

s w

hen

you

rem

oved

it. (

Not

e: If

you

gr

ip it

with

you

r fin

gers

poi

nted

dire

ctly

tow

ard

the

case

, it w

ill b

e di

ffic

ult t

o in

stal

l it i

n th

e m

achi

ne.)

Gui

de th

e bo

bbin

cas

e ba

ck

onto

the

post

with

the

finge

r (B

-Fig

. 2)

into

the

notc

h (C

-Fig

. 2).

This

sho

uld

be a

n ea

sy o

pera

tion

requ

iring

no

forc

e. W

hen

you

rele

ase

the

latc

h, it

will

sna

p on

to th

e gr

oove

on

the

post

, and

the

thre

e or

fou

r in

ches

of

thre

ad h

angi

ng f

ree

from

the

bobb

in c

ase

will

be

brou

ght u

p th

roug

h th

e ne

edle

pla

te a

s sho

wn

on p

age

8.

-5-

WIN

DIN

G TH

E BO

BB

IN

Note: This m

achine uses standard 15 class bobbins. The bobbin can also be w

ound while the m

achine is in operation by not releasing the stop m

otion knob as described be-low

, in which case, m

achine and bobbin w

inder will operate at the

same tim

e.

While holding the hand w

heel with the left hand, turn the stop m

o-tion knob tow

ard you. This will perm

it the hand wheel to turn

freely while the needle bar rem

ains still. Place a spool of thread on spool pin (A

). Pass the thread through the tension disk (B) at right

corner of the base of the machine. A

ttach the thread to an empty

bobbin by winding it around num

erous times or inserting it inside

out through one of the holes. Place the bobbin on spindle (C).

Push the bobbin winder (D

) down until the snaps against the hand

wheel, and finger (E) drops betw

een the sides of the bobbin. Oper-

ate the motor until the bobbin is full or the finger (E) snaps up and

disengages the bobbin winder. D

o not over fill the bobbin. Cut the

thread, and tighten the stop motion screw

while holding the hand

wheel. Y

our bobbin is now ready to be inserted in the bobbin case

(pg. 6) and installed in the machine (pg. 4).

-6-

TO T

HR

EAD

TH

E B

OB

BIN

CA

SE

Hol

d th

e bo

bbin

cas

e be

twee

n th

e le

ft th

umb

and

fore

finge

r w

ith t

he s

lot

up.

With

4 o

r 5

inch

es o

f th

read

tra

iling

in

the

dire

ctio

n sh

own…

...

inse

rt th

e bo

bbin

into

the

bob-

bin

case

and

pul

l th

e tra

iling

th

read

bac

k in

to t

he s

lot,

dow

n an

d to

the

left,

unt

il it

snap

s in

to

the

“del

iver

y ey

e” u

nder

the

ten-

sion

spr

ing.

W

hen

you

pull

on

the

thre

ad, l

ooki

ng a

t the

bob

bin

in t

he o

pen

side

of

the

bobb

in

case

, th

e bo

bbin

sho

uld

rota

te

cloc

kwis

e.

Ther

e sh

ould

be

a

slig

ht b

ut

cons

iste

nt t

ensi

on (

drag

) on

the

th

read

as

it is

pul

led

thro

ugh

the

“del

iver

y ey

e.”

The

tens

ion

can

be in

crea

sed

by tu

rnin

g th

e te

n-si

on s

crew

clo

ckw

ise

decr

ease

d by

turn

ing

it co

unte

r-clo

ckw

ise.

-7-

UPPER

THR

EAD

ING

1– Place a spool of thread on spool pin (A).

2– Bring the thread from

the back of the spool, (so that the notch in the spool is up) and lead it through thread guide (B

). 3- R

un the thread down, betw

een, and under the tension disks (C)

from back to front.

4– Bring the thread over the guide bar (D

) and through the check spring (E).

5- With the take up lever (F) in its upperm

ost position, bring the thread through it from

back to front. 6– R

un the thread through guides (G) &

(H).

7– Thread the needle from left to right, draw

ing it through about 4-5 inches.

-8-

TO P

REP

AR

E FO

R S

EWIN

G

Thre

ad m

achi

ne a

s per

pag

es 6

& 7

. Pi

ck u

p th

e bo

bbin

thre

ad b

y ho

ldin

g th

e lo

ose

end

of th

e ne

edle

th

read

with

you

r le

ft ha

nd w

hile

tur

ning

the

han

d w

heel

tow

ard

you

until

the

nee

dle

mov

es d

own

and

up a

nd t

he th

read

tak

e up

le

ver h

as re

ache

d its

hig

hest

pos

ition

. Pu

ll ge

ntly

on

the

need

le th

read

whe

re it

is lo

oped

dow

n th

roug

h th

e ne

edle

pla

te, a

nd th

e bo

bbin

thre

ad w

ill c

ome

up th

roug

h th

e ne

edle

hol

e. (I

f the

bob

bin

thre

ad d

oes

not c

ome

up, r

eche

ck y

our

thre

adin

g, a

nd b

e su

re t

hat

ther

e is

4-5

inc

hes

of t

hrea

d tra

iling

fro

m th

e bo

bbin

cas

e.)

Fina

lly,

plac

e bo

th t

hrea

d en

ds t

owar

d th

e re

ar o

f th

e m

achi

ne,

with

the

nee

dle

thre

ad g

oing

bet

wee

n th

e tw

o pr

esse

r fo

ot t

oes

(A).

-9-

TO STA

RT SEWIN

G

TO R

EMO

VE TH

E WO

RK

With the needle raised and the threads draw

n back at least 4 inches through the toes of the presser foot, place the m

aterial to be sew

n beneath the presser foot and lower the presser

foot lift lever. Turn the hand wheel tow

ard you until the nee-dle enters the m

aterial. Regulate the desired stitch length

(Fig. 12) and start sewing.

Do not try to help the feeding of the m

aterial by pulling by hand, as this m

ay bend or break the needle. Gently guide the

material as it feeds in the direction you w

ant to sew.

Stop the machine by releasing the pressure on the foot or

knee control and stopping the hand wheel w

ith your right hand. If you are stopping to turn a corner, stop w

ith the nee-dle just entering the m

aterial. If you are going to remove the

material, stop w

ith the needle and take up lever at their high-est positions. Then, raise the presser foot lift lever, draw

the m

aterial to the back about 6-8 inches, and cut the thread.

-10-

Fabr

ic S

elec

tor:

The

hei

ght o

f th

e fe

ed d

og m

ay b

e re

gula

ted

acco

rdin

g to

the

thi

ckne

ss o

r ot

her

char

acte

ristic

s of

the

ma-

teria

l be

ing

sew

n, b

y pr

oper

se

tting

of t

he d

rop

feed

kno

b.

1– W

hen

sew

ing

norm

al to

thic

k m

ater

ials

, tur

n th

e kn

ob to

th

e “N

OR

M”

posi

tion.

2–

Whe

n se

win

g th

in m

ater

ials

, suc

h as

silk

, whi

ch re

quire

a

gent

ler f

eedi

ng m

otio

n, tu

rn th

e kn

ob to

“SI

LK.”

3–

Whe

n a

situ

atio

n ar

ises

whe

n yo

u w

ant t

o m

ove

the

ma-

teria

l by

han

d, s

uch

as i

n da

rnin

g or

em

broi

dery

, tu

rn t

he

knob

to th

e “D

AR

N”

or “

EMB

R”

posi

tion.

OTH

ER F

EATU

RES

PRES

SUR

E C

ON

TRO

L Th

e pr

essu

re c

ontro

l (Fi

g. 4

, pg.

5)

cont

rols

the

amou

nt o

f pr

essu

re th

at th

e pr

esse

r foo

t app

lies

to th

e m

ater

ial.

Diff

er-

ent H

A-1

s us

e tw

o ve

rsio

ns o

f the

pre

ssur

e co

ntro

l, bu

t you

ca

n re

gula

te it

by

scre

win

g it

up a

nd d

own

or u

sing

the

snap

re

leas

e, t

o fin

d th

e pr

essu

re t

hat

prov

ides

the

bes

t fe

edin

g ac

tion.

PRES

SER

FEE

T &

ATT

AC

HM

ENTS

Y

our H

A-1

is e

quip

ped

with

a st

anda

rd lo

w sh

ank

mou

ntin

g sy

stem

. With

this

arr

ange

men

t, it

is e

asy

to fi

nd a

lmos

t any

ty

pe o

f pre

sser

foot

or a

ttach

men

t for

you

r sew

ing

need

s.

Fig.

11

-11-

STITCH

LENG

TH R

EGU

LATION

Regulating the length of the stitch: The m

achine can be adjusted to from

six to thirty stitches per inch, as in-dicated by the num

bers on the stitch indicator plate. C

hanging the length of the stitch is accomplished as

follows:

Loosen the stitch length stop control (B, Fig. 12) and

move it to the bottom

of the slot. Move the stitch

length lever (A, Fig. 12) to the desired stitch length.

Now

, move the stop control up until the control plate

(visible in the stitch length slot) touches the bottom of

the stitch length lever. Tighten the thumb screw

(B)

with finger pressure only. A

t this point, the stitch length is “m

arked,” and you can move the lever up to

sew in reverse at approxim

ately the same stitch length,

and then return it to your desired forward length.

-12-

Not

e: M

ost m

inor

impe

rfec

-tio

ns in

the

stitc

h ca

n be

cor

-re

cted

by

adju

stin

g th

e ne

e-dl

e te

nsio

n on

ly.

To i

ncre

ase

the

uppe

r te

n-si

on,

turn

the

ten

sion

kno

b cl

ockw

ise.

To

de

crea

se

it,

turn

cou

nter

cloc

kwis

e. A

ll ad

just

men

ts s

houl

d be

mad

e gr

adua

lly,

no m

ore

than

one

num

ber a

t a ti

me.

Whe

n th

e pr

esse

r foo

t is i

n th

e ra

ised

pos

ition

, the

upp

er te

nsio

n is

rele

ased

, so

if yo

u pu

ll on

the

thre

ad to

feel

the

amou

nt o

f ten

sion

, the

foot

mus

t be

dow

n.

If it

beco

mes

nec

essa

ry t

o ad

just

the

bob

bin

tens

ion,

thi

s is

ex-

plai

ned

on p

g. 6

, Fig

. 7.

TEN

SIO

NS

For

idea

l st

itchi

ng,

the

ten-

sion

on

the

uppe

r an

d lo

wer

th

read

s sh

ould

be

equa

l, an

d ju

st

suffi

cien

tly

stro

ng

to

lock

bot

h th

read

s in

the

cen-

ter o

f the

wor

k. (F

ig. 1

3)

If th

e up

per

tens

ion

is t

oo

tight

or

the

low

er t

oo l

oose

, th

e ne

edle

th

read

w

ill

lay

stra

ight

on

the

uppe

r sur

face

. (F

ig. 1

4)

If th

e lo

wer

ten

sion

is

too

tight

or

the

uppe

r to

o lo

ose,

th

e bo

bbin

thr

ead

will

lay

st

raig

ht o

n th

e un

ders

ide

of

the

mat

eria

l. (F

ig. 1

5)

-13-

OILIN

G TH

E MA

CH

INE

Fig. 17

Your H

A-1 sew

ing machine never needs grease. A

ll moving parts

which com

e in contact with others m

ust be covered with a thin

film of oil, and should not be allow

ed to become dry. O

il, when

necessary, should be applied at the points indicated by the arrows

in Fig. 17, a single drop of oil is usually sufficient if applied in the right place. O

il all spots of contact on the underside of the ma-

chine. These spots can be identified by rotating the hand wheel

and watching w

here parts move against one another. The shuttle

race should be kept oiled, and frequently, it is wise to snap open

the clamps that hold the shuttle retainer, and rem

ove the shuttle to clean the race and apply oil. O

nce the machine has been oiled, it is

wise to run it to distribute the oil, and sew

some stitches on a test

cloth until oil no longer appears on the thread. N

ote: Use sew

ing machine oil only. M

ulti purpose oils w

ill often dry leaving a sticky residue behind.

-14-

SEW

ING

HIN

TS

See

that

the

pres

ser

foot

scr

ew is

secu

rely

tigh

tene

d. I

t is

dang

erou

s fo

r the

foot

to v

ibra

te lo

ose

whi

le y

ou a

re o

pera

t-in

g th

e m

achi

ne.

Skip

ped

stitc

hes

may

be

caus

ed b

y a

bent

or b

lunt

nee

dle,

by

inco

rrec

t pos

ition

ing

of th

e ne

edle

, the

wro

ng si

ze o

f nee

-dl

e, o

r by

thre

ad th

at is

too

heav

y fo

r the

sele

cted

nee

dle.

B

reak

ing

need

les

are

usua

lly c

ause

d by

the

oper

ator

pul

ling

on th

e fa

bric

in a

n ef

fort

to h

elp

the

mac

hine

feed

. Thi

s ac

-tio

n w

ill p

ull

the

need

le o

ut o

f lin

e an

d it

will

stri

ke t

he

pres

ser f

oot o

r nee

dle

plat

e.

Bre

akin

g th

e up

per

thre

ad m

ay b

e ca

used

by:

1–

Inco

rrec

t thr

eadi

ng

2– N

ot b

ringi

ng u

p th

e bo

bbin

thre

ad c

orre

ctly

3–

Upp

er te

nsio

n to

o tig

ht

4– B

ad n

eedl

e, o

r cla

mpe

d in

corr

ectly

5–

Nee

dle

rubb

ing

agai

nst a

ttach

men

ts o

r pre

sser

foot

6–

Nee

dle

eye

too

smal

l for

thre

ad

7– S

tarti

ng th

e m

achi

ne a

t ful

l spe

ed

8– S

tarti

ng m

achi

ne w

ithou

t tak

e up

leve

r at h

ighe

st p

oint

B

reak

ing

the

low

er th

read

may

be

caus

ed b

y:

1– In

corr

ect t

hrea

ding

of b

obbi

n ca

se

2– T

oo ti

ght a

tens

ion

3– B

obbi

n w

ound

too

full

to re

volv

e fre

ely

4– N

ot b

ringi

ng u

p bo

bbin

thre

ad c

orre

ctly

5–

Hol

e in

the

need

le p

late

dam

aged

by

need

le st

rikes

U

neve

n st

itche

s may

be

caus

ed b

y:

1– P

ress

er fo

ot n

ot re

stin

g ev

enly

on

mat

eria

l 2–

Fee

d do

gs n

ot h

igh

enou

gh

3– T

oo sh

ort a

stitc

h 4–

Pul

ling

the

clot

h 5–

Inco

rrec

t nee

dle

for t

he th

read

, or p

oor q

ualit

y th

read