PFTTT.

After tinkering off and on for a week, dismantling and cleaning the entire bobbin area, watching every sewing video on YouTube and swearing like a drunken sailor, I still can't the Merritt to make a stitch. The bobbin thread will not pull up, turning the wheel spins the hook assembly but nothing moves the thread off the bobbin and into the path of the needle. It just sits there looking all bobbiny. I don't **THINK** it's the timing, the hook meets the eye of the needle as it rises.

It's cleaner than it started, though not overly icky. A little oily and rusty. Since this photo was taken it has been dismantled, cleaned and reassembled.

It moves smoothly with no noises or skipping.




I'll give it the weekend to think about it's behavior and for the magic free sewing machine fairy to come and fix it. And if it's still misbehaving on Monday, it will go back to where it came from. Along with a patio table and old bicycle. And I will continue my search for the dedicated buttonholer. Ah well.