How best to straighten a bent spool pin?

[HamsterJam]

MIL has bent the spool pin on her ancient Toyota 4080 sewing machine.
I can’t find a spare so option 1 is trying to straighten it.
My initial thought is to remove it from the machine, clamp in a vice and gently straighten by tapping with a hammer or bending with pliers but I am worried about it snapping.
Option 2 is to find/fashion an alternative part.

Any suggestions for better methods please? - What about heating it with a blow torch?
(Unfortunately I don’t have a metal turning lathe but if I need to make a replacement I will try holding brass stock in a jacobs chuck in the headstock of my wood turning lathe and use files to get the correct profile.)

Picture in next post……

 

[HamsterJam]

 

[Daniel2]

This just supports my belief that no home is complete without a metal lathe.

Alternatively, I would first try gently in a vice. Although, it does look
as if it's just waiting for a reason to snap.
How straight does it actually have to be ?

 

[user 35906]

If you can remove it is should straighten easily if you heat it on the bend. It must have had a fair knock to bend it cold.

 

[Tris]

If all else fails one of these would probably fit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27177781...XwgzqajSc-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[redhunter350]

Looks as though it may be Chrome Plated ? However plus one for hunter27's suggestion, the more local the heat the better and it needs to be dull red heat to be effective. It will discolour the item but it will polish with very fine emery or maybe burnishing compound aka T-cut.

 

[HamsterJam]

How straight does it actually have to be ?

It has to be pretty straight to hold the reel containing the thread and not provide significant resistance (that will mess up the thread tension). It should also retract into the body of the machine.

I would like a small metal lathe but probably need a bigger workshop first

It must have had a fair knock to bend it cold.

It doesn’t fully retract into the machine and I suspect it was clobbered by something while being transported in the boot of the car

 

[HamsterJam]

If you can remove it is should straighten easily if you heat it on the bend. It must have had a fair knock to bend it cold.

Looks as though it may be Chrome Plated ? However plus one for hunter27's suggestion, the more local the heat the better and it needs to be dull red heat to be effective. It will discolour the item but it will polish with very fine emery or maybe burnishing compound aka T-cut.

Thank-you. I’ll try this hopefully over the next day or so and report back.

 

[MikeH]

Does it have to be a metal replacement? Some machines use plastic pins, especially as a second spool holder, there isn't a lot of pressure on the spool holder in use. Maybe use a plastic replacement. Obviously if they want a like for like or asthetically exact replacement that won't work.

 

[HamsterJam]

Does it have to be a metal replacement? Some machines use plastic pins, especially as a second spool holder, there isn't a lot of pressure on the spool holder in use. Maybe use a plastic replacement. Obviously if they want a like for like or asthetically exact replacement that won't work.

This machine is one of those with a secondary plastic spool holder.
It could be an option if everything else fails Thank-you.

 

[HamsterJam]

Really sorry due to unforeseen circumstances I’ve not had time to dismantle this machine yet (been helping youngest son sort a biggish problem ).
I promise to drop an update here when I get sufficient spare time to look at it (and I thought I’d have all the time in the world to do things like this when I retired )

 

[aet1]

What does is this word "retired" mean?

 

[HamsterJam]

Today is the day I finally got round to looking at the bent spool pin on the MIL’s sewing machine.
The machine comes apart (and thankfully goes back together) easily and the spool pin is fairly accessible.
It looks like a generic part which is readily available.
Bearing this in mind I had a go a straightening it which went better than expected….

Thank-you for your help and support

 

[mwinfrance]

The machine will work better and the thread flow more freely if she gets one of the free standing thread cone supports* and runs her thread from that, the higher above the machine the better.That is why big industrial sewing machines ( i have 7 here , and some esotheric other specialised "artisanal" ones ) have their thread support systems behind the machine for the cones and the thread goes up to them , through the "eye" and down to the machines first anti twist guide. Cone thread is also much cheaper in the kind of thicknesses ( 42 ) that her machine will use. Small cone has about 2500.oo metres on each ,and will cost her about £2.00 per cone at retail from most haberdashery shops.Lidl does a perfectly good thread on cones which they say is for "overlockers" it is size 42 and is in fact general use double twist polyester thread.Suggest that she also covers her thread store. Dusty thread gives more tension problems than almost any other reason, that and forgetting to clean out the "lint" from the bobbin carrier ( in the sleeve arm / lower part of the "harp" ) below and general area down below.
* Cost will be around £5.oo or so..basically a plastic pad with a chromed wire stick ( about 50cm high attached ).

 

[HamsterJam]

The machine will work better and the thread flow more freely if she gets one of the free standing thread cone supports* and runs her thread from that, the higher above the machine the better.That is why big industrial sewing machines ( i have 7 here , and some esotheric other specialised "artisanal" ones ) have their thread support systems behind the machine for the cones and the thread goes up to them , through the "eye" and down to the machines first anti twist guide. Cone thread is also much cheaper in the kind of thicknesses ( 42 ) that her machine will use. Small cone has about 2500.oo metres on each ,and will cost her about £2.00 per cone at retail from most haberdashery shops.Lidl does a perfectly good thread on cones which they say is for "overlockers" it is size 42 and is in fact general use double twist polyester thread.Suggest that she also covers her thread store. Dusty thread gives more tension problems than almost any other reason, that and forgetting to clean out the "lint" from the bobbin carrier ( in the sleeve arm / lower part of the "harp" ) below and general area down below.
* Cost will be around £5.oo or so..basically a plastic pad with a chromed wire stick ( about 50cm high attached ).

Thank-you. I’ll pass that on.
This is in fact her secondary machine and she also has an over locker which uses the cones of thread.