Vintage Kenmore sewing machines, especially the 158 models manufactured before 1976, have gained a reputation for quality, durability, ruggedness, and ease of use. Over the years, the Kenmore 158 models, made by Maruzen in Japan, were manufactured with a myriad of different models and features. Useful built in stitches, cams, attachments, accessories, high shank, low shank, external motor, internal motor, flat bed, free arm, etc, were found on different series in the models. One thing that remained constant and shared by all is the ability to sew with a minimum of fuss with adjustments and produce a great stitch. The reason? They are built to high quality standards demanded by Sear and Roebuck to back up their satisfaction guarantee. One this that is prominent on many Kenmore’s is the 25 year warranty label proudly displayed on the body of the machines.

The 158.1802 series sewing machine is regarded by many as the “Best of the Kenmore’s”. There is a lot in the machine to back this claim up. The body is enameled cast aluminum rather than cast iron. All of the the internal mechanisms are steel. The internal cam stack, the gears, the drive shafts, the exterior knobs, the balance wheel, and the face plate are metal, including the decorative plate on the nose. With a 1.2 amp motor and reduction belt drive, the machine is powerful. It runs quietly and smoothly. It’s super high shank and generous presser foot bar extension are capable of sewing projects that were never intended for this class of machine… but its there. From all angles, the 1802 is a very good sewing machine.

Servicing a Kenmore is a very straightforward process. The key to these machines is cleaning and lubrication. Adjustments to the sewing mechanism is very uncommon and rarely needed. Motor reconditioning is always done, but Kenmore motors are very durable and the reconditioning is done more for continued longevity than it is to restore performance… at least in my experience. So, the topic here is servicing a 158.1802, but the steps are pretty much applicable to any similar Kenmore.

First step is cleaning. The paint on these machines is very durable, so cleaning is much simpler, in that detergents can be used without damaging the finish… no, you can’t use solvents or abrasive compounds, but a diluted solution of Krud Kutter (what I use) works very well. There is a lot of mechanical linkages and moving parts in these machines that need to be cleaned, but disassembly is not necessary, or advised. Fortunately, they are pretty accessible for cleaning. These components are cleaned with cotton swabs.

Parts that should be removed are the presser foot, needle plate, bobbin cover plate, balance wheel, bobbin case, shuttle hook, bobbin winder, and the top tension assembly. All are easy to remove.

Removing these assemblies makes cleaning the moving assemblies and feed dogs easy… just takes time and attention to detail to remove any old oil, varnish, and lint accumulated over the years.

These parts are ultrasonically cleaned and set aside for reassembly. They can be easily cleaned with a cotton swab and detergent.

The underside of the machine is easy to access. There are a few things to do under here besides cleaning. The motor will be reconditioned without complete removal, and the gear case will be serviced.

All of the mechanisms here are cleaned and oiled.

Motor reconditioning…

The motor brushes are removed, the coils cleaned with CRC electric cleaner, the armature is polished, the brushes are reconditioned, and the motor is reassembled and oiled.

Gear Case Cleaning…

This glob of grease is doing nothing to lubricate the gears. You can see the cavity in the grease where the gears sit, but no grease on the gear teeth. This is all removed and the gears regreased.

Top Tension Assembly Cleaning…

The tension assembly is disassembled, ultrasonically cleaned, and reassembled.

Bobbin Case Cleaning…

The bobbin case and the bobbin case leaf spring is removed and cleaned. This is a very important step not often discussed in cleaning or servicing a sewing machine. A bit of dirt or corrosion here can cause a host of tension problems and poor stitch quality. If you look closely, you will see some dirt on the bobbin case body and leaf spring. These parts are ultrasonically cleaned, then soaked in WD-40 to remove any water remaining in the assembly, then soaked in 99% volume alcohol to remove any WD-40 remaining in the assembly. It is very important to keep these components free of oil.

Sewing Machine Arm Mechanism Cleaning…

There are no screws to remove, the top cover pops off to reveal the sewing mechanisms. Cleaning the assemblies is straight forward. The gears are cleaned and re-greased. After all of the assemblies are cleaned, they are oiled.

The Front Sewing Head Cleaning…

The light bulb bracket is unfastened and swung out of the way for access, The mechanisms are accessible for cleaning and oiling.

All of the sewing mechanisms under the bed, under the top cover, and behind the front cover are given a light coat of WD-40 spray. While not a lubricant, it will provide a protective coating.

Cleaning the Body…

Not much to say here, but the body of the machine is cleaned with a soft cloth, some mild detergent, and some cotton swabs will remove any dirt, dust, or oil on the painted finish. Follow the cleaning with an application of good carnauba wax and buffing, and the machine will look new. This is especially true with this machine because there is no plastic to clean or worry about damaging .

Now everything is clean, every thing is reassembled, and everything is properly lubricated. All that remains is adjusting the top tension, and the bobbin case tension. This is done by running the machine.

That’s it! While it is time consuming, the detail involved in cleaning and reconditioning is worth it. This 1802 will run and sew great for a long time to come. If you have a Kenmore of this vintage, this level of cleaning will bring your machine back to the peak of its performance and you will see a noticeable difference in how she sews!

Sewing machine restoration is a time consuming process. The details matter to get the best presentation from a sewing machines finish that is 50 to a 100 years old.

These are the machines that have lacquered finishes and decals. These are the machines that have accumulated layers of dirt, dust, and grime over the decades. These are the machines with the shiny steel, nickle and chrome plated pieces that have become dull from the buildup of varnish (that coffee colored coating you notice on the needle and presser foot bar) caused by oil aging over the years.

You have to be concerned about what the best outcome can be for the parts you are working on, and then choose the cleaning processes that best achieve that goal. People tend to concentrate on the painted finish and decals, and there is a lot of information about how to clean these surfaces. But what about the shiny bits? The presser foot, the needle plate, the covers, the small shiny screws and fittings, the presser foot bar and needle bar. Then there is the bobbin case, the tension assemblies, and the rocking and rotating parts. All of these must be cleaned. All of these require different cleaning methods than the paint and decals.

Fine #0000 Steel wool and wire brushes may seem to be appropriate in some places, for example where there is corrosion or pitting. These should be the last resort methods where nothing else will work. Realize that these abrasive methods will result in creating fine scratches that will ultimately dull an otherwise shiny surface that must be polished later to restore their shine.

Removing grease and varnish on the shiny bits can be accomplished with alcohol and acetone using cotton swabs and cotton balls. This method represents the majority of work in a restoration, but must be done cautiously. A drip of alcohol or acetone on a painted surface will damage the finish. So, cleaning the shiny bits is a tedious and time consuming process. It would not be unusual to use a hundred or more cotton swabs to accomplish the task.

Enter the ultrasonic cleaner… this wonderful appliance has saved me countless hours of hand cleaning small (and larger parts). It is now my go to method for any unpainted part that can be removed from the machine.

The theory behind ultrasonic cleaning has been used for a long time in industry. Its simple… a dirty part is submerged in water. The cleaner creates a high frequency wave in the water. Small microscopic bubbles form on the parts surface. The bubbles implode and create a high pressure (though microscopic) vaccum called “cavitation”. The dirt is sucked off of the surface without damaging the part.

My cleaner is large enough to accommodate the face plate, the inspection covers, neele plate, bobbin cover plate, feed dogs, tension parts, and all of the small miscellaneous shiny bits such as screws, and levers, Rotating parts and rocker arms are also effectively in the ultrasonic cleaner.

Mine heats the water to about 150 degrees, and with a small amount of degreaser and a 15 or 20 minute cleaning cycle, they come out looking almost like new. The following example is the best I can offer…

Following a rinse and a bath in WD-40 to displace any water left behind, it is a simple matter of wiping the cleaned part with a clean shop towel. Tension parts get a final soak in alcohol to remove any trace of the WD-40, we don’t want any lubrication here.

If you are interested in getting a great result on these shiny parts, and want to save yourself a LOT of time, ultrasonic cleaning is the way to go. By the way, in the absence of oil buildup, water is all you really need to use to get great results. Soap or degreasers are not necessary. It is great for many other applications such as cleaning jewelry, sunglasses, dental implants, carburetors, etc… So you can get one and justify the very reasonable price!

Tell me what do you think?

My experience with vintage sewing machines made in Europe is non-existent. I have plenty of experience with many Singer, Kenmore, New Home/Janome, Brother, White, and other similar Japanese brand machines and I have found them all to be of good quality.

Well, I acquired a Necchi BU Mira about 6 months ago. I heard so many great things about the Necchi BU machine from others, I wanted one. It is a basic straight stitch and zig-zag machine with an external motor, mine does not have the seemingly complicated “magic wheel” but it looks like the bracket is on the machine.

When I got the machine I was tied up in reconditioning other vintage machines, and except for cleaning and lubricating, I didn’t attempt to service it any further. I did try it out to sew how she sewed… fail. To be honest, I was not happy with the first sewing experience because the fabric did not feed reliably thru the feed mechanism… I figured the feed dogs needed adjustment so I packed it back in its case and put it in the corner for another day.

Well, another day was today! I prepared the machine so I could adjust the feed dogs, and a curious thing happened… the feed dogs appeared to be working fine. I tried to sew with a piece of scrap fabric, and it sewed just fine. Apparently, the oil I applied sat soaking for 6 months and freed up the feed dog mechanism.

My first impression of the machine is consistent with that of any high quality all metal vintage swing machine of this caliber. The machines mechanism is smooth as silk. Except for a clicking sound from the bobbin case, only a very slight “whir” could be heard from the motor, I think that much of the bobbin noise can be eliminated by some simple adjustments, or perhaps the bobbin case is not the proper one for this machine, but works.

In all honesty, I did not think the stitch quality was up to par with the machines reputation and pedegree… not bad, but not as straight as expected. Again, I suspect that adjustments will improve the stitch quality a great deal. All, in all I am very satisfied with my Necchi BU Mira and see a lot of potential in it. I am confident that with a detailed reconditioning, it will be a superb sewing machine.

Here is what I like about the sewing machine:

• It has a very smooth drive and sewing mechanism. The high quality of its manufacture is evident everywhere you look.
• It has a dual (high/slow) speed motor.
• It is very quiet and smooth in operation.
• The tension control is incredible… it is actually a micro adjustable tension control. 4 or 5 full turns of the tension dial to change the tension from a setting of “3” to “4” on the dial. This kind of tension control is fantastic.
• It has a cast iron body and its weight makes it very sturdy and durable.
• All of the sewing controls operate smoothly and finely… no creep or tightness anywhere thru the range of motion of the controls.
• It uses a regular 15×1 needle and class 15 bobbin.
• It is a low shank machine, so commonly available low shank accessories should work (I hope).
• The external motor and belts can be readily acquired and replaced.
• Needle piercing power was impressive. There was no hesitation or sense of stalling when starting in thicker folded fabric.

Here’s what I don’t like about the sewing machine:

• Availability of replacement body parts (levers, controls, etc. is almost non-existent. (my machine has a broken needle position lever that I can’t find, even after looking for 6 months… but it will turn up eventually!)
• Ease of service. Trying to work on the mechanisms in the sewing arm is extremely difficult… at least with common tools. The entire sewing arm is cast iron. There is no “top” to remove. the only access is thru a port on the rear of the pillar that is covered with a metal plate (typical of many machines), or by removing the front control covers. Even then, it is a tight space to work in. Neechi must have had special tools to get to some of the screws in this area.

All in all, it is a fine machine… is it as fine as a Singer 201? well, I wouldn’t go so far as to make that claim… but its a keeper!

Tell me what you think!

Well, today we got a “new” Singer model 15… serial number 12175753.

From the serial number she was born in 1873… that makes her 146 years old. The decals are worn but mostly there… very pretty ornamentation for her age. She began her life as a treadle machine. She was converted from a treadle machine by drilling a hole in the rear of the pillar and bolting on an electric motor. Similarly, the rear cover was replaced with a retrofit cover and light.

The ornamentation decal set is called the “Owl”… I see why.

The machine was tight and the mechanism was stiff. The balance wheel turned with some resistance but the needle went up and down and the feed dogs worked.

A little bit of sewing machine oil and the machine was cleaned of years dust and dirt accumulated from years of not being used. A few drops of oil at each of the oiling points and the machine freed up and she turned smoothly.

Now get this… my Wife threaded the machine, we plugged her in, and she began to sew… a little tension adjustment and she sewed well… and she was quiet! Look at the stitch!

Keep in mind, the machine has not been cleaned, she has not been adjusted, the tension mechanism has not been cleaned, the shuttle hook has not been cleaned, it is the same needle that she came with, and except for the sewing bed and arm, all of the dust and lint that was on/in her is still on/in her… so why did she sew at all, much less so wonderfully?

The answer is these vintage all metal sewing machines were made to sew even if they are neglected, not maintained, and ultimately abused. When this machine was manufactured, she changed people’s lives. She had to be tough and versatile. She is “heavy duty” by necessity, but she was never touted as such (unlike the phrase tossed around loosely as it is today). It was taken for granted that she would sew, and sew well. It is clear from the condition that this machine has been well used and no doubt given some maintenance. The quality of the materials and manufacture are excellent. By today’s standards, it is phenomenal quality. The precision and reliability of the mechanism is unchanged even after 146 years. She is one tough sewing machine.

How good are they? well, I know that she will only improve after she is fully serviced and cleaned. I’ve been thinking about what else I own that will be working as it was designed to do after 146 years. The only thing that came to mind is a cast iron pan, and maybe one or two pieces of furniture. I would wager she will still sew after another 146 years and probably outlast the pan.

Oh, did I mention I paid $12.00 for her?

Tell me what you think!

Beautiful form, beautiful gold decorative decals, beautiful chromed plate and covers, beautiful black japan lacquer paint… just this description is enough for many people to think “Singer sewing machine”. They fit the description and more. Aside from outstanding build quality in the machines sewing mechanisms, no effort was spared in the cosmetic detail and finish of these outstanding vintage sewing machines.

Due to years of use, chips in the paint are very commonly found on the sewing bed edges, the sewing arm, and around the rim of the balance wheel. I do not find these chips objectionable, but when reconditioning a classic vintage cast iron black Singer sewing machine, it makes a difference. If you are contemplating paint chip repair on your black singer machine, you may find the following information helpful.

What I have learned is that when it comes to paint matching, “black” isn’t “black”. In fact, there is a very noticeable difference between different brands of black paint. This is true of gloss black, satin black, jet black, and flat black.

Compared to the deep black japanned lacquer originally applied on Singer sewing machines, readily available black paints look “gray” when placed side by side for comparison. Rustoleum, duplo, krylon, automotive paints, artists paints, on and on… they just don’t match the original shade of black on these machines.

The black lacquer Singer used was a formulation that used carbon black powder as the pigment for the deep black color. It was mixed in a shellac base and dipped… not sprayed or brushed on. Unfortunately, this type of finish is not commercially available today. This complicates finding a suitable color match paint considerably because any acceptable paint must have an oil base. Enamels are not compatible with and cannot be applied over this lacquer finish. The same applies to clear coats,

Based on my extensive research and experimentation, the only black paint that comes close is a GM touch up auto paint called “lamp black”. It can be purchased in small quantities suitable for chip repair. Available in paint pens and 1/4 ounce jars, it is as close to the original Singer black as you are likely to find. Use the internet to find the product as you will not likely find it at your friendly auto parts store, hardware store, Walmart, etc.

Expect to get good results on small areas (chip repairs) only. It is close in color, but noticeable upon close inspection, especially as the repaired area gets bigger.

If you are contemplating repairing the small chips on your machine, I with you the best results and hope you found this information helpful.

Let me know what you think!

I was rewiring a Singer button controller today and when I was reassembling the bakelite housing, it occurred to me that the steps I take for granted may be be worthy advice to share with others.

Bakelite is really a “plastic” used from the mid 1930’s well into the early 60’s. And like any plastic, it is much softer than steel and can crack if proper care isn’t followed when reinstalling the steel screws. When it comes to reinstalling the screws, the consequences of cutting new grooves instead of mating with the existing grooves (cross threading) the screws will result in catastrophe, frustration, and tears. The damage caused by cross threading plastic is often irreversible, and even in the best case, weakens the grip of the screw.

To illustrate what I mean, the next few pictures show how this controller is disassembled… and of course, reassembly is the reverse in order of the disassembly.

Note that the metal screws tap into the bakelite housing. The threads it cut in assembly must match the screw threads in the same grooves when it is reassembled. The steel screws are very capable of cutting new grooves in the bakelite housing when reinstalled and this will damage the bakelite housing, bind when tightening, and will likely break or crack the housing. This is true of all plastic housings so this advise spans any application where plastic is fastened with screws.

Prevention is simple. It is easy to align the steel screw threads with mating grooves in the plastic… When you set the screw in the hole of the part to be reassembled, don’t start by turning the screw clockwise (tightening). At this point, you can’t feel where the threads of the screw and the grooves in the plastic mate. Instead, start by turning the screw counter clockwise (loosening) while gently applying downward pressure to the screw. Usually, the weight of the screwdriver is enough. As you are turning the screw counterclockwise, you will feel the screw “set” and the first thread of the screw will settle in the first groove in the plastic. At this point, proceed to tighten the screw. it will not try to cut new grooves (cross thread) but will follow the existing grooves and tighten smoothly.

Its simple, dependable, and will prevent damage to the plastic part being reassembled.

I hope this helps!

I have been hearing and seeing many sewing machines described as “heirloom quality”. To me this connotes a vision of a sewing machine built to last for many generations… hundreds of years of service with simple oiling and cleaning.

The dictionary defines heirloom as “A valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations”. How long is the span of a generation? Wikipedia defines the length of a generation as this…”In population biology and demography, the generation time is the average time between two consecutive generations in the lineages of a population. In human populations, the generation time typically ranges from 22 to 33 years”. So, if we lean to the longer period of 33 years, a one hundred year old heirloom is only 3 generations old.

Now, back to the subject, what is an heirloom quality sewing machine and why do I care? Obviously, it depends on the definition of heirloom quality. There are many vintage sewing machines that incorporate plastic parts that have lived long enough to pass thru at least one generation. For example, a vintage sewing machine made in 1978 (date chosen because by that time, the all metal sewing machine was a fading memory) has been around 41 years. Based on my assumptions, It has been passed down once, and is in the hands of the second generation and may have sentimental value. It meets the definition of “heirloom”. Springs became very common in sewing machines in the early 1950’s (2 generations) and though they are “all metal”, the springs prove to be a weak spot in their design to last many generations.

Lets contrast this with a Singer model 27 we own and sew with regularly. It was made in 1874. It has been around for 145 years. Based on my assumptions, it has been passed down four times and is in the hands of the fifth generation.

Are they all heirloom quality sewing machines? I’m going to take a side and say no… nope… nada… forget about it. They are as different as black is to white. There is no real comparison. Why? the old all metal, and I mean no plastic anywhere except the motor belt and bobbin tire (textolite is an exception… see my blog on this subject) is immune to failure from regular use or the ravages of time (barring abuse or leaving it in the yard for the winter). They can be passed from generation to generation forever. To me, heirloom quality is devoid of springs, plastic gears, plastic cams, plastic covers, plastic control knobs, etc. They are made with steel, bronze, aluminum, magnesium, and cast iron. They are precision machined to run with simple maintenance, and the typical time these machines are actually run suggests that they can sew forever… With simple regular lubrication and cleaning, the sewing mechanism will never wear out. I’m serious, our 1874 machine still has tight precision fit everywhere and the sewing mechanism is smooth as silk. Even though the paint has worn to bare metal in places, the machine is unaffected in its performance. Electricity was an emerging science and not yet envisioned for electric motor driven sewing machines. They were run with a hand crank or a treadle belt. Our started out as a treadle but is now fitted with an electric motor for convenience… It is interesting to note that the motors used on the early machines still run even after almost 100 years! True heirloom quality sewing machines are very common. They include all of the “black” singers, all metal Necchis, Elnas, Bernina’s, Kenmores, New Homes, White’s, and many others.

Plastic on the other hand degrades with time. It cannot be prevented or avoided. A plastic gear anywhere will break in time. Springs will break over time. Any plastic part used to operate a control function of the machine will be rendered inoperable.

Ten there are “almost all metal” hybrids. There are a very large number of good quality vintage sewing machines that have all metal sewing mechanisms EXCEPT for one or maybe two minor plastic gears. I have several such machines that are 60 years old and still running fine… but they will not stand the test of time. The composition of the plastic prove they can’t, and replacement parts are not obtainable. Even these otherwise all metal machines must be evaluated for heirloom quality. I have replaced more than one spring necessary for proper function of the machine. Even if available, a replacement plastic gear will in its time break again.

What about all metal machines constructed with no plastic but incorporate springs? I would say that they are superior in all other respects to their plastic parts cousins, but true heirloom quality? That’s a distinction you must make.

Why do I care? To me, the answer lies in how long CAN a sewing machine last, not how long has a sewing machine lasted. Why would I choose to make this distinction between a machine that has proven itself for 60 years and still running strong? Well, I think that under the right circumstances, a sewing machine may prove itself to be a necessity. Much the same as they were when they were first introduced to the domestic market. I would like to think that as a necessity, an heirloom sewing machine would be defined as a machine that will work reliably for many generations. There is no second place for a machine that will be rendered inoperable simply because a key part or component that cannot be replaced broke merely due to its composition and age.

What do you think?

So, I have been concentrating on the more well known brand name sewing machines. Some of my favorites are Singer, Kenmore, White, and one of my favorites… New Home. I have had no shortage of opportunities to find and acquire different models in each brand. In every one of these brands, I am impressed with the sewing experience offered by almost (with a few exceptions) all of them.

I have noticed that in every instance, the newer the model, the more the changes in manufacturing techniques become apparent. For example, a Singer machine made in the 30’s and 40’s is noticeably smoother and quieter than a Singer model made in the 60’s. This is, I think, due to the complexity of the sewing mechanisms. Earlier machines were straight stitch only, and the simpler drive mechanisms were manufactured to be buttery smooth. Great for the day, but sewing machine manufacturers had to evolve with the times. The introduction of the zigzag machine changed what I consider to be a basic sewing machine forever.

The consumer quickly realized the potential of a machine that could do more than a straight stitch. Competition between sewing machine manufacturers brought with it innovation and change. New features and stitch options blossomed. The race for more stitches, driven by competition, added a lot of linkages, gears, and cam mechanisms to these later machines. No longer simple, they became quite complex. But complexity also took a toll on the amount of power delivered to the needle. This is not surprising, because turning all that extra hardware takes power, even when they are not engaged in making these added stitches. Not to be deterred, manufacturers set to optimize their designs. The net result was astounding. Motors became more powerful, gear trains were optimized to be more efficient. Bronze worm gears, sprung linkages, and gear reduction schemes were incorporated in more and more machines. The weight of all of this extra steel and metal hardware was offset by the use of aluminum or magnesium frames. With the exception of some machines that retained a cast iron frame (increasing the weight substantially), many machines weighed less!

For example, it was not unusual for a vintage cast iron straight stitch sewing machine to tip the scales somewhere between 35 to 40 pounds. By comparison, aluminum body machines capable of dozens of stitch patterns typically weigh in around 30 pounds. Their cast iron counterparts could top 43 pounds. Still heavy by modern machine standards (I mentioned in another blog that plastic weighs less than steel… no need to mention it here… so on with the story.)

Surprisingly, the quality of manufacture and materials, along with intelligent design, still resulted in a smooth running, reasonably quiet machine. While they may not match the beauty and precision of the straight stitch produced by the wonderful older straight stitch machines, the difference is not worth mentioning in comparison. Those that are concerned with the best straight stitch possible already know this and tend to use the older straight stitch machines for their purpose. For utility and application, these multiple stitch machines produce an impressive straight stitch, and the quality of the added pattern stitches is impressive as well.

Bravo vintage all metal manufacturers of fine quality multiple stitch machines! Three cheers to the feature conscious consumer who pushed the envelope of sewing machine evolution by demanding more features for their hard earned money! Take a bow, you have expanded the average sewing machines capabilities to a new horizon! Sewing machines will never be the same… Still, I’ll never part with my Singer 201-2.

Take a look at this… it is a Brother ZU2-B687 “Pacesetter”. It was manufactured by the Brother Sewing Machine Company in the 1960’s. This model is all metal (except for 2 plastic camstack drive gears, the stitch length control end cap, … and the light switch knob). Everything else is metal. It weighs 27 pounds, which is hefty by today’s standards. Is this an advantage? Well, the weight makes it solid as a rock on the table and makes it a smooth running machine. It features 25 stitch selections, including automatic button hole and straight stitch. It has a 1.2 amp motor, which is a beast compared to most modern machines. The feed dogs drop for free motion embroidery or quilting. It travels in a virtually indestructible case. It has a 2-tone paint job and stainless and chrome accents that give it both personality and style… Every mechanism is designed for adjustments and serviceability.

This machine produces beautiful stitches…

I have seen this machine sell on eBay for around $100.00 (including shipping). If the machine was reconditioned I would expect it to sell for about $250.00.

It has been sewing for 50-60 years and is showing no sign of stopping.

Some people would say “That’s a lot of money for an old sewing machine…” But I couldn’t disagree more.

For a comparison, this is a Brother CS6000i.

The Brother CS6000i is a very popular machine. It gets generally good reviews and people prefer them over other similar machines in its class. I used this plastic machine for my comparison to the Brother Pacesetter because it is a Brother sewing machine, and it is comparably priced.

This machine is almost all plastic. It has metal in places that are necessary, such as the needle bar, the presser bar, the motor internals, and a few bits and pieces inside the machine. The machine is light and portable. It weighs in at 10 1/2 pounds. It features a .65 amp motor. The feed dogs drop for free motion embroidery or quilting. It has an array of 69 stitches and a few other features that are useful. The mechanism is designed for only basic adjustments and it is not easily serviced.

It doesn’t have a case but it has a convenient built in handle molded into the top of the machine.

It is white plastic, has some blue accents around the information LCD display, and is about as plain as a light pole.

It is not likely that it will be sewing reliably in 50-60 years. It’s control relies on printed circuit boards and it will die as its planned obsolescence design requires it to do.

The machine also makes beautiful stitches (I don’t have any pictures, its been a long time since it was used).

You can purchase this machine today for about $170.00 with some added attachments included.

Now, I have to ask myself. Which is the better value? Which machine is built to last and sew reliably for a lifetime? Which machine has the better style? Which machine is powerful enough to sew heavy fabrics as well as delicate fabrics without punishing the drive mechanisms?

Some people would say “That’s a good price for a new sewing machine…” But I couldn’t disagree more.

Assuming they were priced the same, which sewing machine would you choose. Well, I choose the vintage Pacesetter. The biggest question I have is not why these quality all metal vintage sewing machines cost so little, but why don’t they cost more?

What do you think?

This is a Kenmore model 158.1430. The model number is irrelevant to this post because I have found that in general, the vintage Kenmore 158 series is a very high quality sewing machine. They feature powerful motors, good stitch selections, and probably the best button hole system on any machine of its vintage. In all regards, they are very capable, reliable, and consistent sewing machines. They are a very good value for anyone interested in a vintage sewing machine.

But… one comment I have heard fairly frequently is that there is a noticeable “knocking” noise when the machine is sewing. There is nothing wrong inside of the machine and I have found this to be consistent with most of the Kenmore 158 series. It is less noticeable in some machines than others, but it is still noticeable.

The cause of the noise is the thread spool moving up and down on the spool pin when the machine is sewing. The movement isn’t very noticeable, but if you watch closely, you will see it. Every time the thread spool drops back down, it will hit the top cover. Because the top cover is metal it causes a “knocking” sound, even if you are using a spool pin felt.

Looking at the underside of the top cover, you can imagine how this happens… the top transmits the sound like the head of a drum. To fix this, all that is required is something to insulate and dampen the sound. I have found that a small layer of packing foam (like the stuff used to pack china) is perfect… it is thin, it is soft, it does not degrade or shed fibers, and it is very easy to cut.

Place the top cover over the foam sheet, trace the outline, cut inside of the line so it fits inside the cover, and just lay it in place. If it is cut a little oversize, it will stay in place. No gluing is necessary.

If you look at the cam mechanism in the machine, you will see that there are no moving parts that will hit the foam, and the foam will lay safely on top of the mechanism without jamming any mechanism inside the machine.

The difference in the sound is noticeable. The knocking noise is eliminated, and the overall sewing experience is improved.

Easy fix… try this on your Kenmore

I had a good question asked by someone who was concerned about a Singer model 15-91 with a potted motor and “fiber” gear. She wanted to know if a 15-90 with the external belt drive motor was a better choice. She had read that there may be an issue going through a heavier thickness of fabric with potential of the fiber gear breaking on the 15-91 and then you would be out of luck.

I had never had or heard anyone express this concern, but now I have no doubt that it is probably a concern shared by many other people. I decided that it is a worthwhile topic for a blog.

Getting into this topic, I will state up front that the presence of a textolite gear in an otherwise all metal machine is perfectly acceptable… no reason to be concerned… nothing to see here… move on… I would like to hear from people who disagree and I would like to hear about their experience with this gear breaking. The vintage all metal sewing machine community would benefit from the discourse as well.

Is this saying that a textolite gear is indestructible? Of course not. I’m sure they have failed for one reason or another. I would counter that needle bars have been bent, arm shafts have been bent, rocker assemblies have been bent, bobbin case hooks have been bent, and so on. The real question is how often do these things happen?The answer is not very often.

What is textolite? Textolite was a material developed in 1936 by GE (General Electric). It consists of a fiber wound gear infused with bakelite. It was used in every Singer sewing machine with a direct drive motor since it was developed. This includes all of the best vintage gear driven Singers… the 201-2, 15-91, 301, 328K, 401A and 403A, 500A and 503A, and later… pick your favorite.

I have never known of any instance where this gear has broken or cracked. Since the question was asked, I did some research to see if I had missed something and maybe I was taking the durability of textolite for granted. I may be wrong, but if the textolite gear was a problem and prone to breaking, you would hear a lot more about it in the vintage sewing machine forums, and blogs, and in the discussion groups you searched for the topic. Now, consider the topic of sewing machine manufacturers switching from steel gears to nylon gears in any brand of vintage sewing machine. You soon realize from a little research that it was the end of an era, and not for the better.

What makes me think that the textolite gear is not prone to failure? Well, there is no doubt that it is durable, time has proven that. But also, the balance wheel is designed with a shock absorbing system built into it. This system allows the gear to slip slightly if the machine encounters a change in load suddenly, for instance, a change in fabric thickness, a broken needle, or whatever else might suddenly spike the load in the gear train. I will explain this in a little more detail.

The textolite gear is attached to the balance wheel so it is allowed to slip slightly as the machine starts and stops (I know the gear looks greasy and dirty… I am disassembling for cleaning and re-installation in a Singer 201-2).

Note the position of the screw in the gear retaining collar at the top of the balance wheel. Think of this a the center position. I have put 2 white dots on the textolite gear to show the distance the gear is allowed to slip, thus absorbing any shock load the gear may encounter. I am going to keep the balance wheel in the same place and twist the gear.

The gear has a spring mechanism in it that allows gear movement to the position of the white dot. This absorbs the shock to the gear as the machine revs up.

Notice the dot has moved in the opposite direction. This shows what happens when you stop the machine, for instance it hits an obstruction (maybe caused by changes in fabric thickness). This absorbs the shock to the gear as the machine slows down.

This is really quite a bit of distance allowed for the gear to rotate in relation to the balance wheel. Singer must of thought about this too, because a lot of design went into it. The next few pictures show how it works.

This is the textolite gear with the collar removed. See the small dot on the gear? That is a pin that goes thru the gear and engages in the end of a spring.

With the gear removed, you can see the pin in the gear and a cover plate over the spring. You can spot the end of the spring in the slot opening in the plate.

With the plate removed you see the spring… there are also 2 eccentric studs (1 you can see) that allow the spring to move evenly in the housing and support the spring thru its travel and evenly distribute the shock load on the spring. The other end of the spring fits on a pin set in the balance wheel. This spring mechanism allows the spring to rotate in both directions and absorb any shock caused at the motor, or at the needle.

Now, let me play the Devil’s advocate and say… “Well, MY gear broke and I told you so!” Well, even in the event the gear did break (I’m sure it has happened to someone somewhere) it is not disastrous. You can replace the gear, though it is a little bit of work, but the worst case scenario would be to replace the balance wheel… gear and all. I just checked and there are quite a few on Ebay for about $25 shipped. The repair is as simple as removing the balance wheel free motion knob and washer, the balance wheel pulls out easily, slip the new balance wheel on, replace the washer and knob, and you are done. Who knows, maybe you would prefer a prettier balance wheel and now is the opportunity to upgrade!

So that’s my textolite gear defense. This gear is made from a very durable material. The shock absorbing spring mechanism makes sure the gear is not over stressed. Don’t let the presence of this gear in the beautiful all metal vintage sewing machine you are considering deter you from buying it… Really.

So why is there a fiber gear in the machine you are claiming is all metal? Well, I’ll tell you. There are 4 places in an all metal sewing machine where material other than steel, bronze, brass, aluminum, or iron is generally accepted and the machine is still considered to be all metal. One is the textolite gear, the other is plastic pattern cams, another is a motor belt, and the last is plastic trim pieces and/or covers (I don’t particularly like plastic covers, but I don’t let them deter me form acquiring the machine).

Okay, so why did Singer put a textolite gear in the machine in the first place? Well, I don’t know. I don’t think it was a cost cutting measure… they didn’t cut costs anywhere else (in the early vintage models at least). My guess would be that the gear itself is intended to absorb shock. A textolite gear will absorb shock, while a steel gear would translate the shock to another component. It may also have been used to quiet the gear train. If you know, I would be glad to know the answer.

So, there you have it. Let me know if you agree or if you disagree. I would like to see more information on the topic.

Thanks for reading!

We have had the opportunity to work on many different brands and models of all metal vintage sewing machines. The reason we do is because the quality in these machines is not matched by any but the most expensive sewing machines on the market today.

I have talked about superior materials, precision tolerances, quality of finish, the stitch quality, durability, reliability, and more. I will continue to do so. Nothing drove my point home more to me than when I noticed this…

This is the presser foot bar lifter. It attaches to the lift lever, and clamps to the presser foot bar. See that little screw? its tiny… why is it there?

Here is another picture of it…

This is the assembly it mates with… by the way, this happens to be a Singer model 201-2 made in 1952…

Have you guessed why it is there? Well, its purpose is to adjust the side to side clearance of the presser foot bar to the presser foot lift lever. This is to ensure that the presser bar foot doesn’t wiggle side to side when the machine is sewing. Tightening this screw wedges the “wing” wider so there is no movement… its an adjustment.

Why did they do that? They probably didn’t have to, and I don’t think anyone would notice if they didn’t. They did it because in those days, details mattered. These machines were made to that level of detail. They were not the only manufacturer that cared about details like this, but as an example, it is is the level of detail Singer put into their engineering and manufacture, and you can see similar examples of this just about everywhere you look on these machines. Adjustments for wear, adjustments for timing, adjustments for needle transportation, darn near an adjustment for everything that the machine does to make a stitch.

Its no wonder that these things will last lifetimes with a little cleaning, oiling, and adjusting. So, if you need another reason to consider before getting (or keeping) a vintage all metal sewing machine, this is it.

By the way, does your sewing machine have this adjustment built into the design?

Let me know what you think!

Buying a vintage sewing machine has many advantages that simply cannot be found in new domestic sewing machines. Quality materials, quality manufacture, precision mechanisms, style, and power are some of the features vintage sewing machines have to offer. Well, they don’t build them the way they used to, in fact it would be prohibitively expensive. Even after 50 years these all metal pieces of machinery are still capable of sewing a fine stitch. With minimal cleaning and oiling, they can sew for another 50 years or more!

The biggest choice is what machine to buy. So many brands, so many features, such a wide range of prices makes choosing the right machine for you a little more complicated. Even if you know exactly what you are looking for, how do you know that any particular sewing machine you are looking for is going to live up to your expectations.

I see many listings online for any particular (not rare) sewing machines and the prices vary widely from very cheap to very expensive. What sets them apart? Well, the answer is really simple… you do. Always keep in mind, the lowest price, or the highest price, does not necessarily mean the best value.

Some listings may say “runs” which really means the needle goes up and down. Some say “great condition”, but what does this really tell you about the machine? Some say “serviced” but again, what did the servicing include. I see “heavy duty”, “commercial grade”, and “industrial strength” for machines that are not and were never intended to be. Some say “rare” or “antique” . How should this affect a fair price?

So, the bottom line is what you know, and what questions to ask. If a machine is simply described as “runs”, then you probably should. Most likely, the machine has been passed down, traded, “worked” on, or has an unknown history. There is no way to tell what is worn, misadjusted, cracked wires, condition of motor and so on. The seller obviously does not know either.

A machine listed in great condition has similar risks. What does it even mean? Before considering this machine, ask questions that are important to ensure the machine is worth the price. What makes it in “great condition”. If the seller knows, he/she should bend over backwards to tell you.

“Serviced” is a vague term and the definition of what constitutes “servicing” a sewing machine signifies very little without description. Is servicing just oiling , dusting, and adjusting the thread tension? Or does it include a thorough checklist of the many parts and mechanisms that are so important to a sewing machines performance? Has the wiring been replaced. Has the motor been disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated. Has the sewing drivetrain been adjusted to factory service tolerances. Well, these are questions you can and should ask. Someone who has really “serviced” the sewing machine should be happy to tell you all of the steps he/she took in servicing the machine.

What about sewing machines listed as “rare”? Well the truth is less exciting. Except for a very few examples, no sewing machine model is rare… millions of all but a very few models were produced in the last century and a quarter. Check it out… Singer kept a record of every sewing machine model they ever produced. You can look up any serial number and find out what day, what year, what model, and how many were made. Japanese vintage machines are less well documented, but tens to hundreds of thousands were made. If you see a claim that a particular model is rare, do a little research before you pay a premium for rarity.

How about “heavy duty”, “commercial” or “industrial” being applied to a domestic sewing machine listing? Should you pay a premium for these descriptions? In one word… no. Except for those that say otherwise (to the detriment of the buyer) no home domestic sewing machines is “industrial” or “commercial” or “heavy duty”. While they will sew heavy weight garment fabric admirably, it is just as important as to how fine a fabric it can sew. They were not designed to sew heavy leather, canvas, or such. I will say that a vintage Singer model 66 is about as heavy duty as you can get in a domestic sewing machine. They are that way do to the nature of their construction and materials, not because they were claimed to be. Same thing goes for practically any all metal sewing machine I can think of… They are built tough, and compared to new models are certainly heavy duty.

What about the words “antique”? Does this add any value to the price? Well, except for sentimental value, the answer is no. The difference between an “antique” machine and a “vintage” machine is that to be an antique, it must be at least 100 years old. To be vintage, it must be at least 20 years old. Sewing machines built before 1900 are “Victorian”. Well, these machines really fall in a niche market. People love them and buy them and use them. They are great high quality machines, but they lack many features most people take for granted today. Feed dog drop and back tack was not available. Forget about zig-zag or other fancy stitches, they only made a straight stitch. This may or may not appeal to you. Yet, they can and do produce a very strong straight stitch, and many are family heirlooms.

So whats the point of all of this? Well, what I hope you take away from this post is This: Don’t decide on any machine you are considering based on price alone. It is worth paying more for a machine that has been truly reconditioned to sew like new and last for a very long time. I define Reconditioning as when you try to keep a sewing machine as close to original as possible, but only correct obvious cosmetic and mechanical problems and new wiring. The seller would be happy to tell you what steps he has taken to bring the machine to the peak of its performance… This is the machine you want to buy. You can expect that it is not going to be the lowest price, but it will be the best value. Differentiate between price and value. Ask questions. Be confident that your money is well spent by understanding that it costs more to buy a machine that has been reconditioned by a knowledgeable person who has spent time and money to make it so.

Anyway, that’s my advice.

When it comes to brand name Singer is a household name. Singer is known for quality and reliability and Singer’s reputation is well deserved. Well, this is certainly true for the all metal sewing machines up to and including the 500 series. Then things started to get confusing… Singer numbered later models such as the 237, 347, 348, etc that are not in the same class of quality as the older model 221 or 201. or the 301, 327, 328, or the 401A, 403A, 404, 411, or the 500A, 503A. These machines are exceptional and top of their class. The later models are not. This is very confusing for you if you are looking for the highest quality machine. The differences are night and day. This said, the later Singers (up to about 1968… when Singer transitioned from steel gears to nylon gears) are good quality machines. So before you decide on a vintage Singer, date of manufacture is the key. The later models began to show Singers attempts to stay competitive with Japanese made machines that offered high quality manufacture and more features. That meant they began cutting costs by using more plastic and manufacturing less precise bobbin assemblies, (In my opinion because I work on these things). This is very confusing for you if you are looking for a high quality machine… the differences are night and day. Before you decide on a vintage Singer, date of manufacture is the key.

Kenmore machines were made by several manufacturers. early model straight stitchers were generally made by White. The 148 and 158 models were made in Japan and are very high quality. Kenmores’ generally feature 1.0 to 1.3 amp motors (compared to Singer .53 amp motors), have a larger selection of pattern cam choices (30 vs 24) for their machines that use cams, and features extra high lift. Kenmore offers probably the best mechanical button hole system of any all metal vintage sewing machine out there. The 148 and 158 series machines are powerful, quiet, and will last for a very long time. If you keep your choices to vintage Kenmore machines made up to 1972, you will probably find a Kenmore machine that has all of the features you want and will run neck and neck with a Singer of the same vintage. Usually for less money too!

Don’t ignore the Kenmore over Singer for a high quality vintage all metal sewing machine!

So, you are considering the purchase of a vintage sewing machine… Good choice! Maybe you like the quality of construction, the smoothness (feel) of the machine when you turn the balance wheel. Maybe you like the variations of style or color these vintage machines possess. Maybe its the feel of metal as opposed to plastic. Maybe you want a sewing machine that was made before the idea of planned obsolescence crept into the manufacture of domestic products. Maybe the low cost of a well built high quality vintage machine is your first consideration. After all, for $100 to $200 you can purchase a good vintage sewing machine that has been serviced, cleaned, and adjusted to sew great, whereas that level of quality would be prohibitively expensive to manufacture today (when they were manufactured, they were very expensive, often the cost exceeded a full months wages for the average person). If you are mechanically inclined, you can pick them up for very little money and return them to their full potential with little effort. Well, if you are interested in reading further, I will offer some advice that may help you decide on a particular vintage sewing machine.

1. All metal construction – A deciding factor for me is first and foremost the machines construction. Sewing machines have been available in the domestic market for almost 170 years. During the majority of this time, regardless of who manufactured the machine, one characteristic they all shared was that the bodies were made of cast iron or aluminum and the components were made of steel or bronze. This offered many advantages for the end user. More of a consequence of manufacture than design, they had to be manufactured with durable metals and machined to precise tolerances to operate reliably. The byproduct of this “limitation” is an overbuilt, durable, and reliable “heavy duty” sewing machine. It is true and undeniable that they can last more than a lifetime with minor maintenance… my Wife sews on a Singer sewing machine made in 1874 and it runs smoothly and produces a near perfect lock stitch.
2. Year of manufacture – All metal sewing machines began to phase out steel gears in favor of nylon gears between 1968 to about 1972. The effect on durability was catastrophic. Nylon gears would work perfectly well for a long time, but not for decades. Over time, the nylon would deteriorate and fail, leaving the owner with the option of an expensive repair or a new machine. Play it safe and look for a vintage machine made prior to 1968. For machines manufactured later, do your homework and make sure you are considering an all metal machine. For example, Kenmore and others continued to offer all metal sewing machines until about 1972 and they are good high quality machines.
3. Brand Name – Stick with Singer, Kenmore, Brother, or White. The US is saturated with these brands and you can find an almost endless supply of replacement parts at reasonable prices. From motors, controllers, wiring, internal parts, and accessories, you can keep your machine running for a very long time. I’m not trying to endorse these over any other brand… Other high quality machines such as Bernina, Pfaff, Elna, Necci, Husqvarna, and Janome are always worthy of consideration because they are all high quality and precision built, but replacement parts may be hard to find and be much more expensive for these brands.
4. Origin of manufacture – All metal vintage machines made by Singer, or a branded machine made in Japan are of very good quality. These include Kenmore, Brother, and (for the most part) White. If you live in the USA, you can’t go wrong limiting your choices to these brands. I am not saying that other brands are less worthy, but for ease of service and parts they probably offer the best long term value for your money.
5. Expectations – If you are planning to sew canvas, leather, or other dense thick material, don’t consider any vintage domestic sewing machine regardless of brand… all metal or not. They were not designed for this purpose and will not last long in continuous use on these materials. If you need more than 27 or so decorative stitch patterns, look elsewhere. All vintage all metal machines capable of producing decorative stitches use internal metal or plastic cams and/or plastic pattern cam inserts to produce the pattern (plastic here is an exception to the all metal rule and have proven durable for this application). They sew these patterns via mechanical action and will produce a very satisfactory stitch but keep in mind, the stitch pattern is accomplished by swinging the needle bar only, the feed is always forward, never back and forth.
6. Do your homework – The internet is a vast resource for getting information, reviews, demonstrations, and advice for just about any sewing machine model you are considering… This is important because even vintage all metal sewing machines had models that proved to be problematic and should be avoided.

I hope that this advice will start you in the right direction for finding a great quality reliable all metal sewing machine that suits your needs. With all the choices available on the market, I know you will find a machine that suits your need and provide many years of service. Please let me know what you think!

It all started out good. I purchased the machine for a good (but not great) price at an auction. I chose it mainly for it’s condition… the paint was very worn, it had quite a few chips and scratches, and the decals were in pretty sad condition. I purchased the machine because it was a perfect candidate for a complete restoration with no guilt.

We currently have in our collection several 201-2 machines, One belonged to my Mother and was made in 1938. This machine was made in 1940, and the others were all made in the 1950’s. While I was disassembling the machine, I noticed some things that are different from all the others. This one has a pressed in needle bar assembly instead of the typical needle bar assembly where it is camped with a screw. Digging deeper into the machine I noticed that the presser foot spring had worn grooves into the presser foot bar. This can only happen from a tremendous amount of use. Showing these differences to my Wife, she said she believed it had been used by a home seamstress, possibly to support her family during hard times. Knowing that these machines were actually used by people during hard times to feed and cloth their families, this reinforced her desire to keep the machine and she said “Its mine… we are keeping this one”.

The project started out well, but as I was disassembling all of the parts and fiddly bits, I came up against a screw in the take up lever assembly that wouldn’t budge. Despite having all the proper tools, I couldn’t get it loose. At long last, after applying (apparently) too much effort, one half of the screw head sheared off. Fortunately, the mechanism is captured by the half of the screw head and the mechanism won’t loosen up and works perfectly (Singer 201’s are one tough machine). I explained the situation to my wife, and with her encouragement, we decided that since we are keeping it for our collection we would keep going with the restoration, document it for you guys, and have a beautiful restored 201-2 that WILL sew consistent with its pedigree, even with a busted screw head. The only condition I had was that it would be painted any color but black…

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the machine before I disassembled and removed the paint. I captured photos of the process after and it is quite revealing.

Singer shellac top coat is pretty easy to remove. That’s why it is so important to avoid damaging the decals when cleaning one of these black lacquered beauties. The lamp black Japan lacquer finish is another story. This is the hardest finish I have ever tried to remove… Citrus stripper, forget it. Kleenstrip… is that all you got? Didn’t come close to finding any chemical stripper yet that works and I am willing to use.

To sum up what I started and catch up to the point I started to document the project, it went like this…I removed the finish by sand blasting the body of the machine. In preparation for the sand blasting, I removed everything except for the arm shaft and the drive gear connected to the arm shaft. The motor and balance wheel was removed. The connecting rod, stitch length assembly, and the badge were removed. The gears and gear shaft under the bed were removed, as well as the bobbin case/ hook assembly. The rocker arm assemblies were also removed. Typically, I remove all of the parts in the sewing machine head including the presser bar assembly and the needle bar assembly. The presser foot assembly was removed, but as stated earlier, the needle bar assembly was destined to remain in the machine. What the heck, I figure all singers start their life forged in fire so I couldn’t do worse.

I covered all of the holes with duck tape and sand blasted the body of the machine to bare metal. This served two purposes, it took the machine to bare gray metal, and it evened the finish without damaging it. This makes paint prep easier. After the machine was sand blasted, I dipped the machine in a vat of kerosene heated to 145 degrees until the body of the machine reached 145 degrees and then let it cool in the kerosene until it reached the ambient outside temperature (you guessed it, my wife won’t let me do this in the house). After the machine was removed from the kerosene, it was power washed with water inside and out. It was then placed in a vat of water with a small amount of detergent and again heated to 145 degrees until the body of the machine was 145 degrees. Instead of letting the machine cool with the water, the machine was removed from the water hot. Because the temperature of the machine was 145 degrees, the water flash evaporates before any rust can form. I then used compressed air inside and out to remove any remnant of sand blast media, I sprayed inside of the arm shaft with WD-40 (for a word on using WD-40, see my topic on oils to use and oils to avoid under the “tips and tricks” menu), waited a bit, and again use compressed air inside and out. Finally, I oiled the arm shaft and arm shaft bushing liberally. The paint remaining on the body (protected by the duck tape) was removed with 100 grit sandpaper. Now I am caught up.

I covered all of the holes with duck tape and sand blasted the body of the machine to bare metal. This served two purposes, it took the machine to bare gray metal, and it evened the finish without damaging it. This makes paint prep easier. After the machine was sand blasted, I dipped the machine in a vat of kerosene heated to 145 degrees until the body of the machine reached 145 degrees and then let it cool in the kerosene until it reached the ambient outside temperature (you guessed it, my wife won’t let me do this in the house). After the machine was removed from the kerosene, it was power washed with water inside and out. It was then placed in a vat of water with a small amount of detergent and again heated to 145 degrees until the body of the machine was 145 degrees. Instead of letting the machine cool with the water, the machine was removed from the water hot. Because the temperature of the machine was 145 degrees, the water flash evaporates before any rust can form. I then used compressed air inside and out to remove any remnant of sand blast media, I sprayed inside of the arm shaft with WD-40 (for a word on using WD-40, see my topic on oils to use and oils to avoid under the “tips and tricks” menu), waited a bit, and again use compressed air inside and out. Finally, I oiled the arm shaft and arm shaft bushing liberally. The paint remaining on the body (protected by the duck tape) was removed with 100 grit sandpater. Now I am caught up.

That’s when I noticed the crack… actually 2 of them. They were tightly closed cracks on the sewing machine arm, and I can’t tell you how it happened. Well, I’m turning back now. In my younger days, I was a welder apprentice, and then certified welder in the Naval Shipyard. I know from experience that there is only one way to repair cast iron and that is to braze it, (No… I’m not going to get into a discussion by many that say they weld cast iron with welding rods. While there are welding rods designed to do the job, I have never seen any really good results). Either process, if used requires the piece to be heated to at least 500 degrees. After the brazing (welding) is done, the temperature is much higher. To prevent the cast iron from cracking when it cools down, it must be cooled slowly and in a controlled fashion. I can tell you that this ain’t going to happen on a sewing machine. I believe that the bushings and tight tolerance shaft would be damaged by the warping that would inevitably result in the repair. My only feasible SAFE option was JB Weld 2 part epoxy. I’m moving on.

If you noticed, there are holes drilled at the end of the crack. These holes will prevent the crack from growing any further. The crack was routed out with a carbide bit in a dremel drill.

The groove was filled with JB weld…

After curing for 24 hours, the JB weld was contoured flat… One thing that is readily noticeable is all of the casting defects in the body casting. You don’t have to do anything with these, but for a restoration, I want a smooth finish, so these defects just won’t do.

Next step in the process is to cover the body with body filler glazing compound. All of this will be sanded off and the pits will be filled flush with the surface.

After sanding, it looks pretty much like it did, except for now it is smooth.

I noticed a seam on the back of the machine where the casting line was exposed, so it was contoured with the dremel, and glazed to fill the rough surface.

A final sanding over the entire surface of the machine with 150 grit sandpaper and the machine is ready for masking, priming,and painting.

The machine is coated with 3 coats of white primer, allowing adequate drying time between coats. Each coat of primer is followed by wet sanding with 600 grit sandpaper for a smooth primed surface ready for paint.

The first coat of paint is applied and allowed to dry for 24 hours before wet sanding… 3 coats will be applied for a deep smooth color… my Wife chose “Pink Peoney”.

Well, that’s where the project is today. I’ll continue with the project over the next few weeks to complete the paint, reassemble the machine, apply restoration decals, top coat, and final polishing.

The machine has had 3 coats of peony pink, followed by wet sanding with 600 grit sandpaper. The final sanding was only enough to remove the smallest defects. The machine was wrapped in a plastic bag and set aside. It will cure for about 2 weeks before applying decals… What to do now? Time to get to the motor.

Dissasembly is pretty straight forward:

1. Remove the wires from the back of the terminal block. The terminals are marked 1, 2, and 3. Make a diagram to show what wire goes to what terminal (motor, controller, and light). The digram is also easily found on the internet.
2. Remove the balance wheel.
3. Remove the motor from the machine. The screws holding it on are VERY tight. You will need a proper fitting screw driver and then tap (not HARD) on the end of the screw driver as you are trying to loosen the screw. This impact will unseat the screw and it will come out easily. Do not try to remove them using a screw driver alone. Unless the motor has been removed before, you will certainly ruin the screw heads.
4. Remove the cap screw on the end opposite the motor cover.
5. Remove the two large screws from the bottom of the motor. These are the grease wick caps.
6. Carefully remove the motor brush caps. You will see them on opposite sides of the motor. One on top, one on the bottom. Use a tight fitting screwdriver. These caps are brittle and can be broken easily.
7. Remove the brush springs (hopefully with the brush attached). If the spring pops off of the brush leaving the brush still in the housing, don’t worry, you can push them thru after the armature is removed.
8. Inside the motor housing, you will see a spiral gear and lots of old grease. On the end of this gear (farthest from the winding) there are 2 small screws set flush with the gear. You will need to rotate the armature to see both of them. Loosen these screws… you don’t need to remove them.
9. Gently remove the armature from the housing Look for a thin washer, it is either on the armature shaft or still in the motor housing. Don’t lose this, it will need to be installed for the servicing to be successful.
10. Remove the 2 screws holding the field coil to the housing. You will need to gently pry up on bottom of the coil. The coil will pop up. You will not be able to pull the coil any farther than the wires connecting the brush holder, but you will have enough room to remove the power lead wire to replace and solder.
11. There are many detailed instructions on the internet and videos on youtube. I strongly recommend you read and watch how the wires are replaced.

I disassembled the motor and was expecting that the normal motor servicing would be adequate… boy was I wrong! The motor was in pretty bad shape and the motor housing was cracked. Normally, I would replace the motor at this point, but then we wouldn’t learn anything! The motor bits after disassembly looks like this:

There are a couple of things I want to point out in this picture so if you go this far into the motor you’ll have an easier time with your motor. The first is the small washer shown just below the brushes… make sure this doesn’t get lost. it slides on the armature shaft closest to the commutator and keeps lubricant away from the windings. You may not see this when the armature is removed, but its there… held onto the bushing by grease. Make sure you find and remove it. Notice that the brush holder wires are cut. These are VERY brittle and must be gently pushed out of the motor from the inside, otherwise, the top edge of the holder will break off and be ruined. Before trying to push these out, there are 2 very small set screws that keep the brush holders in place. Looking into the motor housing, you will see them. Normally, these do not need to be removed to replace the wire leading to the motor, but since this motor housing is cracked, and it’s going to be painted, the housing will be completely stripped of parts. See how short the motor brushes are? They are about 1/3 of the original length and need to be replaced. Notice how short the grease wicks are? They are compressed with hardened grease and need to be replaced. The armature needs to be cleaned with electronics cleaner polished. The field coils are coated with grease and crud and need to be cleaned with electronics cleaner. Aside from this, I expect the motor will run fine when it is reassembled.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not clean any motor windings with any solvent except one made specifically for cleaning electronics. The copper wire used in the windings is coated with lacquer to keep them from contacting the other wires in the winding. Alcohol, acetone, carb cleaner, and the like will dissolve this coating and the motor will be ruined. I use CRC QD Electronics Cleaner.

On my motor, I removed the bobbin winder bracket and spool fill finger. I need to do this to repair the crack.

The motor housing openings were masked off and the housing was sandblasted to remove all of the paint.

You can see where I routed out the crack. The crack was filled with JB weld and left to cure. After curing, the housing will be soaked in kerosene to dissolve the grease. Because the crack extends thru the housing, I will need to rout out the crack and epoxy weld after all of the grease is removed.

The Balance wheel was masked off and sand blasted, as was the motor cover. I sand blasted these as well. Next step is to prep and paint the motor housing, balance wheel, and motor cover. The motor cover was pretty banged up in shipping, so I will have to straighten it out and fill remaining dents with Bondo. In a normal restoration, I would replace the cover, but for this project, it will be repaired.

3 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, wet sand with 600 grit between coats and the balance wheel and light housing are ready for final touch up smooth sanding and clear coat… this will be done with the rest of the machine.

The motor housing has been repaired with JB weld. the repair was contoured. Before proceeding, the entire motor housing was polished with a dremel wire wheel to remove all factory paint in every nook and cranny accessible. To look as good as the rest of then machine at the end of the project, a lot of prep work goes into the motor housing. Remember, details matter so this is the time to get it as perfect as possible.

On this motor housing, I noticed some casting defects that would, or could be visible after painting. Although I could get away with fixing only the defects that are visible from the front, back, and sides, I figure that the amount of work into the project to this point demands that any defect found be fixed.

The defects consisted in a small voids in the casting. An application of glazing compound will fill these and be sanded smooth. The housing will be finished by the same process as the rest of the machine. Always keep in mind that for the best paint finish, every detail in the prep work matters.

Its been a couple of weeks and the paint has had time to cure sufficiently to start thinking about applying decals… We haven’t decided on gold or silver printed 201 decals so I ordered both and will decide when I (my Wife) compares them to the “peony” pink color. Either way, I have another 201 restoration project in the wings and will use the other set on it.

The next step is to put all of the running gear back in the machine. I have spent some time on preparing these parts while all of the painted parts were curing. The painted parts are ready to go back on the machine.

We we not sure what to do with the stitch length cover. Neither the peony pink or white seemed to work the way we thought it would. With so much color, it seemed to disappear in the background of the machine. But, the nickel finish looks great on the cover plates and thought a shiny stitch length cover would look good too…so we stripped the paint from the stitch lever plate and buffed it to a mirror shine. Because this is the color of the steel and not plated, it is protected by clear coat. If we change our minds, we can always change it to a color.

In preparation for putting everything back together, I need to protect the finish from damage. The machine is covered with foam wrapping and cellophane. The machine will need to be handled and flipped side to side and end to end so this will protect the paint from finger prints, lubricants, and any tool marks.

During assembly, the motor will be rebuilt as well. I will breakdown how this is done next.

If you have followed the level of detail in this restoration, you can tell that details matter… Nothing done so far exceeds the detail needed to rebuild a Singer potted motor. They are exceptionally good motors and with the servicing we are doing, it will run great! The achilles heel on these motors is that the wires get brittle with age. I have not come across one of these motors yet that did not have to have the main (field coil) wires replaced. luckily, this is not particularly hard to do if you have ever used a soldering iron before, and there are detailed tutorials on the web to guide you step by step. Unfortunately, I can’t do that with this motor. I will show you what I had to do to get it back to running order! Preparation is the key to success, and here is how I proceeded with the service.

The first step was to clean all of the dust, grime, and old grease/oil off of the armature and coil. I use CRC electronics cleaner because it is safe for the copper motor windings. Remember, DO NOT USE ALCOHOL or ANY solvent cleaner that is not formulated for cleaning electrical components. If you use any of these, the motor will be RUINED and you will end up purchasing another potted motor on online… better yet, get yourself a can of CRC.

The coil is clean and the wires are stripped back and ready for the new wire. Note the white, black, and red tubes in the plastic bag? That is shrink tubing. We MUST use this, electrical tape won’t work here.

From right to left, new wires are soldered to the old wires, shrink tubing is shrunk over the solder joints, and the wires are tucked neatly into the motor case. The field coil has been installed, and looking down, you can see that there is clearance for the armature… we don’t want any rubbing parts here.

The armature commutator is polished using a dremel tool and jewelers rouge. Do not use steel wool here. If you don’t have a dremel tool, use 1500 grit sandpaper and gently clean the armature by turning the armature against the commutator. Don’t rub hard and only clean it enough to remove the crud. After it is done, it is cleaned again with the CRC.

Remember that little round washer I told you to not to lose? Slide it on the shaft. Don’t put any grease on shaft just yet… we don’t want grease on the winding side of the motor. That little round washer we put on is to keep grease out. Slide the shaft into the motor housing. Once inside the motor housing, apply a little grease to the shaft, a light film is sufficient. Pull the shaft back out until the end of the shaft is flush with the bushing. slide the worm gear in place in between the bushings, line it up with the motor shaft and slide it in until it stops.

See the screw on the end of the shaft? The shaft has a flat notch in it and this set screw needs to set in that notch. The screw is removed, the shaft is turned until the notch appears, and the screw is screwed back in and tightened. The second screw on the gear is tightened next. With only the grease wicks, the motor brushes, and lubrication left to install, the job is all but done.

New grease wicks, reconditioned (The motor brushes were reconditioned by sanding the curve formed by wear flat). DO NOT USE ANY LUBRICANT unless it is for small motors. Some grease is good for gears (TriFlow grease for example) but is not intended for lubricating motors. I used Singer motor grease… Hey, its a Singer.

With the motor together, its time to start reassembling the machine. This is a pretty straightforward process and it doe not take much time. All of the gears, shafts, and rocker arm assemblies are installed.

All of the adjustments of these parts will be made before the protective wrapping is removed. The Singer adjusters manual available on line has all the information to do this to spec. Leaving the wrapping on is only a preventative measure since it will be turned back and forth to make them and I don’t want to damage any of the painted surfaces. In the meantime, I will “run the machine in” to make sure that it is smooth and all of the parts adjust to each other. Remember, Singer matched the gears at the factory and they should be installed tooth to tooth the way they were removed. I was unable to preserve any timing marks so this can’t be done now. It will be turned by hand for a while to get lubrication in the bushings, and then with a 1/2″ electric drill for 2 hours or so, adding oil occasionally. The difference in taking this step is night and day in smoothing out the machine… and it means we are getting close to the end! If there is any issue with the gear matching, I will add lapping compound and lap the gears together in their new positions… but I don’t think this will be necessary. The next step will be applying the decals. I ordered silver and gold decals… what do you think looks best!

While assembling and laying out all of the pieces, I forgot the motor cover… It needs work! In a previous picture, you can see the dent it got during shipping. With a little judicious tapping with a hammer (remember many light blows is better than 1 or 2 heavy blows will form the metal into shape and give you better control of the dent removal). So that’s what I did and then filled in the remaining dents with a light coat of bondo. After sanding, contouring, priming, and painting, it will look pretty good.

While waiting for the bondo to dry, I have moved on to reassembly of the light, and begun adjustments.

When installing the light it is very important to make sure the wire is routed properly. Hemastats or fine needle nose pliers is your friend and will help pulling the wire around and thru all of the tight places. Remember, the wire wraps around the FRONT of the vertical gear shaft, then between the stitch length arm and the rocker arm, and out thru the small hole in the bottom of the back of the machine. In other words, this wire is in close proximity to parts that are moving very fast when the machine is running, and contact with any moving part and this wire will end badly. I have tried to show the routing of the wire in the pictures.

Starting to put all of the parts on and it is starting to resemble a snake shedding its skin… well, more like a Singer 201.

Soon, the wrapping will be removed and the machine prepped for decals.

DISASTER! I don’t know how these things happen… I really don’t. I did not realize I had a BIG problem until I started assembling the bobbin hook thread clearance guide when I noticed the needle hit it… and not by a little either. So I checked the head assembly and needle bar. No problem there. I put the needle plate on and this is what I found.

At this point it is obviously a misalignment with the sewing machine bed and the head. Now, as I said, I don’t know how this happened. Is it because of the crack I repaired? I don’t know but the crack was tight and I don’t think so. The bottom line is that the project stops here, or we get medieval on it. Well, its too late to stop here. So here’s what we do… we separate the head from the bed and realign it. Now, unless you are prepared to do some serious work, no need to read further. If you want to see how it’s done, and think “why not? It’s not MY machine” then read on. now to do this, you will need a big rubber mallet and and a impact driver.

See the three big bolts? These need to be removed with a impact driver. This is where you need an impact hammer… they will not come loose with a screw driver. See the smaller set screw just to the right of the gear? This tightens the gear shaft bushing. All of the gears and rocker shafts , and balance wheel have to be removed.

After removing these components, all you have to do is hit the side of the machine bed until it starts to loosen up. Nothing more satisfying than beating the hell out the beautiful prepped paint work that to so long to achieve… and it took a lot of beating.

If you look closely, you will see 2 dowel pins in the bed that align the head to the bed. These are hammered out and the head and the bed are reattached with the 3 bolts. The trick is to leave them loose enough to align the head and snug them down without loosing the alignment. Easier said than done because the machine has to be on its side and the head is acting like a 30 pound wrench.

So it looks like the needle is centered in the hole… that’s good. But there are two axis of alignment here, hook timing and hook to needle alignment. We got the side to side, but what about the front to back?

Notice the gap between the needle and the hook. This is a very tight and critical alignment. I need to reference the service manual to see if this is close enough… if it isn’t, we’ll need to readjust the alignment. But I don’t have it in me to beat this machine any more today. Just thinking about all of the work it will take to repair the paint damage is enough for one day. One cardinal rule to remember when working on a sewing machine, is to never let the sewing machine know you are in a hurry!

March 28

Gee, it’s taken so long to this to this point that I figured I better make it a timeline. It turned out that the gap was too wide. Tolerance was 0.000 to 0.003. I didn’t show the process but I did disassemble and adjust to 0.000 clearance. I didn’t need the hammer this time. Now, I for some reason you decide to split one of these thins in half, know from the beginning that it changes a LOT of tolerances. I had to adjust the depth of the rear spiral gear shaft and adjust the drive system all the way to the bobbin case. Now I am going to try to get it to sew before I resume the cosmetic repair/restoration.

No surprise that the crack came back… as well as the paint seam at the pillar and the bed turning into a ragged mess. While the machine was in 2 parts I sanded the paint at the pillar and the bed to make it easier to repaint it… This is what it looks like now!

It really looks worse than it is, but it is going to be a lot of work to make it look like it did. Oh, I have a surprise!

I put the face plate on! Isn’t she looking pretty! Actually, I did this for me. I needed something to remind me of her potential. Forget that there is no needle bar or tension assembly. Those are little things, and my advice for today is don’t fret over the little things!

April 14, 2019

It’s been awhile since I have had the opportunity to revisit this restoration. Aside from being busy keeping up with other projects and priorities, I finally had a chance to make progress. Now, to be quire honest, I didn’t know how this was going to end… There are many adjustments that were necessary that were never contemplated when the machine was manufactured. The alignment of the sewing arm to the bed is set by dowel pins… they are gone, and the arm was “twisted” and “adjusted” with the aid of a hammer. The gear bushings had to be adjusted to accommodate these changes and the gear lash fit by feel. Remember, these gears are mated at the factory and the tooth to tooth orientation was lapped for smooth running. There is no way of knowing what else is going to pop up and make me groan. I decided to make sure she sewed before spending the hours it will take to cure the cosmetics, even before applying decals…

So… I put all of the parts, bits, and pieces on the machine, popped in a class 66 bobbin, put a needle in the needle bar, completed the wiring, and proceeded to check her out! The first turn of the balance wheel and the needle picked up the bobbin thread… good sign. I put a piece of cloth under the presser foot and turned the wheel again and it made a stitch. A few more turns produced a few more stitches!… I attached the foot controller, pushed the pedal, and she began to sew! The stitches were well formed, the tension was balanced (luck), and the fabric feed was straight! I passed it on to my Wife, and she proceeded to run the cloth thru at full speed. Must have made 10,000 stitches before she stopped to let the motor cool.

This was done without a single adjustment made except by eye and feel. I am certain that once the proper adjustments are made, she will sew beautifully for another lifetime. This 201-2 is a true heirloom machine, never meant to sell. Again, I am impressed with how tough and durable these old cast iron Singer machines are. I am encouraged and ready to continue the full restoration to completion!

Well, that’s all I have for now. If you are interested in following my progress to completion, check back frequently… Thanks!