Hi everyone, I know, long fourth dimension no talk. I lately got to regard Elizabeth from My Sewing Machine Obsession as well as that was pretty cool. She mentioned that I hadn't written inwards a while. Over a year!
I've been busy amongst piece of job as well as fixing sewing machines on the side, fifty-fifty making housecalls inwards Manhattan. If you lot demand repair piece of job done on your machine, are inwards NYC and/or tin can convey your machine to me inwards lower Manhattan, drib a line.
Anyways, a client brought this Singer 401a to me. She came my means from Peter Lappin's sewing blog. The client had only purchased the machine from a "reputable" seller online, as well as the machine had been damaged inwards shipping, amongst 1 spool pivot broken off. She asked if I could create it, I said no problem.
When she arrived amongst the machine, she mentioned that after 5 minutes of sewing, the machine would commence to emit a smell. I told her I'd banking concern gibe it out.
Well, never hear the spool pin, I was appalled to regard the status of the machine. So much thence that I afterward looked upward the seller. I volition non elevate him past times name, but based on his reputation as well as self-description, whatever of us would likely purchase a machine from this guy inwards a heartbeat. He has been working on machines for longer than I've been alive, thence I cannot empathize how he permit these things go.
The origin thing I went to produce is plug her machine inwards to uncover the source of the smell, but I stopped dead inwards my tracks. Check it out:
See that greenish stuff? Old Singer lubricant (grease) turns that shade of greenish after many years, I've seen it within enough a machine. And hither it is on the end prongs--not good. Even worse, at that spot was to a greater extent than on the cable:
Folks if you lot always regard this, produce NOT plug your machine in. Electricity should never mix amongst oil, grease, or whatever sort of lubricant. The adult woman who brought me the machine is lucky that the machine didn't start a fire.
It's non hard to construct clean former grease off of metal, you lot only become at it amongst Q-tips as well as rubbing alcohol. So I'm actually surprised the seller was thence careless. Here's the end after I cleaned it:
However, I was non able to larn the grease out of the ability cable. There's no means I tin can regard inside, thence there's no means I tin can ensure I've removed every in conclusion chip of grease. I told the client her cheapest option was to lodge a replacement cable from Sew-Classic. Since it's exclusively $6.99, it actually bothered me that the master seller didn't furnish 1 rather than the grease-soaked one.
The residuum of the machine wasn't much better. There was an antique-looking slice of thread jammed nether the claw assembly, providing friction:
It took me a piffling time, since it was injure closed to the shaft, but I fished the thing out. I estimated it was 8 inches long, but I measured it only straightaway out of curiosity as well as it was a foot.
And the residuum of the machine was only filthy. I don't hateful the trunk of the machine, which nigh doesn't matter--that's basically cosmetic--but the working parts of the machine, similar the tension assembly. I stripped every component that needed it to laissez passer on it a thorough cleaning. Here are the before-and-after shots:
I saved the spool pivot for last. I'm distressing I don't conduct maintain photos of this part, but I'll explicate how to produce it inwards example 1 of you lot needs to. With a 401, you lot conduct maintain to accept the lid asset the spool pins off. I futzed closed to amongst the hinges for a piece trying to figure out how to take it without breaking it, thence finally realized you lot only overstep on moving the lid inwards the opened upward direction, gently, until it pops off. (This is exclusively the 2nd slant-needle machine I've worked on, I'm unremarkably doing older cast-iron models.)
Then I was going to hammer out the spool pivot using a hammer as well as a blunt nail, which is how I've gotten broken spool pins out of the base of operations of a 201-2 as well as 15-91 (where you lot house the spool for bobbin winding). But after clamping the lid upside downwards to my workbench, I worried that hammering it out mightiness curvature the lid.
So instead I drilled the spool pivot out, since it was plastic. What you lot produce is start amongst a 1/16th" chip as well as drill through the centre of the broken spool pin. (Try to larn it every bit dead-center every bit you lot can, because you lot don't desire to hitting the metallic component of the lid as well as potentially ruin the hole.) Then you lot only drill through the hole amongst progressively larger drill bits, as well as eventually the spool pivot fragments only disintegrate as well as autumn out of the hole.
That's the tricky part. Replacing a plastic spoon pivot is easy, you lot only wedge it inwards at that spot manually, you lot don't conduct maintain to tap it inwards amongst a hammer similar you lot produce amongst a metallic spool pin.
Using 1 of my ain grease-free cords, I spent 20 minutes stitching the machine inwards as well as running it full-tilt. No burning smell, as well as a nice, strong-running motor inwards this machine.
There's a duo of things I desire to say. While I cleaned the customer's machine for a few hours, I didn't laissez passer on it what I telephone telephone the "Million-Dollar Treatment," where I slave over a machine for weeks or fifty-fifty months every bit a time-consuming hobby. Because I mean value no client is going to pay for what I'd conduct maintain to accuse them for that sort of time. So I didn't larn into every in conclusion nook as well as cranny but instead cleaned upward the most offensive as well as function-affecting areas.
Secondly, to live fair, I produce non know what status the master seller received the machine in. Maybe it was a total prepare wreck as well as he brought it dorsum from the dead, as well as mayhap I oughtn't malign him?
Then again, there's no excuse for neglecting basic safety. Yeah, that settles it. Far every bit I'm concerned the grease on the ability cable is a damning indictment. Can you lot imagine if this pitiable adult woman had burned her household downwards over a sewing machine? Folks, if you're always going to purchase a used machine, delight produce inspect the end as well as ability cable carefully to live certain they're non covered inwards grease.
I don't hateful to live sensationalist or self-promoting. I conduct maintain never, always heard of someone burning their household downwards inwards a strength out caused past times a sewing machine. But mutual feel dictates that whatever sewing machine repairperson ought to produce their best to minimize those risks. It took me less than xv minutes to larn the grease off of the prongs, as well as ordering a novel cable takes less fourth dimension than that. Those things should conduct maintain been done during the initial refurbishment.
If you lot regard that greenish grease on your end prongs, construct clean it off amongst a Q-tip as well as rubbing alcohol, thence laissez passer on it enough of fourth dimension to dry out off earlier you lot plug it dorsum in. And if your ability cable has grease inwards the ports, recycle it as well as purchase a novel one--$6.99 is a small-scale toll to pay for peace of mind.
