Sunday, July 14, 2013

A Singer 401a and Greasy Terminal Prongs



Hi everyone, I know, long time no talk. I recently got to meet Elizabeth from My Sewing Machine Obsession and that was pretty cool. She mentioned that I hadn't written in a while. Over a year!

I've been busy with work and fixing sewing machines on the side, even making housecalls in Manhattan. If you need repair work done on your machine, are in NYC and/or can bring your machine to me in lower Manhattan, drop a line.

Anyways, a customer brought this Singer 401a to me. She came my way from Peter Lappin's sewing blog. The customer had just purchased the machine from a "reputable" seller online, and the machine had been damaged in shipping, with one spool pin broken off. She asked if I could fix it, I said no problem.



When she arrived with the machine, she mentioned that after five minutes of sewing, the machine would begin to emit a smell. I told her I'd check it out.

Well, never mind the spool pin, I was appalled to see the condition of the machine. So much so that I subsequently looked up the seller. I will not mention him by name, but based on his reputation and self-description, any of us would probably buy a machine from this guy in a heartbeat. He has been working on machines for longer than I've been alive, so I cannot understand how he let these things go.

The first thing I went to do is plug her machine in to uncover the source of the smell, but I stopped dead in my tracks. Check it out:



See that green stuff? Old Singer lubricant (grease) turns that shade of green after many years, I've seen it inside plenty a machine. And here it is on the terminal prongs--not good. Even worse, there was more on the cable:





Folks if you ever see this, do NOT plug your machine in. Electricity should never mix with oil, grease, or any kind of lubricant. The woman who brought me the machine is lucky that the machine didn't start a fire.

It's not difficult to clean old grease off of metal, you just go at it with Q-tips and rubbing alcohol. So I'm really surprised the seller was so careless. Here's the terminal after I cleaned it:



However, I was not able to get the grease out of the power cable. There's no way I can see inside, so there's no way I can ensure I've removed every last bit of grease. I told the customer her cheapest option was to order a replacement cable from Sew-Classic. Since it's only $6.99, it really bothered me that the original seller didn't supply one rather than the grease-soaked one.

The rest of the machine wasn't much better. There was an antique-looking piece of thread jammed under the hook assembly, providing friction:


It took me a little time, since it was wound around the shaft, but I fished the thing out. I estimated it was 8 inches long, but I measured it just now out of curiosity and it was a foot.



And the rest of the machine was just filthy. I don't mean the body of the machine, which almost doesn't matter--that's basically cosmetic--but the working parts of the machine, like the tension assembly. I stripped every part that needed it to give it a thorough cleaning. Here are the before-and-after shots:








I saved the spool pin for last. I'm sorry I don't have photos of this part, but I'll explain how to do it in case one of you needs to. With a 401, you have to take the lid holding the spool pins off. I futzed around with the hinges for a while trying to figure out how to remove it without breaking it, then finally realized you just keep moving the lid in the open direction, gently, until it pops off. (This is only the second slant-needle machine I've worked on, I'm usually doing older cast-iron models.)

Then I was going to hammer out the spool pin using a hammer and a blunt nail, which is how I've gotten broken spool pins out of the base of a 201-2 and 15-91 (where you place the spool for bobbin winding). But after clamping the lid upside down to my workbench, I worried that hammering it out might bend the lid.

So instead I drilled the spool pin out, since it was plastic. What you do is start with a 1/16th" bit and drill through the center of the broken spool pin. (Try to get it as dead-center as you can, because you don't want to hit the metal part of the lid and potentially ruin the hole.) Then you just drill through the hole with progressively larger drill bits, and eventually the spool pin fragments just disintegrate and fall out of the hole.

That's the tricky part. Replacing a plastic spoon pin is easy, you just wedge it in there manually, you don't have to tap it in with a hammer like you do with a metal spool pin.

Using one of my own grease-free cords, I spent twenty minutes stitching the machine in and running it full-tilt. No burning smell, and a nice, strong-running motor in this machine.

There's a couple of things I want to say. While I cleaned the customer's machine for a few hours, I didn't give it what I call the "Million-Dollar Treatment," where I slave over a machine for weeks or even months as a time-consuming hobby. Because I think no customer is going to pay for what I'd have to charge them for that kind of time. So I didn't get into every last nook and cranny but instead cleaned up the most offensive and function-affecting areas.

Secondly, to be fair, I do not know what condition the original seller received the machine in. Maybe it was a total train wreck and he brought it back from the dead, and maybe I oughtn't malign him?

Then again, there's no excuse for neglecting basic safety. Yeah, that settles it. Far as I'm concerned the grease on the power cable is a damning indictment. Can you imagine if this poor woman had burned her house down over a sewing machine? Folks, if you're ever going to buy a used machine, please do inspect the terminal and power cable carefully to be sure they're not covered in grease.

I don't mean to be sensationalist or self-promoting. I have never, ever heard of someone burning their house down in a fire caused by a sewing machine. But common sense dictates that any sewing machine repairperson ought to do their best to minimize those risks. It took me less than fifteen minutes to get the grease off of the prongs, and ordering a new cable takes less time than that. Those things should have been done during the initial refurbishment.

If you see that green grease on your terminal prongs, clean it off with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol, then give it plenty of time to dry off before you plug it back in. And if your power cable has grease in the ports, recycle it and buy a new one--$6.99 is a small price to pay for peace of mind.


22 comments:

  1. Very useful warnings, thanks. And although I don't think that anyone can really make money restoring machines properly (wanna buy a $500 Singer 99?) I agree that covering safety issues and BASIC cleaning of the working bits ought to be standard.

    Glad to see you back in blog land.

    Cheryl Warren

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cheryl. Speaking of pricey machines, I recently went to North Carolina for a work training session. On the way to my hotel in Durham, I passed a Singer-branded sewing store at a shopping center, so I had to pull in. The guy had several vintage machines up on the wall and we got to talking. Up high in his display I spied a crinkle-finish 221, which I'd never seen in the flesh. I asked him if I could look at it. He wanted $1,500 for it! "I ain't kidding," he said. "I've turned down $1,300."

      I know North Carolina is a big state, but before I left I asked him if by any chance he knew a Cheryl Warren.

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dido that, good to hear from you again. Love the vintage machines. I purchased this machine for my daughter in college, and she loves it. Later I found another like it and you are just in time to give me a heads up on how and what to look for. Welcome Back.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rain, Good to have you back. Love the side by side photos. Thank Goodness she brought her machine to you. I have never seen green grease like that. Thanks for that tip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi the green is called verdigris it is result caused of copper exposure to acid compounds. The Statue of Liberty is covered with it.

      Delete
  5. Nice to have you back posting again. I have to tell you, I bought a Singer 500A because of your blog. You make me believe I can/restore it myself. I haven't started yet, but soon...........

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh please, can't you wrestle Peter out of NYC and join us for Elizabeth's TOGA weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great info! That's a cute machine too.

    I recently bought a 201-2 that I'll be giving the zillion-hour loving hobby treatment with help from your blog. I never would have been confident enough to take on a project like that without your blog so I'm really grateful :-) My new (old) machine is gorgeous -- I love working with beautiful tools and machines that make me feel good so it's going to be great.
    Thanks!!! (And glad to see you posting again.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm so glad you're back!! You've inspired me to take on repairs I never would have otherwise, and I've learned so much. Your blog is great - my seven (!!) vintage machines thank you for making me a better caretaker.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I just discovered your blog and Elizabeth's blog a month or so ago. I thought you might never come back, but then I read one of Elizabeth's posts where she wrote about you, the 223 and the ultrasonic cleaner you gave her. There was hope. And now you're back, and I find out that we live in the same part of town and like the same brand of peanut butter! I'm so glad you're back!! And this is a great post. I'm wondering how grease got on the terminals -- just sloppiness on the part of the person who greased it? If I saw that I'd be worried that it was somehow leaking from inside the machine, though there doesn't seem to be grease where the terminals meet the plastic. I'm really learning a lot from you and Elizabeth. Thanks. --Sheila

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ditto all of the above!!! A similar story involving an "Authorized Singer" repair person got me into learning how to take care of my own machine. I now have four! Thank God, you, Elizabeth and a few other knowledgeable souls have shared your experience! It's been a big learning curve just to gather materials to start working on these old beauties. ;) Welcome back and looking forward to more 'lessons'!

    ReplyDelete
  11. So good to see your post again! Back in the 1980s a friend who lived across the cul-de-sac returned from shopping to find smoke in the house. They searched every room and found her sewing machine hadn't been unplugged after she used it last, and it was smoldering. If they hadn't returned when they did, their house would have burned. I try to never leave my vintage machines plugged in when leaving the room, unless it's only for a few minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi...I just found this page while trying to locate a group of singer vintage machine users. Strange to see the review of the cleaning of the 401...I recently bought a 431G....totally new to me....wondering about the years of manufacture. Also would love to get to know fellow vintage sewers. TX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tex, check out this link:
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintagesingers

      Delete
  13. Wish I had the courage to take apart a sewing machine and clean it up like that!!! I love your blog and perhaps some day I will give it a try.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Rain,
    Yesterday, I bought a Singer 401a for $20 off of Craigslist. I wanted this model for it's monogramming capability and jumped at the chance to buy it at such a reasonable cost. Cosmetically it's in good shape, but I noticed the green goo on the terminal prongs exactly like in this post. I cleaned it off quickly, because I wanted to see how the machine ran, but now I'm going to give it a proper cleaning and order the new cable as you recommend.
    I'm a believer that things happen for a reason and maybe you prevented a fire. Thanks for this informative post, your instructions and tips will come in handy when I start tinkering under the hood.
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have my mother's Singer 401--the machine on which I sewed most of my clothes in high school, and also my wedding dress, almost 50 years ago. It is in the original cabinet and still going strong. The only problem I have with it is that the Singer brand bobbins that are available in stores now seem to be about a millimeter too big to fit in the bobbin compartment on this machine. Do you know a source for bobbins that will fit?

    ReplyDelete
  16. For a second I thought your subtitle was going to roll into a Technologic parody, but I'm fine that it didn't. Great blog though. We don't have anything vintage, but I've had an interesting time repairing our Bernina sewing machine from Orlando FL a couple of times. I think the humidity makes it harder, but I can't say for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have a Singer 401A, I bought this a few months ago, but just began working on it. I have cleaned, oiled and lubricated, following the instructions. There is a smell and smoke being emitted from the stitch regulator openings and the top of the machine when the casing is removed... do you have any suggestions? Please email me at chelseahearon@gmail.com at your convenience. Thank you for your time!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Help, help. Can you please post a step by step on how to take off a singer 101 hand wheel and bobbin winder assembly. I can't tell you how much trouble I am having. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete