A "NON-GLARE" needle plate?

     Many of you will have heard me to say that I love questions about the Featherweight sewing machines. One of the best ways to learn something is to teach something. Answering questions is a similar "back-against-the wall" situation.
     "Where do I get a Non-Glare" needle plate" was the question?
     My first reaction was; "You don't".
     But then....well maybe....let me think on this a bit.
     Some of the later "pale celery" (otherwise known as "white") Featherweights came with a numbered needle plate that had a satin finish to it that would serve as non-glare surface. I do not know if Singer designed this finish for needle plates as a non-glare surface. I have been seeking Singer brochures that might have promoted a "non-glare" finish on any of their machines, but I have not been able to find such a beast.
     But there is a satin finished numbered needle plate that came with the 1964 and later white machines that does fit any Featherweight, but it might not fit your budget. The average bright chrome numbered and marked (for seam allowance) needle plates seem to be averaging about $45 on eBay. The ending cost for a satin finished numbered needle plate shouldn't be much more. The numbering on the needle plate has to be checked as there is a metric numbered plate design and a fractions of an inch numbering design which many in America will be more comfortable with.
     By the way; eBay is an excellent place to see what things are selling for. When I am just seeking pricing information as to the cost of something (on eBay or off) I will put an auction of that thing onto the "watch list" of and eBay will email you when the auction is drawing to a close so you can bid if the auction price is attractive (and you want to) or just glean the information and run with it. You are under no obligation to buy something that you have placed into the"watch list".
     I don't think using the term "non-glare" in your eBay search wording will help, if you ask for just a "Featherweight 221 needle plate" you will have several auctions to pick through. And try again later as the auctions are always being added to and closed so the options change frequently.
     It has been my experience with the satin finish needle plates that the finish can be scratched by pin-heads being drug across them. Watch for scratches on one you are looking at to buy, from anyone, and then pull your pins before they get to the needle plate if you get a Non-Glare plate. 

Keeping it original and keepin' it running

     I have touched a lot of Featherweights and in the process seen quite a few repairs that Singer had not thought of. Many times the driving force behind some variations of design is a belief that "the parts for a Featherweight are not available" which explains why I replaced my Featherweight's motor with a Hoover vacuum cleaner motor. In truth, very few parts for the Featherweight are truly difficult to find and the ones that are are not parts you would ever need, such as a lower main shaft. The really hard ones to find are those that are never needed so no one keeps them around, therefore they become "rare".
     As many of you know Singer does not supply parts on machines that are more than ten years beyond a given machine's model change. Our Featherweights are only fifty years beyond that model change milestone so don't bother asking at the Singer Store for Featherweight parts or you will be told the truth; Singer does not make Featherweight parts any more, "but maybe you'd like to look at this new machine over here?"
     Because of the popularity of the Featherweight machines there are quite a few companies that manufacture good Featherweight parts today. Using key words like "Featherweight 221" in a Google search will get you the names of people who can ship you good new and used parts. Spend a little time looking at various sites to learn the"going-price" of parts as there are some who just might try to gouge you a bit.
     I am not going to endear myself to a few sellers but I would avoid "new" bobbin cases and hook assemblies. You are far better off with a good used bobbin case or hook assembly that works compared to nicely chromed parts that are problematic.
     This aftermarket availability of replacement parts has its limits I fear. For a company to start manufacturing a replacement part there has to be a demand for them. Parts that are unique to the model 222 for instance are not manufactured anywhere and you will have to buy used parts. You can buy new motors for the black machine if you don't mind its not having the Singer name on it. You cannot buy a white motor for a white (I know, they are really green) Featherweight, you'll have to buy a used one or paint a new one white. Have fun matching the green color.
     Don't disparage if you are told "these parts are not available any more" by the first person you talk to. These people would know there are parts available if they would just search around on the web a bit as I am asking you to do. Ebay is one souse of parts that works as long as you shop around and have an idea what something should cost before you remortgage to underwrite the first part you see. Those who sell on eBay are often fond of using the word "rare" but the only thing really rare is the seller who doesn't use the word rare.
    Have fun Kids, these machines are going to be around long enough to be a problem for the great grand kids to have to figure out.

You cannot count on it all being the way Singer sold it originally.

     I've recently acquired a slug of Featherweights to restore and refurbish. With 30 machines piled around me I began looking at them, one by one, to determine the problems the machines had so I could figure which ones to attack first.There typically is a reason that Featherweights get sold. The machines haven't stopped looking cute so it must be something else. Maybe the person just doesn't use the machine enough and would rather someone who would use it would buy it and try to wear it out. That makes an nice wish but it doesn't happen often.
     The number one reason that these machines migrate is that somethings has gone wrong with the machine and the person finds themselves in over their head trying to determine what is wrong  and what to do about it.
     The number one reason that a Featherweight gets sold-off is that when it was maintained last; the needle plate was removed. When the needle plate was reinstalled the positioning finger of the hook assembly was not captured in the slot for it between what look two metal blocks on the underside of the needle plate. The machine will not sew in this state and the owner will sometimes think it is time to get rid of the machine. One in seven machines I buy do not have the positioning finger in place.
     Number two reason: You are charged $35 to be told the parts are not available anywhere. You are told this by someone who doesn't know, is too lazy to look or want's to sell you this honey of a machine over here. Hog wash!!!! Parts are easy to find and cheap.    Moving on.....
     Tension problems are the next in line. This is a rather convoluted subject but often the problem has to do with the Upper tension assembly having been disassembled (which makes it a disassembled assembly) and it was not reassembled the way Singer thought it should have been. The original manual for the machine, my manual (The Featherweight 221 and I) and the Technician's Service Manual for Featherweights have good illustrations of how the parts stack-up when correctly assembled. That funny washer that goes over the beehive spring must be installed with the tab on its edge side installed pointing up and so the tip of the tab is pointing out, like a small cobra head poised to strike.

     With some machines there are often some rather creative repairs that have been imposed on the original Singer design. Please, if you have to change something completely to get the machine to work (?) it might not be the best idea. One of the most confusing conundrums is; why, after removing the hook assembly to clear a jam or whatever, and having correctly installed the hook assembly (for a fact) onto its shaft again, why does the needle strike the hook assembly?
     Sometime in this machine's past the hook assembly had been removed and the wrong set-screw on the hub of the hook assembly was put over the flat that is ground into the shaft it mounts on. The hook assembly is 180 degrees out of rotation now. The person doing the work believes the hook assembly was correctly installed, "I mean what can be so hard about putting a part on a shaft?"
     "It must be the timing!!!" so the cure is to change the timing of the machine to make the machine agree with the incorrectly installed hook assembly rather than making the hook assembly agree with the machine. The hard part is that the machine works. So what's wrong with that. I just wanted a machine that works? The next time someone works on that machine and installs everything the way Singer says it should have been (for a fact) the machine wont work.The person working on the machine by the hour, if they haven't run into this before, will not work their mind numb trying to figure what is wrong and might well suggest, "let's go sell it.!"
      I love talking at you and I hope this blog helps. Feel free to ask questions.

What about the "white" Featherweight?

    The white machine is not the same as the black or tan machines.

    How so?

    The white machines body is made cast from the same aluminium alloy as the black and tan machines although the lifting bed extension is made of stamped sheet steel. This was but one production cost savings utilized by Singer so that they could keep producing a machine that had been getting too expensive to keep manufacturing and sell at a price that people would still afford.

     The power cord does not unplug from the base of the machine as the earlier black Featherweights do which was another production cost savings. I prefer a machine that the electrical cord can be unplugged from for storage or carrying about. It really is not the end of the world for me but simply a personal preference.  

    The steel base extension works quite well and is strong. This base extension on the white machine is about an inch and a half shorter than the cast aluminum extension found on all black and tan machines. To some this might seem important but actually it doesn't change things much in use.

    The most notable difference and the greatest money saver for Singer was to be found internal to the machine. The black and tan machines are all gear driven, but the design change to the white machine utilizes a cogged drive belt. This had quite the effect on the bottom line.

    How does the cogged belt effect the white machine when compared to the gear driven black and tan machines? The internal belt drive (rather than gears) has proven to be very reliable and it typically runs quieter than its black and tan siblings. I have talked with Graham Forsdyke and Glenn Williams about their experience with the belt drive and they concur with what has been my experience, there is no problem with the cogged belt drive. Although Graham had seen one fail when a person was "adjusting" the belt with his pocket knife. Obviously, this is a design flaw.

    In the 1950s, type-writers were cleaned by immersing them in a chemical bath not unlike the early dry cleaning chemicals. Type writers were soaked, shaken while immersed and dried. Then they were oiled again. Sewing machine service people tried this immersion in cleaning chemicals with Featherweights and found that it worked very well with the black and tan machines. In the 60's the white machine came about and the "sewing machine service people" put the white machine into the chemical bath and the internal drive belt melted in the harsh chemicals used for dry-cleaning back then. The service person had a three hour job ahead of them to remove the internal shafts and replace the cogged belt.The cure for this was that the service people told prospective buyers that "the white machine was not as good as the black machine, believe me I'm a service person and I know". If you are around white Featherweights long enough you will hear people say that "they had a Friend who said she heard that the white machine was not as good as the others. And now you know why. Telling this to prospective buyers kept the service people from getting their fingers dirty by having to clean a machine by hand rather than giving it a bath while they drank coffee. This is a "story" that you can take to the bank. I have talked with "old-timers" (which I am rapidly becoming) who have stated this is the truth.

    I have had to replace the gears in machines before, but never a cogged belt. In my experience the white machine (which isn't white, it is "pale celery" according to Singer) is every bit as good as any other color and I think it can be adjusted to sew marginally better than a well adjusted black or tan machine. I believe it runs smoother internally which in my opinion gives the machine its edge.  

    I will not go so far as to say the white machine is better than the others, but it is not a compromised design as had been implied by Singer's own and definitely is not second place to any other.

This might seem redundant but

I don't know why but frequently a problem with a Featherweight can crop up that has never darkened my door before and then I end up with a handful of machines with this same obscure problem. Obtuse and obscure can be fun though, so lets relay the story and see where we end up.

The first of the Featherweights with this particular problem announced itself as a Featherweight that wasn't running very fast. There are Feathers that do run slower than others, but this one was really quite slow. A bit faster than "stop" but not by much.

    The First thought was; the belt must be too tight, which is the typical cause. But this machine's belt wasn't too tight. A Featherweight's belt should never be tighter than it has to be to keep the motor pulley from slipping.
    The Second thought was; has the motor been lubricated in the last 30 years? It had been.
    The Third thought had me gripping the pulley with my fingers and pulling it in and out on it for no real reason. This behaviour is part of my finial set-up/testing of a motor if I had disassembled it to turn the commutator or clean the motor out but I hadn't done that work on this motor, so really I was just killing time while thinking. This is called "fiddling-around" all the time looking terribly busy to the untrained eye.
   There was no end play to this particular motor's shaft as I pulled in and out on the pulley, and there should be a little. I removed the pulley and found the motor's shaft had 16 inches of thread neatly wrapped around it that had partially filled the gap between the pulley and the motors housing.The thread was packed tightly enough that the motor could not get up to speed, much less the machine as a whole. The thread got there from a bobbin winding session gone bad. The thread had gotten itself snagged by the motor belt so fast it wasn't noticed. While the thread was dry it let the pulley turn without slowing things down much, but then it begins to wick the motor's lubricating grease out of the motor, which doesn't sound so bad, except that the lubricant makes the thread swell and disc brakes will have been reinvented.
    Solution; remove the motor pulley and clean out from behind it. Put the pulley back on.
    But note; there are two styles of pulley found on Featherweights, One is made of steel and it has a set screw on the pulley hub that secures it to the motor's shaft. Loosening the set-screw one turn is adequate to remove the pulley.
    The second pulley type is a Bakelite plastic that looks like black plastic (unless it was painted tan as found on the tan colored Featherweight). with soft rounded edges in addition to the fact that the pulley is round by function. There is a screw in the hub of this plastic pulley as well, but this screw must be removed completely before the pulley can be removed from the motor shaft. This style of screw threads completely through the motor's shaft. If you only loosen it a single turn as with the set-screw style of pulley the pulley can be broken as you try to pry the "stuck" pulley off the shaft. I am not speaking from experience, of course.

For the machine that has slowed down

     Somethings don't happen often, but when they do happen, they happen in clusters of bunches. A problem was simply stated, "my machine is really running slow" and when we went to the typical culprit, the belt being too tight, we found that this wasn't the problem, this time around. And then the same thing happened three more times within this week.
     Checking the belt's tension was the first thing tried. If too tight the machine will slow a lot and it is hard on the motor. The belt is to be no tighter than is needed to keep the belt from slipping at the motor pulley. The belt's not being too tight not being the problem looking elsewhere was in order. Removing the motor's pulley revealed the problem. Wound around the motor's shaft, between the pulley's inner flange and the motor housing, was an easy foot of thread packed in very tightly and dragging the motor speed down dramatically. With the pulley removed the wad of thread pulled off like a miniature donut. I suspect it got there by thread going native while winding a bobbin.
    The solution is to remove the pulley and slide the thread donut off the motor's shaft. The trick is to make sure you remove the pulley correctly according to the type of pulley you have on your motor.
    There are only two types of pulley; one of metal (steel) and one of plastic (Bakelite). The metal one looks like blackened steel, because it is. It can be attracted to a magnet and has a hole in its hub as it looks at you from the motor with the shaft pointing at your face. The plastic pulley looks like a double brimmed top hat, soft rounded edges on the hub and there is no hole for the sahft extending completely through the pulley's hub as it does on the metal pulley.
    The blackened metal pulley has a set-screw that holds it to the motor's shaft as it bears down on a flat spot ground onto the motor's shaft. Loosen the set-screw one turn and the metal pulley can be removed from the motor. Just pull it off the end of the shaft.
    The plastic (Bakelite) pulley found on white (pale green) Featherweights and painted tan to match the tan Featherweight's color is also found in natural black on some late model black machines such as the model 222. This pulley has a threaded pin that can be removed from one side of the pulley's hub. The threaded pin runs through one side of the pulley's hub and completely through the motor's shaft. This style of screw-pin has a slot like a screw head for the complete removal of the threaded pin.
    The first guess for a machine that is running slow is that the motor belt is too tight, and now you know the second guess.