This is not for the faint of heart, just for those with a smelly machine.

    Every now and then I get a machine that almost smells worse than the storage case it came in. Spit your gum out so you don't swallow it and don't start yelling "No Way!!!" and we'll get underway.
    There are machines that smell so bad that there is no living with them. Between cigarette smoking (by former owners (remember, when these machines were made it was almost mandatory that you smoke to be an American) and the common mildew smell, although the case might just be beyond hope the machine can be cleaned up.
    First, loosen the motor attachment screw two turns. Remove the motor drive belt and then wrap the motor with plastic food wrap snugly. Tighten the wrapped motor's mounting screw without the belt being reinstalled. Remove the drip pan from the bottom of the machine and replace the drip pad normally glued to the inside surface of the drip pan if your aim is to eliminate "the smell".
    This will remove one source, but not all sources of the smell. Remove the spool pin cover, and the face plate. Put a piece of cardboard on and fitting the bottom of your kitchen sink with a hole for water to drain through it. This will protect your sink because we are going to wash the interior of your machine using hot water, hand dish-washing soap, bottle brushes and a toothbrush, your spouse's, not yours. A half inch wide natural-bristle hobby paint brush will clean the gears well as long as we are in there.
    I already told you to spit out your gum before you swallowed it. Preheat your oven to the lowest heat setting, be that "WARM' or 150.
    Now, listen, wash out the inside of the machine and avoid running water over the exterior of the machine. Do a real job of scrubbing the interior, don't poke at it and then write to say it didn't do much. Get a bottle brush all the way down the inside of the arm of the machine as best you can and then a little and scrub. A little water will not destroy your machine but do not let the water and soap pour over the outside surface of the machine.
   If you honestly did due diligence go rinse the machine one last time. Shake the water out of the machine or blow it out, blot the exterior dry and then put the machine in your oven ( which you have preset at its lowest "warm" setting) for five minutes if you don't have a hot sunny day working for you.
     I know this sort of thing is way out beyond many of your experiences in life for some of you, but believe me, it works and it will not harm your machine.
    Do not set the machine down soaking wet and go take in a movie. Dry it out!
    Oil the machine and grease the gears.   
    Take the food-wrap off of the motor and reinstall the belt. Remember the motor belt must be as loose as possible without the motor pulley slipping.
    Your machine will not rust away, it will not destroy the machine or any other superlative you can come up with. This is not something to do each Saturday night but if you are like the woman I had in class who could not sew on her machine because it smelled so bad, this can save your day and your machine's.
    I have done this many times now and it really does work and it will not hurt your machine. I had one person take my advice and said she was not impressed but she said she was afraid to use the brushes in the machine and dish washing soap seemed so harsh. Please, if you are willing to try it, do the whole job.

Keeping your eye out for something that isn't quite...well, I don't know.

   I taught a couple of classes this last week-end which is something I love doing. It is an opportunity to see and hold yet another Featherweight. Some machines that come to class come with a problem,  or two, and some problems are new to me. That's when it begins to be fun for me. When I find something new I love saying something like, "Gee, Ive never seen something like this before" and listen to the owner swallow their gum.When you are locked-up in a room working on sewing machines all week you have to find fun where you can get it. They don't let me out often.
    The machine in question was not sewing so pretty good. It puckered the fabric between each and every stitch and the fabric was very hard to pull out of the machine at the end of a line of stitching. When you pulled the fabric out of the machine, or if you pulled on the bobbin thread as it came up through the needle plate it was much harder to pull on than it should have been. So I said to myself, I said, the bobbin tension is set much too high so I coughed the bobbin case out. I got out my trusty gauge to test the bobbin case tension and the gauge said it was spot-on at 2.5 grams. I put things all back together and it still did not sew correctly.
    I had noted that the bobbin within the bobbin case was black which was unique and it was of a one-piece construction as having been turned on a lathe rather than made from separate parts pressed together into an assembly. When I put the bobbin back into the case the flange of the bobbin that closed off the opening of the bobbin case stood just a little tall and it was noted that when the bobbin case w/bobbin was put into the machine it took a bit more pressure than what seemed normal to get the bobbin case to snap into the hook assembly, yet still without having to use a hammer.
    The bobbin we were working with turned out to be a bobbin made for an Elna sewing machine of the 1930's. If you lay a Featherweight bobbin case on a flat surface beside the Elna bobbin, the Elna was about a sixteenth of an inch taller which made the bobbin stand proud and drag within the bobbin carrier and resetting the tension wasn't the answer at all. If not laying side by side for comparison the two bobbins looked just alike.
    I had looked at the bobbin within the case when I first took the bobbin case out and had commented to myself, "myself, that's odd" and just let it slide.
    When you see something that doesn't seem just right, and you've got some little nag of a problem, look harder at what seemed "a little strange" and think the strange and the nag through together as if they may be related. It is interesting how many FW problems have been corrected by thinking through something "just because it initially didn't look quite right."  



    

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.