Rescued Singer 201

[BrendaP]

My husband's friend who lives at the other end of the village phoned to say this his neighbour had put an old black sewing machine out for the scrap man - but I got there before the scrap man  and found this 
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It's a 1952 Singer 201K,  one of 4000 released in April 1952

All I've done so far is wipe it all over with anti-bac handwipes and give it a good dollop of oil.  It turns OK but is a bit stiff.  The stitch length lever and presser foot lift were both "seized' but the oil has already freed them.  The bobbin winder looks good but I can't release the clutch.

It has a Singer motor and the usual three pin plug but no foot pedal.  There is an additional lead connected between the motor and the socket and the cut on that matches the cut on the short piece of lead coming from a separate Singer motor attached to the back of the treadle.  Looks as though the treadle footplate had been used instead of a regular foot pedal.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Oooh, have fun with that!  No "table" section though?  I reckon you could make something...

[Acorn]

Ooh - very nice!  The decals and the finish look very good.   

[Roger]

thats a very smart looking 201! nice find. at least the 3 pin plugs arent too hard to come by and you can put a new pedal on it!

[Elnnina]

What a lovely and unexpected find BrendaP, this is very like my treadle which is a 201/2 and in a cabinet.  Again it has a treadle and also an electric motor fixed on and I gather that is what makes it a 201/2.  The foot pedal is huge and horrible on mine, big and chunky and has a silver colour metal foot in the shape of a foot on it, however the wiring looks rather dodgy to me so no way am I plugging this in.  However the condition of my machine is so like yours - they could be twins, lovely clear decals and it is difficult to see if there are any scratches.marks on it which is good.  Someone else on here suggested that my motor could be what they call a 'potted motor'.

So far apart from initially trying it out to see if it would stitch I have done nothing more - shame on me but I will get around to playing with this, but I really need to go and see exactly what I need to get from Helen Howes for both this machine and also the little Jones hand crank one - the Jones has a shuttle which is a bit manky and also some new spindles or whatever they call them to fit in the shuttle.

I am sure you will enjoy sorting this new machine out and good luck on getting a new top for the base - now where are you going to house this machine - will the others get jealous?

[Elnnina]

I was too quick to post the last message, and on rereading your initial thread you mention that you cannot undo the clutch - a tip given to me by Elna a long time ago when my Elna was refusing to co-operate was to use a wooden cotton reel - at the time I had an Anchor Machine embroidery ree (this was a bit taller than the Sylko reels) and wedge this under the needle screw and then try and turn the wheel to release it.  With the reel under the needle screw that part cannot move and thus you can get some real power to the possibly over tightened clutch.  Good luck.

[BrendaP]

@Elnnina   I have sorted the clutch.  The screw that holds the centre disc on was protruding a bit; I unscrewed it and everything moved easily so I put the screw back in and tightened it and the clutch works fine!  I think it was just the screw being in cross-threaded which stopped it from moving.   Terry has just freed the screw to drop the feed dogs by using  mole grips and a bit of brute force, so apart from the electrics which look a bit dodgy as well as the wire having been cut it all OK    I have put a needle into it and a bobbin and had it sewing by turning the wheel by hand. 

I've read of Facebook that the small electrical box on the back of the treadle part turns the treadle into a foot control and that that is a good way to sew.  Trouble is I don't really have anywhere to set up a treadle table/cabinet so I'm undecided about getting a wooden base or trying to sort the treadle out.   :thinking: :thinking: :thinking:  I might also have to let one of the others go if this one is good.   

[Iminei]

That looks like a beautiful machine, I cant see any scratches or rust whatsoever ... good luck with the restoration and post more pics ... Whats her name ???

[Elnnina]

Glad that you managed to sort out the clutch problem.  I must admit I had never heard of a 'potted motor' before, and having read on here enough about dodgy electrics I haven't even touched that part of the machine even though my son was eager to plug it in and try it out - I managed to stop him in time, although I think he was rather miffed.  It is better to be safe than sorry with these old machines.

I just could not believe that this machine was in such excellent condition with gleaming chrome, and excellent decals.  Like you I managed to get it stitching with turning the hand wheel, I have yet to try and get the treadle belt in place, and where I was trying this out in my rather large hallway the light in the middle of the winter was not good, but now with the light being so much better I will have another go.  I wound the one metal bobbin that came with it on my Bernina, no way was I risking the electrics and not having used a treadle for something like 60 years that seemed like a lot of treadling to get a bobbin wound.

My machine actually tips over on itself and hangs below the table top, and I had forgotten just how heavy they are to lift up into position.  Now I have heard that some people have changed over the machine itself and put a different one into a treadle cabinet or a treadle table, so if your machine shows it has keeping abilities, you could perhaps do something similar.  My cabinet is in my hallway - colour and wood wise it doesn't really fit in, but there you go, when I was after a treadle a few years ago it was designated to go between my kitchen and dining room - well that has been filled up with an exercise bike.  So it means whenever I want to play on this machine I will have to pull it out to use but that is really no hardship there are only two of us living here, with occasionally my grandson staying with us when my daughter is  working abroad - so we can get around this problem.  Just how can anyone send a beauty like your machine to the tip - you both did an excellent rescue with this.

[BrendaP]

That looks like a beautiful machine, I cant see any scratches or rust whatsoever ... good luck with the restoration and post more pics ... Whats her name ???

There's a small amount of pitting on the chrome and a few very minor scratches on the flatbed, but overall smarter than Caroline who is 12 years older and I suspect has a very high mileage on the clock but works excellently.

This one is called Corona!  You see a corona around the sun during a total eclipse and there was a total eclipe of the sun in 1952 (across Africa and Asia) just at the time whilst this one would have been in the manufacturing stage.

She is without any attachments other than the standard foot.  Yesterday evening I fitted a needle and found a bobbin and used the handwheel  and the stitching was good although the tension feels tight even on 0-1 setting.  She's also missing the spool pin, but they are obtainable and can make-do with a thread stand behind her.

[Kwaaked]

I learned to sew on a 201, it is still the machine I go to when I am tired or need something done yesterday.

I wish I had the treadle set up, but as it is, I have it in a sewing desk at work.  I do have the bentwood case on a shelf, but I don't move the thing.

[BrendaP]

A parcel from Helen Howes arrived this afternoon so now she has a new(used) base and a clamshell footpedal and is all ready to go.   I'm about to have a go at a bit of FMQ on a textile woodland picture I'm making.

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[Kenora]

Beautiful machine. How anyone could put that out for scrap is beyond me.

[Elnnina]

Brenda that looks so good, and the machine is gleaming - well done on the rescue front.  Now please may I ask what is the black patterned item behind the machine = is that a soft cover you have made or did you buy a complete wooden base and cover for the machine?

Now she can join your other ladies and join in the fun and take turns with any stitching.

[BrendaP]

@Elnnina   The black patterned thing behind the machine is a cover which I made for the old 201k- pattern pieces were based on the shape of it's bentwood cover which resides permanently in the attic.  It's stiffened with pelmet vilene and some foam based interfacing - sorry can't remember what it's called now.

If I let the old 201k go the bentwood cover will go with it - the 'new' base doesn't have the catches for the wooden cover which I don't like because if it's off the machine the catches have to be open which means that the cover won't sit flat on table or floor.  I much prefer my  home-made slip over cover.