A while back, I mentioned that I found a 1950 Singer 201-2 while Michel and I were out "junking". The machine was locked up, but the price tag was right and of course, she followed me home. (Michel is a HUGE enabler, but that is an entire post in and of itself.) This is what she looked like, as found:
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| 1950 Singer 201-2 with a Western Electric wood case. |
This 201-2 was just sitting in a Western Electric wooden case, as the hinge pins do not align properly. She sat in my
sewing,
craft,
rehab, catch-all room for a few weeks before I finally made the time to dig into her innards and get her stitching. I spent all day this past Saturday and most of Sunday soaking her in oil, removing parts, cleaning, and freeing up this locked up gem. When I was about 80% finished, with only the motor left to tackle, I decided to make a few test stitches from just turning her over by hand. WOW! Three words: smooth, straight, sweet! Those test stitches were enough of a motivation to service her built-in motor and produce some real stitches.
Servicing the motor was a lot easier than I had anticipated. The motor wires were still in great condition, with no dry flaking insulation, as is typical with a 50+ year old machine. The motor leads were still very pliable and supple, which made servicing the motor much easier and faster. Also, I skipped servicing the metal foot controller for now, and swiped a bakelite controller from one of my Featherweights. Once the motor service was completed, I mounted the 201-2 into the wood base I had obtained from eBay. The base is a custom made 'reproduction' of the Singer-style bentwood case bases. It suits this machine well.
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All cleaned, serviced and ready to sew!
And I really love the new walnut base. |
And here she is stitching. I apologize beforehand for the video quality; one-handed videography is not my forte.
I will start piecing my next quilt on her this week. If she performs like her sister, my 201K, I believe this 201-2 could become my new favorite machine. And if so, I think I may name her "Margaret", after my favorite aunt - my mom's youngest sister. I'll keep you updated. Until then, happy sewing!
