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!
4 comments:
Glad to find your site. My wife's Singer 128 (1925) just died this evening and it looks as if it's either the motor or the knee switch. I'm still trying to find parts.
Hi Scott,
Are you still going to post your restorations? I was fallowing the Singer 99 one and I have to say I missed the ending. I acquired a frozen singer 99-13, 1926, and it has been tough to free the parts. Granted that it is my first machine, but I am still hopeful. Your posts have been helpful. I hope you come back.
BTW, I have a 15-91 that I love. I did not do the service on that one; bought it service already. But I am on the look out for a 201-2. Not easy to come by...
Come back!
Denise, I'll be returning to the blog after the New Year and hopefully I can answer any questions you have then.
There's just something about a 201-2, isn't there? I have one (free (!), in a knee control cabinet, from a local giveaway list) and it's hand's down my favorite machine to sew on, ever.
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