Sammie1

This is my first venture into veteran machines. A 1956 201-2 that seems to have been used quite regularly until the lady passed away and her daughter needed to get rid of it.

This is the only picture I got before I stared polishing up the plates and bare metal.

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Because the finish is missing in areas, rather poor in others (the pictures don't capture how bad it is), and most of the decals are worn off, I've decided I'm going to refinish it. It has two jobs-to work and to look good doing it. I'm trying to convince hubby that this machine needs to be displayed.

I have a few questions though.

First is about the wiring.
It looks pretty good from the outside. How do you determine if you should crack open the motor to look at the wiring inside? I know that the only way to be absolutely sure about the wiring you can't see is to open it, but I believe I read about looking at the grease?
Also, should I replace the grease wicks regardless?
Here's a picture of the wiring leading into the motor.

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All of the wiring insulation on the outside looks pretty good. It's not as supple as brand new, but it still moves and I haven't found any cracks in it.

On to decals
My machine doesn't have the regular 201 decals on it. Does anyone know if they switched to the 201K style decals in the '50's and then continued to run them on the 201K?
If you look at this link: http://www.keelersales.com/model-201/
for replacement decals and compare the 201 decals with the 201K, you'll see that what's left of the decals on my machine matches the 201K.

Here are pics of the decals up close

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Sammie1

Here are some pictures of her innards. Looks pretty good to me, but this is also the first one I've seen in person. Unless someone with more experience says otherwise, looks like I just need to clean it a little and oil.

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How hard can I scrub and polish on these?

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Margie07

You are blessed! I have heard numerous times how good theses machines are.
Here is a blog post about rewiring a potted motor:
http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2012/01/co...ted-motor.html
I had a journey man electrition friend do mine, but many have done this themselves. Be sure you check the wiring of the foot pedal/light bulb/plug in terminal and motor.
Please follow your manual for greasing and oiling your machine, as there is a certain way to do it, and a certain grease and oil. Pages 27-31:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_mach...ine-manual.pdf

Sammie1

When I decided I wanted to get a vintage machine, the 201 kept coming up as a top of the line machine. So I specifically looked for this model. It sounds like the featherweights are also good machines, but they're too pricey for me plus I'd rather have the big machine since I don't plan on taking it anywhere.

I've got the manual and also the adjusters manual. Also have the recommended oil and grease.

Currently, I'm trying to determine if I do indeed need to rewire the motor. It seems to work just fine. To get it out of the cabinet, I had to take apart the foot pedal and the wiring and everything in there looked good. Just a little dusty.

The cord to the light is shiny with grease though so I need to inspect it closer when I disassemble for refinishing. The lightbulb left in it was bad. It turned on, but it got really hot really quickly so there was some resistance there.

From sew-classic, I've got some felts, wicks, new bulb, new stitch regulator knob (it's missing from this machine) and a few other maintenance goodies. She'll be feeling young and sprite in no time. The decals are on the way so she'll look as good as she feels.

Since the finish won't be original, I've decided to improve on it. Looks like the shellac is scratched easily. My hubby works in the paint industry and was able to advise me on a good sturdy finish and he's recommended wheel paint. He said it's tough as nails so pins are less likely to scratch up the bed. And it can withstand any heat the motor or light would give off.
I'm going to disassemble and do all the preparation and he's going to paint it for me. He can lay down paint that almost looks like glass. It'll be a beautiful machine that's well protected.

Sammie1

Anyone recognize the machine about 14 seconds in to this newsreel footage of Queen Elizabeth's wedding presents?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgFJkiIQdrs

Margie07

It appears to be the 201!

DonnaMiller

Look for decals on Ebay under "Singer decals" and you will find what you need. Pick any one you like as you plan to keep the machine. Please yourself first.

Cari-in-Oly

Nice find. Yes there were more than one set of decals on the 201 during it's run. Yours are the same as my machine that is a year older than yours. I *think* they changed in the late 1940s but I'm not positive on that so don't quote me. Rains blog is the bomb, the best for following to clean up your machine. His motor tutorial is the best I've found. As for oiling and greasing the 201 there are two things to keep in mind.
1. The manual calls for the hook gear to be oiled. My opinion(and we all know what those are like, lol) is I grease mine with Tri Flow grease. It sticks to the gears and you won't have to be oiling them all the time.
2. The grease tubes/wicks. Don't use Tri Flow(or any other similar) grease here. It needs to be a low melt point grease so it will wick properly. Synthetic greases just don't cut it here.There's been discussions here on QB lately about different greases and which ones are best to use in different applications. I use vaseline in my machine. (Okay. I will use vaseline when my 201 gets a spa day and I can clean out the wrong grease I put in it when I didn't know any better.)

You will be in love when you finish up your machine and sew your first stitches on it. There's nothing like the quiet hum of a 201-2.

Cari

Sammie1

Yes, I keep forgetting to pick up some vaseline at the store. I'll mark that on my list right now.

Are the wicks something that should be changed or if the grease looks good, should I just keep the old ones in there?

I've been studying that blog pretty hard.

Sammie1

I'm not attached to any one design so I ordered some that look like the ones it had.

I checked the mail today. No parts or decals yet.

Does anyone know if the original finish contained any lead?