Cecilia S.

Dear Group,

Could someone educate me on motor wicks; exactly how to inspect them, what to look for, how to replace them, and with what to replace them?

I actually did not know what a motor wick was until a day or so ago when I saw them mentioned on another group. I presume they are universal-to-all-if-not-most-sewing-machines thing (except Steve's trundle sowing machiens* of course), so I thought this would be a good forum on which to have a discussion.

I have seven** machines, 50-plus years old, and I feel as though inspecting these old wicks may well be wise.

Thanks in advance!

*I know, I know!!

**I know, I know, I know!!!!

Mom3

Scroll down about 1/3 of the way on Rain's blog: http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2012/01/co...otor.html#more

Cecilia S.

Wow.

What an incredible blog, thank you! That should be all the info anyone needs!

BTW, what does the term 'potted' motor mean?

manicmike

Pretty sure it means "inboard" or built-in

Cecilia S.

LOL, as opposed to an outboard motor? ;-)

redmadder

Potted means a direct screw drive. An picture of a featherweight will show you. 201s also have it. Unlike modern internal motors the potted motor is external with a cover that looks like a kettle upside down. I'd post a picture but I'm away from my computer, spending most of my day admiring my new grandson.

ArchaicArcane

A featherweight has a regular belted motor. As does any 66, 99, etc that you will find. The 201-2 and the 15-91 have potted motors, the 201-3 and the 15-90 both have belted motors.

Simply stated, if the machine has an external motor and has a belt, it's belted.
If the machine has what looks like a "pod" or growth higher up on the arm (connected via the collar around the shaft that leads to the handwheel), and no visible belt, it's a potted motor.

The benefit of the potted motor is that it's "Direct drive". There's a gear that attaches to a gear at the handwheel and there's no belt to stretch or slip. This means that the power is more consistently given to the needle, and no belt to adjust.

The drawback of the potted motors - the gear that goes around the handwheel is a fiber gear. After 60 - 80 years, they can become brittle, especially if they're not properly greased. At last look, they were very difficult to find to replace a broken one.

In practice, I've found that my 15-90 would power through anything that my 15-91 did, so I don't think that the "piercing power" is that different, but it may have shown up more if I'd tried it more, for longer periods of time, but my need wasn't that great. It's why I often suggest a 15-90 when people really want a 15-91 for FMQ. You really don't need pure grunt power for quilting, and they're not that different in the end anyway. I quilted a 5'x4.5' quilt with a 15-90 and there was no complaint whatsoever from the machine.

The wicks, if they're crunchy or black, I tend to change them, but otherwise, if they're damp and the lube has penetrated all the end of the wick, they're not too much of an issue. The ones for the 15-91 and the 201-2 are easy to find. Some of the others aren't as easy. I posted here about wicks for some of the other motors: http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...s-t205939.html

mlmack

The 101 has a potted motor as well, but they aren't commonly found.

ArchaicArcane

Good catch. I usually forget about that one. Now I have to go look up the 1200 and the 15-125...

ETA: Check! According to Sew Classic, the 1200-1 is the same as the 201-2, but with a"knee activated presser foot lifter "and a commercial type table. And I found a pic of a 15-125 with a potted motor.