Rodney

I love the way the cams are hidden on that one. Great find! Especially for the price.
Rodney

DebbieJJ

I've pm'd you psychonurse, thanks.

Rodney

I just picked up a Brother 281 a couple weeks ago and have started working on it. It looks just like the 271 photos posted in this thread.

I picked it up at a thrift store for cheap. It's dirty and had a little rust starting from sitting a long time without oil. I've cleaned up the hook area and oiled what I can reach so far. It looks like a nice solid machine and it's one of the smoother running zigzag machines I've messed with and I'm not even done yet. Mine didn't come with cams and until I searched here and saw this thread I'd forgotten that it even used them. You wouldn't know just by looking at the machine.

I do have a couple questions. I don't see how to remove the top to clean and oil inside it and taking the knob off that covers where the cams go has me stumped. I tried the Brother site. They have manuals for some of their machines but not this one. Too old I guess.
Thanks,
Rodney

MFord

That's a lovely machine! I don't have any old Brothers as yet. We use the new inexpensive ones at our Quilt Museum (lots of kids classes) and they are better than I had anticipated, given that I think the needle is the only metal in them!

Rodney

I discovered why I can't take the lid off. I need glasses. Not the reading glasses I use for detailed stuff. Real glasses. The top doesn't come off. Somehow I missed that detail of the two tone paint job where I thought there should be a seam.
That still leaves me with the magic trick of getting access to where the cams go. I've pretty much got the machine cleaned up and oiled now. It's working well. I just wish Brother offered the same support for their older stuff that Singer does. A manual would be really useful. I don't want to pay someone $20 for one though.
Rodney

Cari-in-Oly

Rodney , That lever that travels at the top of the stitch width knob, gently try to take it to the right past all the numbers. if it goes all the way down to the right, pull the whole shebang straight out and there's where the cams go. If the lever won't move past the numbers than it doesn't take cams. That's the only way to tell the difference.

Cari

And if you email me I'll send you a PDF of the 280 manual, that's as close as you're gonna get. About 6 years ago Brother International told me that they never made a 271 or 281 model sewing machine.

Rodney

Nice. It says 281 right on it. I guess it's kind of like some retailers that used to sell pipes and tobacco. They'll deny everything even with the evidence right in front of them.
Mine might be the one that doesn't take cams then. I'll try it again later.

I'll shoot you an email for the manual here in a bit.
Thanks Cari!
Rodney

Cari-in-Oly

Manual sent.

Cari