Singer 201 maintenance
 

I cleaned up and oiled my Grandmother's 201 - purchased around 1950 - last weekend. To my knowledge it has been well used - Grandma was a seamstress - but has only been to be checked out by a repairman once, possibly twice in all this time. She sews beautifully and purrs like a kitten. I learned to sew on her and want to use her for some of my quilting.
QUESTION: I see by the manual she should have her motor "greased" about every 6 months of sewing. Again to my knowledge this has not been done since her visit to the repair shop. I have the instructions - but should I get new motor grease or use the tube that is probably from Grandma's time.

I too have a 201-3 and will have to get a n ew tube of grease and do my grandmothers 201-3, bought in Quebec in early 50's when I was 5-6 yrs old..

Hi Suzzy, the issue with older machines is not only the grease, but also the grease wicks, which need replacing as they're likely 50+ years old. The wicks--which are what absorb the grease, and then transmit it to the motor as it warms up--get old and crusty and are no longer able to transmit grease.

If you have a 201-2 with the potted motor (i.e. not a motor with a belt, like the 201-3) there are instructions for how to remove the grease wicks here:
http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/12/ho...r-part-10.html

There are instructions for how to replace and re-install them here:
http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/12/ho...art-19-re.html

And to do that it's much easier to take the motor off of the machine. The instructions for that are here:
http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/12/ho...or-part-8.html

These specific links only apply to the 201-2, of course.

hope that helps,

Very helpful, Rain! Thank you.

Ditto here. Thanks for the time you took to make your tutorials.