I was helping my friend at quilting bee today to figure out why her borrowed Featherweight wouldn't sew. The needle was in with the flat to the back, we put it in correctly and ta-dah! no more problems. I showed her where to oil it and removed the stray thread caught behind the bobbin case base.
The Zoom oil sold at JoAnn's is just fine, I like the long spout; makes it easier to get at some of the oil points underneath the machine. I only use Schmetz needles in my machines.
When I get a new FW to service, I check the wiring behind the lamp and also where the cord plugs in. The earlier FWs can have melted wiring insulation.The following link shows the melted wiring that I was talking about.
http://www.singer-featherweight.com/...tdisaster.html
Sharon W.