Originally Posted by
miriam
I've seen those 401s look pristine on the outside and be so gummed up on the inside it isn't funny - I got a Singer 500 in much worse shape - nothing moved either - it is now my parts machine - it has saved the life of many machines. I'm so glad I bought it and my pocket book is very glad I parted it out.
Well I went to see that machine today. It was part of an estate sale where there were 4 machines and a heck of a lot of fabric. Found out the story behind the 401A. It had been in a house that had had a fire. The machine sat in the house for months while it was waiting to be repaired (the house, not the machine) and it looks like it was very moist. The piggy snout was seized. The slide plate didn't, and the throat plate was permanently stuck. I borrowed a screw driver, all the while educating the sellers, and took a peek inside. There was white corrosion all over the lip of the machine. The hand wheel turned, but the horizontal shaft didn't. I left it there.
On the way to meet a friend, I was driving past the Sally Ann, and heard a call. We've stopped checking the SA, because their prices are out to lunch ($35 for a buttonholer), so I almost ignored the summons and didn't stop.
Found a Centennial 66 with a crinkle finish, in a Singer plastic case, same price as the buttonholer.
Yeah, it's home with me.