Hey peeps
Well, it's been an acquisitive couple of weeks. I finally capitulated and bought a 201. As soon as I'd decided, I hunted it down with focus and fervour... and won it for $76 on eBay looking like new and with a "recent service". Of course, it was the classic case of "recent" meaning sometime in the last couple of decades! But I have to say, even after a shocking first clean that involved removal of a huge hunk of thread from under the feed dogs, this is by far the quietest running machine I have and it's a pleasure to sew with.................. EXCEPT, that I loathe the darn foot controller. I know there's nothing wrong with it and it's the same as the one on my 222K. I just don't 'get' the design. Very small button to depress and what's the deal with the fixed protrusion to the right that just gets in the way??
Anyway, of course I was casually perusing Gumtree a couple of night's ago and saw a new listing for an almost identical 201 for $75 except the case was beautiful and it came with the knee controller. My attention was grabbed. The knee controller! That's what I needed! - so I hatched a plan. I thought I would go and see this second one and if the machine seemed okay, I'd purchase it so that I could make a hybrid machine out of the two.
So - they are both EK serial numbers and both machine heads are in excellent condition. The first machine seems faultless in terms of its functionality; the second machine I have not yet cleaned and oiled but it sounds pretty crunchy around the bobbin area when it runs and I'm not sure about the motor or anything yet because it came with no power cord. I took along my power cord/foot controller to try it out and a very strange thing happened: as soon as the machine was plugged in, it started running at high speed (and didn't sound great while doing so).
Did this happen because I plugged a foot control lead into a knee control machine? I don't understand much about electricity and motors, so maybe this can explain why the machine took off without being asked to? If not, I'd really like to hear from someone about what this could indicate. I am thinking I'll probably want to take the first machine head (that I've already cleaned up and oiled; and that has the quiet running motor) and mount it in the 'new' much more attractive wooden box and use it with the knee control. I presume this is all possible but would love any insight or tips you guys can offer.
I was able to purchase the 2nd machine for $50 without a power cord. I'm hoping this won't be a disaster, but they are such good machines.... Hoping I'll be able to combine them to get what I'm after and sell the other one to cover my extra costs. Any thoughts or insights that might help me to complete this project would be greatly appreciated!
