Okay, I have some answers to the questions that were posed regarding my FW issues. I hope somebody is still reading this thread! Would love any input or comments.
Foot Pedal: I used the machine for quite a while today. The foot pedal works perfectly at some times (in other words, I step on it and off she goes), and other times I step on it and nothing happens. (David W – Since you asked, I would say it probably does this about 1x out of 10 that I press the pedal.) If I turn the hand wheel it goes. I have ordered myself a new foot pedal from Nova Montgomery so I’ll see what happens when that arrives and I can try a different pedal. Hopefully it’s just the old pedal that has issues and not the motor.
The Motor & Belt: When I used the machine for a while, the motor did get very warm, but not hot enough so that I couldn’t lay my hand over it without getting burned. I assume that sounds about right? The belt seems fine to me. It’s hard to tell if the belt is too tight but I don’t think so. Is there an easy way to tell?
The Loose Wires Inside: I took another good look at those loose wires (the second photo in the first post on this thread). It seems the top item is a black-coated wire, and the other two are simply pieces of fabric covering that are unraveling. The wire concerned me. I ran the machine laying down with the drip pan off so I could look at what was happening underneath. I didn’t see anything unusual – no sparks off that wire or anything like that. Any ideas?
Greasing: Joe, I greased those gears.
With Vaseline because that’s all I have right now and I read that some folks use it if they don't have the Singer grease.
I ordered a bunch of stuff including new motor brushes, but I need to find somewhere to order the grease for those. I assume the Tri-Flow grease that Sew-Classic sells would be just fine, so I will probably order from there. (I got the motor brushes and drip pad from 221 Parts, and the foot pedal from Nova because she tests each one before it’s sent out. I know someone else on the Board got a non-working new pedal this week so I’m hoping to avoid that scenario!)