She's real fun, my 401...
Over the weekend, I decided enough! of waiting until I get the cabinet refinished. I pulled out the 401, set it in the 301 table, oiled it up (again) and started playing.
If you were wondering how I did on the cam stack (I took it apart months ago to clean it) - I DID put the cam stack back together in the right order. Thanks to the link shared here, I was also able to set the timing of the cam stack to the needle. (Should the cam gear have lube on it? It was totally dry, no sign of old grease, so I let it be.)
It took a bit for the oil to get into all the nooks & crannies, and she quieted nicely once it did. I am amazed at the difference in sound between the 401 and the 301. The 401 has a higher "geared/spin" sound, even with a straight stitch. (Race horse...ridden by a plow jockey!) I think she'll be pretty vocal about her oiling needs.
The 301 has a lower pitch, a solid, steady sound. Knows what she has to do and does it, at any speed from a walk to a canter. Not much bothers her. Her sound doesn't change much, but if she's thirsting for oil, she'll show it in thread snarling. One quirk I haven't figured out - If I don't have at least 5" of thread tail on the top thread to start a seam, she'll pull the thread out of the needle, even if I am holding the thread. Thoughts? By comparison, the 401 can start a seam with a 2" tail.
The 401 fancy stitches are pretty fun. I think I'll enjoy embellishing tiny quilts (mini wall hangings) with her. (No grand daughters to sew for yet.)