Some of you have probably gathered that I have been wanting a Singer 201-2 for a while now. I have restored my mother-in-law's grandmother's 201 and played around with a friend's 201. The best part about restoring is the "test" to make sure it's working well. On my MIL's I pieced half a queen size quilt during the "test"--- I kept it for a few days, lol! I was impressed with how smooth it was; it made my 15-91 sound like a diesel tractor vs the Rolls Royce. (Slightly exaggerated.
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So when I saw a 201-2 on CL for $35 I grabbed it. It is a 1956 model, which I told my husband it's not really vintage yet... give it 20 years and it will be
I would have liked something older, but oh well. It needs a good spa day, as it is very dusty and grimy, but the shellac still looks like in good order. We will be rewiring it. The cabinet it came in is falling apart so I'll put it in my Singer 66-16 cabinet and buy a Bentbox for the 66-16. Actually, I think that the old cabinet was originally a treadle that someone took off the cast iron legs and installed plain wooden legs.
One quick question, though. Would it be okay if I used a q-tip with running alcohol underneath in the bobbin case area and such, to break up all the old sticky dust and grime? I know not to get it on the shellac or in the potted-motor area, but I'm just thinking about the gears, behind the face plate, bobbin... all that fun stuff...