Courtney
Courtney, who lives in northern Colorado, tells us about the machines that he has worked on over the last month. He sent us the following pictures and notes:
Dear All,
During our Zoom call last month, I mentioned that I had just been given a 1942 Singer 201. It was in the last batch manufactured before the Singer factories switched over war work. I am sure that whoever bought the machine was very happy (and lucky) because sewing machines were hard to come by during World War II. The machine was not in great cosmetic shape and was missing the dust guard up by the spool pin and the machine ran very slowly. The case also had some problems in that it was missing a handle and one of the hinges was missing. I gave her a good lubrication and cut a circle out of card stock to cover the lubrication holes near the spool pin (I also put a large spool pin cover my daughter had crocheted over the area to also keep any dust from getting inside the machine.) When I looked at the control pedal, I found that it was actually for 220V rather than 110V. I replaced it with a 110V control and was really surprised. I think this is the smoothest and most responsive machine I have ever had.
I started thinking about looking at my other Singer 201s. The first machine I ever purchased was a 1948 Singer 201-2. The machine runs and sews very well but there is a quiet knock in the bobbin area. I have searched and searched for the knock and simply cannot find it. I purchased a 1947 Singer 201-3 in Portales, NM a few years ago. I have converted it to a 201-1 hand crank with an original Singer hand crank and spoked wheel. I was surprised to find such a machine in Portales, since nearly all-American machines were 201-2 machines with potted motors. This machine was made in Great Britain and Portales in not a major sewing machine hub. My third machine is a 1937 201-2 that is rather unusual. It has a potted motor, but it appears to have been drilled so the potted motor can be removed, and a 201-3 belt guard and bobbin winder can be attached to turn the machine into a 201-3 (or -1 or -4.) The only difference between 201-1s, 201-3s and 201-4s is whether they are treadle, external motor, or hand crank machines. I have included a picture of my converted 201-2 machine, and you can see it still has the built in light and the wires for the light sticking out at the back of the machine. I have also included a picture of the external motor I now have on the machine. I have always been interested in why the potted motor machine (-2) was almost ubiquitous here in the US and why the other models (-1,-3,-4) were so popular overseas.
After working on the 201s I got to thinking it would be nice to have one of the aluminum bodied 201s made in England after the war, but Colorado is a very long way from England. Then I remembered that the 201 in the US was basically replaced by the 404 which has an aluminum body. So down to the basement I went and brought up my two 404s. I cleaned and lubricated both machines and they also run very nicely (although I think the 201 is much smoother and quieter.) While working on the 404s I noticed they were not exactly the same. In the picture I have removed the top plate on each machine. The machine with the lowest serial number (AN023722 right) has a different internal casting than the machine with the higher serial number (AN126894 left) even though the serial numbers on both machines are reasonably close. The machine with the higher serial number has a casting which goes all the way from front to back for more support than the other machine. The other major difference is the drip plate. The machine with the lower serial number has a drip plate similar to a Featherweight or 301. It is a metal plate with a felt pad which screws on the bottom of the machine. The machine with a higher serial number has replaced the metal plate with a plastic cover which covers the entire bottom. Both of these differences can be seen in the photo. I don't know but perhaps the difference is how the machine was sold. If it was sold in a cabinet, it might be like the low numbered machine and if it was sold as a portable then perhaps it came similar to the higher numbered machine.
Until next month,
Courtney
In Closing
Thank you to our members Dianne and Courtney for their offerings this month. We will post here again next month. Until then, thank you for reading.