Let me ask. Does anyone know what it means when the lady at the shop said the gears need to be packed ? She wanted to have me leave one of my machines to service it but I didn't have the $ at the time. She said it needed to be cleaned, oiled and the
10-24-2011, 05:53 AM
#14
Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 66
use singer grease (lubricant) little dabs on the gears - not familiar with the machine but the top may come off and you'll be able to see the gears - just turn the wheel and put little dabs of grease around the gear teeth...
there may be gears on the bottom also - whereas you just do the same thing - little dabs of grease on the teeth..
then sewing machine oil on any thing else that has two metals rubbing together
usually walmart, joanns, hancocks, dime stores, have singer lubricant and sewing machine oil. the lubricant is generally in a little blue/white tube
there may be gears on the bottom also - whereas you just do the same thing - little dabs of grease on the teeth..
then sewing machine oil on any thing else that has two metals rubbing together
usually walmart, joanns, hancocks, dime stores, have singer lubricant and sewing machine oil. the lubricant is generally in a little blue/white tube
10-24-2011, 06:00 AM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: OK
Posts: 701
On my Featherweights and older singers, the gears are exposed on the underside and they are very easy to grease. Clean the old off and a hair dryer will help by softening the old grease.
It is grease not oil and I would imagine that Singer or any other sewing machine brand would be acceptable. I would do some research and Google to see if you can't find more information. Maybe there is even a mainetnance manual for your machine.
I was very fortunate in being able to take a repair and maintenance class from an excellent man that had worked with manual sewing machines for many, many years. The class was inexpensive and one of the best investments I have ever made.
It is grease not oil and I would imagine that Singer or any other sewing machine brand would be acceptable. I would do some research and Google to see if you can't find more information. Maybe there is even a mainetnance manual for your machine.
I was very fortunate in being able to take a repair and maintenance class from an excellent man that had worked with manual sewing machines for many, many years. The class was inexpensive and one of the best investments I have ever made.
10-24-2011, 07:19 AM
#16
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: South Texas
Posts: 9
White lithium grease is the best. After time the Singer brand grease will get thick and gummy and could gum up the gears. The white lithium grease will not do this. There are a couple of yahoo groups dedicated to vintage machines that are friendly and are a plethora of information. One is called vintagesingers and the other is wefixit
10-24-2011, 07:34 AM
#17
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
Originally Posted by AngieS
What kind of grease do I use? It's a 1947 Kenmore. Is there somewhere that I can find how to do this correctly?
A lot of the machines of your vintage came with semi-permanent grease, so it may not need any grease. If you do need it, it is called sewing machine grease, comes in a small tube, and is widely available on the notions wall of places such as JoAnn's and Walmart.
Take the screws off the top of your machine, if your machine has screws, so you can lift off the top. Put one drop of oil in any oil holes, plus one drop wherever you can see two parts moving against each other when you turn the wheel. Grease goes *only* on gears. Gears have teeth, so are easily identified. You will probably see some white or brown gunk on the gears; that is the old grease. It's usually okay to leave it there. I just add a little new grease.
Swing out the side door of the machine, on the left, and oil all areas where two metal parts move against each other.
For the bobbin area, I remove the bobbin case and the bobbin race. Usually there are a couple of little knobs you flip to the side to release the bobbin race. I use a small stiff brush to clean out that area. Before replacing the race, I place a tiny bit of oil on the outside of it and then run my finger around it so there is just a light film of oil on it. Replacing the race usually requires a little patience. It's not hard, but I always wish I had 3 hands when I do it.
Before replacing the race, remove the needle plate and vacuum out or use a tweezers to lift out any lint, especially around the feed dogs.
Don't blow into the machine or use sprayed air -- this can push lint deeper into the machine.
For some machines you need to take off the bottom and oil those moving parts too. I lay the machine on its side to do this.
That's about it!
Edit: Just saw Susan's comment about white lithium grease being better. Will have to seek that out!
10-24-2011, 04:03 PM
#20
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Idaho
Posts: 6,442
Grannymom and Zipit are right. Get Singer lubricant, it will be in a tube, you don't want to use oil...the gears move too fast and it will just fling the oil off. Open every part of your machine that you can and check for places that may need a bit of lubrication other than oil. Oil is generally for the "hinged" parts, you want the grease for the gears...
Do NOT use lithium grease! That stuff will harden up and be IMPOSSIBLE to remove...it causes problems in the long run... ask me, with my 201K how I know this? :(
Do NOT use lithium grease! That stuff will harden up and be IMPOSSIBLE to remove...it causes problems in the long run... ask me, with my 201K how I know this? :(
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