I took the plunge
 

And bought my first vintage machine. I may have paid a little too much for it, but since I've never done this before, I'm not sure. The price was lower than a lot of others I've seen for this machine on the internet but I'm no expert. And it's mine now anyway, so ... too late if I did! LOL

I picked up a Singer 500A Rocketeer on Monday night in a cabinet. Sadly it's missing the accessories - it only has the zig zag foot and the standard cam. I think I can pick up the other accessories fairly inexpensively, so I'm not too worried about it. What I really need to know is if I can clean this machine myself and oil it, or if I should take it in to be cleaned and oiled?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'm really excited about this machine, because I've wanted one for so long. Now I want to get it up and running smoothly so I can use it!

Skratchie,

Are you OCD with details?
Are you mechanically inclined?
Can you read a manual?

If you answered yes to the last two and anything better than what's ODC to the first, yes you can do it yourself.

Before you tackle it I will tell you the 500 has some quirks that are a bit of a pain to deal with, but that is what makes it one of the best machines Singer ever made.

The side to side moving parts that make it ZZ can and do become gummed up from old oil when the machine is not used. You need to clean them thoroughly. This is at the needle bar end and at the cam stack end. There is a plunger at both ends.
The stitch pattern adjusting knobs can become jammed up internally if dirty and old oil accumulates on them. There is where the OCD comes in, there is a lot of levers and linkages to clean.
With this machine cleanliness is next to Godliness. Clean it good, keep it oiled and greased and you'll love it.

I should know, I have two of them. :D :D ..... My wife only has a 401a ........ :)

Ask any questions you need to, but if you didn't get an owners manual, go to the Singer site and download one. They are free and absolutely necessary in my opinion.
Main manual page: { http://www.singerco.com/support/instruction-manuals }

There is also several threads here about what lube (oil and grease) to use on the 401s, finding and reading those might be educational and entertaining as well, as the 500 is the same internally as the 401s.

Joe

buying is the hard part. cleaning and oiling it is the easy part.....just download the manual that joe mentioned and you're good to go. enjoy your 'new' old machine. that's a nice one.

I found a 500A on eBay with the same table mine has, and it sold for $202 ... it does say it has "extras" but it didn't go into any detail as to what that might entail. And it did have a broken hasp or something.

So I guess the $100 I paid for my machine with table wasn't so bad. I've cleaned it up some, and just waiting on the Tri-Flow to arrive to grease the gears. I'll put together the accessories as time goes on. :-) This machine was really well maintained, it wasn't too dirty, and cosmetically, it's beautiful!

Overall, I'm really happy with it, but I am trying to figure out how to get the smoke smell out of the machine. It's improved as I cleaned the surface and the insides, but there is still the strong smell of tobacco. Anyone have any suggestions on that?

Skratchie, I like to read this section as a member of the peanut gallery. What I know about working with vintage machines would fit in a teacup. So, my very first vintage sewing machine was a Rocketeer too and it was very easy and fun to clean up and oil, learn to use, etc. if I can do it, anyone can. There is a real thrill to tinkering around like that and hearing the difference in your machine - what a beautiful sound a happy old machine makes.

it takes a real thorough cleaning and airing to get rid of a heavy tobacco odor - my grandparents were both heavy smokers, so that was always a factor.

As long as it's in good shape I don't think you overpaid. Rocketeers are popular and tend to go higher than other vintage machines.
Accessories should be easy to find. I don't own a Rocketeer but IIRC they use slant shank accessories and black tophat cams like the 600 and 700 series Touch & Sews (if I'm wrong please correct me). Finding the accessories in an original box for your machine might take a little more looking. Sew-Classic sells slant shank feet or you can find them in the usual places like Ebay.
Rodney

Welcome to your new addiction and this happy band of enablers! The Rocketeer is so cool looking. I always figure that if it's not working now, how much more not working can I make it and I may even make it better by cleaning & oiling. Just be careful with the light bulbs, don't drop them or let them roll off the cabinet. Don't ask.

It's actually in really good shape. I took it apart and cleaned the gears and everything today ... later tonight, I'll grease them and oil everything. It wasn't too dirty, really - I mean, it could have been SO much worse. Cosmetically, it looks way better than most of the Rocketeers I've seen - nothing broken, no chipped paint or missing top or front light cover or anything. The worst thing is that I haven't been able to get all the ... what I think must be tobacco staining? off of it. But other than that, he's beautiful.

Once I get him all back together, I'll post some photos, but that probably won't be until next week some time. My daughter is having her baby this Sunday, so I'll be out of pocket starting tomorrow. :-)

Congratulations on your forthcoming grandbaby!!!!!!!!

You may have to correct me, Rodney, because my experience is with the Singer 400-series that preceded the Rocketeers. The Singer 401A came with only 5 cams that were not already inside of it. While all of the tophat cams will fit in and “work” with the Rocketeers, they may not give the desired stitch pattern. Weren’t there some 600 and 700 series T&S cams that required internal linkage to reverse the feeddogs to form the desired stitch that the earlier 400 and 500 series machines didn’t have?

CD in Oklahoma