Stuck Singer 201
 

So I've been heating and oiling for a month or two a 201. Took forever to get the gear wheel off, but still no progress on freeing the needle bar. Any hints?
Been heating with a hairdryer, oiling couple times a day, futility trying to turn using stop motion knob without gears... Part of the issue is that the needlebar is all the way down, and while I've tried using a wooden lever to push up, still no movement. The cold weather has kept me from trying a kerosene soak, pblaster has been the worst I've tried.

Is there any movement at all, even just a tiny bit?

I just freed up a 15-91, I got a screwdriver in one of the screw holes on the needle bar mechanism and one hand on the hand wheel. I used constant even tension on the screwdriver and the hand wheel and it very slowly started to move.

Not in the needle bar, the linkages wobble back and forth, as does the bobbin area.

I would try PB Nutblaster. Just a little will go a long way. Let it sit for 30 minutes and try it. If it's still frozen, give it a little more and wait a day. Put a little more on whenever you think about it.
I got a nut loose using it that had been on a vise since the 1800's.

Have you worked the presser foot bar yet? I did that first using the presser foot raiser lever to slowly raise it with the constant even tension and a screwdriver to push it back down. I did that a few times to get it loosened up. That also gave me an idea of what it would take to get the needle bar to move.

Two months? Has to be the worst case ever. You could try some kind of thin spray can oil, they often work differently than general sewing machine oil. I once turned to Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube (bicycle oil) and it loosened a screw that had been stuck for (literally) years. I had tried all kinds of oils, but apparently it did it did the trick, and there's no special ingredient there that should loosen rusty screws better than other oils. My main point is; just try a different type of oil or lubricant, and keep at it.

I would also take out the needle, unscrew the needle plate and inspect the bobbin/feed dog area for anything that might be blocking the movement. Some times a bit of force is needed to get things unstuck, so wiggeling the hand wheel now and then is not a bad idea at all. If you can detect which gear, hinge or passage that's frozen up it makes special treatments easier. There's two black caps under the base, each held in place by three screws, take them off and inspect the gears under there if you haven't all ready, there might be something stuck between them.

I once had a machine stuck because of grime or rust in the needle bar shaft, the hole in the cast iron part behind the face plate. There were no visible signs until I started oiling, poking and forcing the movement. Double check with a tooth pick for clogged up oil points, all of them, build up of all kinds of grime, dust and lint are common.

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I've cleaned and removed most crud that I can reach with completely taking apart.. Pressure bar freed and cleaned easily.

Wondering is my can of pb blaster is defective because it's not helped. Used sewing machine oil, airflow, pb blaster. Cleaned again with 90 percent rubbing alcohol, now trying dritz spray sewing lubricant.

Have you tried tapping it with a hammer?

Might be something in the hole the needle bar goes through? Are the oil points on top of the machines unclogged and oil is actually getting in there? I would still keep on oiling and try to detect where the oil actually seeps in and where it stays on the surface, it might be a clue to where it's stuck? It will lock up the needle bar too. It looks fairly clean in there, the shiny metal should polish up very nice.