donnalynett

I recently found myself in possession of a 1953 Singer 201. The power cord was damaged and I couldn't get power to the machine. I had another Singer of the same year with a good power cord and it worked to turn on and test the 201. After a few stitches smoke started billowing out from the motor. I would like to know if it is worth getting repaired or should I sell it as a "decoration only" or "parts only"?

J Miller

donnalynett,

The 201 machine is well worth the money to to fix. They are excellent machines to sew with.

You didn't say which model of 201 it is, so in general if it's a -3 or one with an external belt driving motor they are very easy to replace. Wiring can be had as well.

If it's a -2 with the potted motor they are easily rewired and they use the same cord sets as the others do.


The smoke could also be grease or oil that seeped into the motor and was burning off. Did the motor continue running or did it give it up when the smoke started? I'd still pull it down and check the wiring considering the cords were bad.

Joe

donnalynett

Joe: The only number on the machine is AL385142. The machine was in an abandoned unheated storage unit and the only rust I could find was in the bobbin carrier. Everything was moving freely. I don't see any external belts.

J Miller

The potted motor machines are easy to recognize. There is a squarish cap attached to the rear of the machine between the hand wheel and body.

Look at this thread: { http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...r-t205360.html } This is my Model 15-91 that uses the same exact potted motor as the 201. In the first pic you can see the pot of the potted motor and it's housing on the Mdl 15.

I've put links in to Rains tutorial on how to rewire them. You'll need high speed internet to see all the pics.

My guess is your motor has bad wiring inside. Mine sure did, you can see it in the pics. But I rewired it and like I said in that thread, it's easy to do if you just follow his directions to the letter.

Joe

donnalynett

Thank you so much for all your help....I really appreciate your assistance!

Caroline S

You will LOVE the Singer 201. They are sooo quiet and sew beautiful stitches. She would definitely be worth fixing. Your machine was allotted 8 April 1953, one of 15,000. The 201 takes the Singer 66 metal bobbin. Don't buy the cheap ones from Joannes, they do not fit and are of poor quality. Try to find some original ones or purchase some from SewClassic.

Carol34446

I have a 201-2 that was my grandmothers machine and I have used the 66 bobbins from Wal Mart and never had a problem with them. They were metal and have been fine.

J Miller

The biggest problem with bobbins from WalMart or JoAnns is that they are not consistent. Some will be good, others junk.
So far I've had the worst luck with those sold under the Dritz name at JoAnns. The 66s I've bought have all be useable.

Those I've bought from Sew-Classic have all been good.

Joe

redmadder

The bobbins I bought from Sew-Classic work perfectly as do the plastic ones from Walmart. However, the metal ones from Walmart and Joanns simply will not fit, they are ever so slightly too large. I would love to find another 201 just cause I love her so much and have backup anxiety.

mjhaess

I have two 201-2 singers. My first one was from a school. They used it in the home economics class. My son-in-laws mother got it when she was a teacher at the school. I just found another one in a thrift store in a beautiful case for
75 dollars. It is in beautiful shape...I found a 403 in the salvation army store last week. It is in beautiful condition. It looks so clean it is hard to believe it was ever used to sew. It has all the attachments, book and a whole basket of threads, bobbins and sewing notions with it. It also is in a nice cabinet. I feel blessed to have run on these deals.