bkay

I've been working on a 401a for the last couple of weeks, off and on. It appears that the machine was barely used, but kept in storage, face down, for quite a while. (lots of goo on the face, dirt on the back of the machine and the legs have lost their finish at the bottom) All of the gears were dry and everything turned really slowly, if at all, so I didn't try sewing with it. The only thing that appeared to still have lubrication was the cam stack, which had lots of black goo on it.

I've cleaned it well and lubed it and it's turning nicely and has loosened up significantly. The only problem I have left is the knobs that control the cam stack. At first, neither index pin would move. Finally, T3 moves. W3 won't budge. Is this a hairdryer situation? I put some more oil on it and am leaving it overnight.

Any ideas?

bkay

Mickey2

Knobs are a bit more work. If they can't be taken off or appart in some way; use a good oil, let it seep in, tilt the macine in a direction that allows the oil to seep down and in where it might do some good. As you know it's all about persistant and repeated action; oil, gently push in and turn the knobs, let the oil seep in and do its' job, then more oil, push and turn it to its' extreme positions... Let it work over night and keep it up at least once a day until it loosens up. You can use a good spray can oil to start with, it will help loosen dried up grime and dirt, and then perhaps switch to smomething with teflon like TriFlow or Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube (the only two products I have found to be an improvment on the basic oil).

bkay

So, are you saying use PB blaster on that index pin if it still still won't move? I have TriFlow, I'll try that next. I just used regular sewing machine oil so far.

Thanks, Mickey.

bkay

Cari-in-Oly

I use 90% rubbing alcohol for machine guts. My experience has been that it's the fastest thing to clean and unfreeze parts that are supposed to move but don't. Dab a Qtip soaked in alcohol where you want to loosen and dissolve old gunk/dried oil, and as soon as the part starts loosening up then oil it to flush out what the alcohol dissolves. Saves a lot of time versus penetrating oils and heat. Just be very, very careful when using it, especially on a black machine as it will dissolve the finish/ruin decals if you drip it on the outside.

Cari

kch1983

Once you get it working you will love it! Keep us posted on your progress.

Stitchnripper

Shall I try and get this machine?

Here is a link to a thread about the 401 I came upon and all the great help I got from current and former members of this forum to help me get it up and running. I might have used every product on the market!! Good luck and don't give up!!

bkay

Thanks, Alyce. The thread looks like what I need. There are lots of good tips and explanations there.

Well, I just checked, and overlooked one other thing that's not moving. The needle isn't moving, but the lever works fine. (Hope it's not broken.) I was so entranced with getting the knobs to work, that I didn't realize the needle wasn't moving. The left side of the knob works fine and the right side won't move still. I cleaned it again (thanks, Cari, that alcohol is much better than the kersene) and put tri-flow on it. Then, I came back after lunch and squirted it with PBblaster. Still no luck. I may have to get the needle moving before I can get that side of the knob to work.

I'm not going to work on it tomorrow. (My cousin and I are visiting my elderly quilting buddy tomorrow.) However, Tuesday, I'm going to download the manual and the service manual to my laptop, open that thread again and go to work on the machine again. Running in and out of the house to look up stuff is time consuming.

I really don't think it's broken. It just hasn't been used in a long while.

Thanks again.

bkay

Stitchnripper

Keep at it. It took me a lot of work and patience and wiggling this and that. I got it to work great. Then I found a 301 and got that working. Then lost all mojo and then we moved and I haven't much worked with the vintage machines. Then a PQ 1500 practically fell into my lap and I am quite enamored with it so haven't messed with the vintages in a long time. I think if I get the 401 out I will have to start over!!

Mickey2

You are doing everything correctly bkay, but be gentle when moving and poking around on delicate parts. I will suggest going through all the oil points each time you work on the machine, even if it's just a few hours since the last time. Poke the swing arm / needle arm with your finger (it's not particularly delicate like some indicators can be) find all the parts that move and can benefit from oil; as you well know, there are lots of gears, joints, hinges, levers on these zigzaggers.

PB blaster should be more efficient than kerosene, most of the spray can oils should be; they are made to penetrate and losen dried up oil better than the basics. I don't know why alcohol has an advantage in cases like this, it really shouldn't, but I guess it works differently because it's somethinge else than mineral spirits. White spirit should be better at this than kerosene, but as metioned, the spray can blends are what we usually first choice when the basic oil is slow to do the job.

Cari-in-Oly

Mickey I'm not sure what rubbing alcohol is called in the UK, but its real name here is isopropyl alcohol. It's found in drug stores, used as a first aid antiseptic. It can be found in 3% and 90% solutions. It's all I use for cleaning up insides of sewing machines because it dissolves oil and gunk almost instantly and evaporates completely very fast.

Cari