I see many mentions of a tutorial for repairing the electrical parts of vintage machines, and have looked everywhere here for them. Have they been posted? Does anyone have the direct link? Lostn51 has the great cleaning tutorials, but I don't see the ones on electrical repair.

Go to the Vintage Shop from the main page

There is not a lot of info on electrical repairs. I have rebuilt a motor. A lot of the older machines have cracked or bare wires some times. If you look at sew classic - Jenny carries wire for sewing machine. I don't know how much info she has on her site about wiring. What is your concern?

I'm just interested in Billy's general tutorial on evaluating and the basic repair of the electrical systems of vintage machines. He had mentioned that he was going to do one at the end of his cleaning tutorials, but I don't see one anywhere. I'll just PM him and see if he ever posted one. I have several vintage machines I want to take apart and repair and hoped he would have some great ideas.

Billy hasn't been around much lately due to illness.
Look at your wires. Are the wires covered with plastic or with fabric? Are the covers brittle? Do you see cracks, exposed wires or breaks in the wire covers? Does the light flicker? What does the motor sound like? Does it run quiet and smooth? Does it growl? Does the motor smoke? If you are cleaning an old machine you want to be careful to keep any solvents away from the electric. If you are unsure about the motor, you can remove it in some cases, and take it to a motor shop and they will rebuild the motor for you. I've done a lot with old electric machines. If you have questions I would be happy to answer what I know - I don't know if sew classic has a tutorial or not. She does sell wire, replacement cords and foot controls and some motors. I think Billy mostly turns electrics into treadles by removing the wires and motors and puts them on a treadle base.

Bless your heart! What I'm doing right now is easy, but I just hoped to find a general tutorial, so I know better what to look for when I buy a machine, and when I start taking it apart. When I come to a specific question, I'll know whom to ask! Thanks so much!

I think it is as simple as checking for cracks, breaks and exposed wires. If you are familiar with electrical testers and how to use them it would be very helpful. I have a couple we tested and sure enough there were broken wires somewhere in the system. I've been thinking about doing a tutorial on rebuilding the motors but my camera doesn't do very well on close shots. I have 4 motors to rebuild. When the motor growls and complains or runs smooth then quits, or runs unevenly I check with the continuity tester to see if the wires are working. If not I clean up the motors. Once I got a machine someone had oiled. That one smoked and smelled and groaned like crazy until we got it cleaned up.

I think your tutorials on the motors would be very well-received, even if the pictures aren't perfect. I'd be tickled pink to see them! Thanks for your advice.

there is a great site on Yahoo for vintage Singers. their files
have a wealth of information. and people are so helpful
with ideas, etc. many, many years of experience there.

Is this a Yahoo group that one may join? Do you belong to this group? It sounda very helpful.