bkay

I'm giving away a 201-2. It has the art nouveau face plate and whatever that one on the back is called. I'm keeping the 201-2 with the striated plate. Is there any reason not to change them out? The one I'm keeping is in much better condition, as is the cabinet. It was definitely a sewer's machine.

bkay

Kelsie

bkay: I am curios as to how far apart your serial numbers are. If they are exactly the same model how did they decide to give one a fancy face plate and the other a plainer one - oh were they from two different factories? I am just learning about machines. My reaction is why not change them so you can have the prettier one. We know that over the decades people even the Singer Company themselves have made changes so I would give you my blessing.

cashs_mom

I think it depends on your attitude. Being into custom cars, not much is sacred with me as far as customizing goes. I replaced the plain (striated?) face plate on my FW with an art nouveau one that husband got for me. I just like the way it looks. People who are more of a purist and into originality may find this sacrilege but I figure it's a quilt. It's yours, do what you like.

Mickey2

From 1950 all 201 (and other models) seem to have the striated chromed plates. There are a few examples of striated from 1949, but that's the the last days of the art nouveau plates. Some times it's obvious a machine is hotchpotch of parts taken from other machines. They still sew and look nice though. There are some differences to the 201s, the plate under the spool pin might or might not be there. The hand wheel can be all black or have the chormed outer rim, I think there are a few others just among the 201-2s. The early decal sets tend to be shiny gold metal, the later ones can be more like yellow paint.

bkay

The one with the art nouveau face plate is sn AH040724. It was made in 1947. It's in a #40 cabinet. The cabinet needs refinishing. I cleaned and oiled it well. I also re-wired the controller. The rest of the wiring is in good condition. I did not end up replacing the motor wicks on it. I stared at it for a while and finally decided the easiest way to do that was to remove the whole motor assembly. I'm not ready for that challenge yet. I have to re-wire my mom's 15-91, so will tackle that process then.
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The one with the striated face plate is AL067688; made in 1952. This the first real vintage machine I bought with the intention of keeping. It is in a mahogany 65 cabinet. It came with a plethora of attachments, including some for a featherweight. It must have 20 bobbins for it, plus a few featherweight bobbins. It had the matching stool. It's also the first black one that I cleaned up. The cabinet is in great shape, with just a few minor scratches.

It's been a while since I've seen it. (It's been packed away with sewing machine cabinets on top of it.) I see it now with new eyes. This one would be a great one to repair with Glenn's French polish method. It just has a few bad spots. Things I didn't notice before is that it has some of the black metal parts on it. The needle clamp is black, as is the bobbin winder tension assembly.

I can also see I wasn't so red hot at cleaning then.

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Sewjourner

Your giving someone a nice machine that you’ve fixed up for them, I’m sure they are going to enjoy it, and not care about which faceplate it has. Your secret is safe with us, swap the faceplates and be happy.

quiltsRfun

No worse than the paint jobs some do with their vintage machines. Dress it up however it makes you happy. I’m tempted to get a fancy faceplate for my featherweight.

cashs_mom

Do it, quiltsRfun! My husband got me one for Christmas a I love it.

maviskw

I have a centenial 201 and it has the fancy face plate. That's 1951. It has the black fly wheel, but I've heard some have the chrome wheels.

Mickey2

I have noted the odd exeption too and it's nice to have it confirmed in a machine like yours. I have yet to determen the first year the striated plates were introduced, but still, by 1950 most by far have them. I like both decors, even though the art nouveau is a favorite ;- )