Brynn

I have a Singer 221 I picked up for $50 at an estate sale, knowing full well it'd be a project machine. At this point I have oiled and greased all the appropriate spots, and it spins fairly smoothly. Not perfectly, but I think I need to run it continuously to flush/work out all the debris it picked up while sitting in a dog crate filled with... well, poop. Humphrey has been through the ringer.

My problem right now is the motor. It spins freely, but makes a loud noise when it does. I took it apart and polished the actuator, cleaned out as much loose debris as possible, and cleaned out the old grease and replaced it with new grease. However, it makes a loud zzzwhir noise when it spins, and spins very very slowly.

My other Featherweight had its motor completely rebuilt by a guy I found (who sadly is no longer in business), and is almost silent and sews like a dream. I recorded a video comparing the two and showing my debugging. https://youtu.be/RXdIXvQjHCA

Has anyone encountered a machine this noisy, and fixed it? I haven't replaced the carbon brushes or done much to them, I'm wondering if maybe that would help?

SusieQOH

I hope the moderators will put this in the vintage category. There are a lot of people there who are knowledgeable about FW's.
I watched your video and it sure is loud. On the plus side- it looks really nice for everything it's been through.
I have several FW's but not this problem.

Brynn

Is there a different category? I thought this one for vintage enthusiasts was the right one, but maybe not! The machine is generally solid, just needed some TLC, and I want to try to bring it back to working order for someone.

WIChix

Have you tried a drop of oil adjacent to the belt pulley of the motor?

SusieQOH

Brynn- sorry- I thought you had it in the Main category. (not enough coffee when I read it haha)

Brynn

No, do you mean where the motor shaft enters the body of the motor?

Bebe2Ten

If you haven't already done so, check www.Singer-Featherweight.com. There are many tutorials on the website and you might find some help with your issues there.

Brynn

That's where I got all the supplies that got me to this point--sadly they don't have anything related to the noise my motor is making.

OurWorkbench

Doing a search there for "motor maintenance" came up with too many results so I went to Schoolhouse and motor. While they may not directly address the loudness, perhaps the sections on cleaning, lubrication and brushes may help. https://singer-featherweight.com/blo...e/tagged/motor

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Brynn

Thanks! Like I said though, I've followed all those steps except for the brushes; I was hoping someone could at least give me a little hope that the brushes were the culprit. But I've ordered new brushes, so we'll see how we do when they arrive.