201 with a light in the back?
 

Is it an easy fix to move the light from the front of a 201? Is there a model of 201 that had the light in the back? I'm looking for a 201 to use for sewing and I'd like to avoid the '201 tattoo' ( the burn you get from touching the bulb.)

Use an alternative light source.

My 201-3 has the light in the back. I think this model was made in Canada and is not nearly as common as the one you probably have. It has the belt driven motor and does not have a white light switch. In all other areas, it is the same machine.

Hi Christine, it's not possible to move the existing light fixture from the front of a 201 to the back. While the light fixture is removeable, the arm of the machine is molded to accept it.

Depending on where you're located, you might be able to find a 201-3 (which has a belt-driving motor as opposed to the potted motor), which has the light fixture on the back. The 201-3 is something you'll see more in Canada or Europe than you would in the U.S.; they're nowhere near as common in the 'States.

I'm always surprised when I read stories about people burning themselves on sewing machine bulbs, or piercing their fingers with the needle, but that might be a function of how we're taught to use the machines. Long before I learned to use a sewing machine, the first power tools I learned to use were a table saw and band saw. My instructor was a stickler for safety and taught us a healthy respect for the dangerous parts of the tools, and I've since applied that to any new tool I've learned to use. You simply don't put your hand where it's in danger of being pulled into the machine or, in the case of a sewing machine, burned by the bulb or pierced by the needle.

Another important thing he taught us was to never use a tool when you're exhausted or upset. Some of you may have read in the paper about that poor girl at Yale University who was killed by a lathe last year; she was pulling an all-nighter and was presumably too tired to pay proper attention to the tool, with tragic results.

You can probably cook all variety of things without ever getting burned by your stovetop, because whomever taught you to cook taught you a healthy respect for the hot part. I think a sewing machine bulb is the same; if you pay attention to where it is, and avoid working when you're tired or upset, you ought to be fine.

The 201 is an excellent machine, and I hope you can find one. Please don't be scared off by something as silly as a light bulb! Stay alert and you'll be fine!

I just put a pole lamp with flexible neck behind my sewing machine. Works great.

I'm happy to say I found a 201K pretty easily. The UK machines have the light on the back, and I learned that a very few 201s built in the USA did have the light attached to the back. Interesting! It's so interesting!

Christine, that goes for the Singer 99Ks as well. The one I just aquired was made in the UK and has the light on the back.

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Here it is! I need to replace the wiring before I plug it in. The machine is in excellent condition! I'm thrilled to have it!

WOW, I SO need one of those to treadle !