Catching on Faceplate
 

After 2 1/2 years of looking I finally scored my dream machine... a 301! I got it for a great deal, but have found one problem. A hook in the bobbin area seems to be catching on something. If I take the face plate off, it will turn completely, but not with it on. Any ideas? I am not very savvy with repairs but will give it a shot if it's not too complex. Can't get the pic to upload for some reason. Thanks for the help!

You may have the face plate not lining up with the little finger on the shuttle.
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That's it! It came that way, so how do I fix it? There is also a thread stuck in there behind there when I take the bobbin out. I've never taken this area apart before, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Should I just have it serviced by a tech? Is it something I can do?

Not only can you, but you should! Once you get past little fears like that, you'll be ready to tackle even scarier projects, just in time for Halloween!:thumbup: To get the little finger where it needs to be, raise the presser foot, remove the screws holding the needle plate in. Take a look, and remove any thread jams lurking there with tweezers, or a toothpick or maybe a little crochet hook. When you reinstall the needle plate, just align that little finger to go into its home position like the picture above.

You take the bobbin assembly apart by removing the two screws in the needleplate (from the top) and removing the needleplate. That will release that little finger from the slot. Take out the part and clean and oil everything. Oil everything that moves or might move on the top and bottom - the bottom cover comes off easily as does the top cover. Singer lube for the gears, both under the cover on top and on the under side. Sewing machine oil for everything else. There is a free manual online that helps with all this.