Turning the plug around solved the problem. Who would have thought? Now I need to go back in and read the "rest of the story." Thanks for the help! People on QB are just the best. :-)

Coopah,

Sorry to be a little late on this subject.
Any tingle is the sign of an electrical short. Unplug that machine and don't use it until the wiring has been checked out. It can be be very dangerous to continue using it as it is. The short maybe as simple as a single wire strand touching the body of the machine, but you don't know until it is checked out.
I don't want you to be injured.

Cathy

Short or bad ground, Cathy is 100%

Electricity (and the Fire it can create) are too nasty to play with if you are not sure.

"I" would not use the machine currently.

(One of my buffers did this and it was a loose wire in the junction)

I hear you about not using the machine. Guess I'll get MIL's out. It's in nice condition, so hate to use it. Good to have a back-up. Thanks for the kind words and help. :-)

Honestly, Coopah, as Steve and Cathy mention, this is not because the plug was plugged in wrong. I suspect the reason the problem went away when you unplugged and plugged it in the other way is that the wires that were shorting together were nudged apart by the movement, and are no longer shorting. This is a temporary condition, the cord or the wiring inside MUST be addressed for safety.

The cords were not polarized in the past, because it was not the "standard" or the law. The reason it truly does not matter is that with alternating current - AC power - what's supplied by the power company to your house, there is no positive and negative, hence no right or wrong way to plug the cord in. (Also the reason a motor like this doesn't run in reverse if plugged in one way or the other, or if we switch the wires at the machine side.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_polarity

The other thing to note about AC power, is that it requires a very small amount of it to disrupt the human heart. Less than 1 amp. Your wall plug is likely capable of supplying between 15 and 20 of those amps.

Typically, with 120volt service (what your wall plug is using, but not your dryer), you will be "thrown clear" in an electrocution situation, but it's still not good for your heart.

This is not to be played with. I'm sorry to be sounding "doom and gloom" but it's dangerous to believe that which way you plug it in will make the difference. It would likely be mandatory to change a plug out to a polarized one if simply plugging it in "wrong" could cause electrocution and fires.

Please examine the wiring inside the machine, at the points that were mentioned, and the cord as well, between the foot and the machine as well as from the machine to the wall, and let us know what you find.

I hear you, Archaic. I'll use my MIL's nice FW until I can get the wiring in my old FW looked at. I'll post results, but probably that won't happen for awhile. :-( Meanwhile, it can sit unplugged somewhere safe. Thanks for the caution. It's good to have folks who watch out for others. :-)

wheew.... thank you.

Yes, thank you. Glad you'll be safe.

Cathy

I should also mention that the singer bakelite foot pedal -can't- be wired in reverse.

For example, you will notice that there is no mention of being careful which wire to put to which connector in either of these articles:
http://blog.sew-classic.com/2010/01/...g-machine.aspx
http://blog.sew-classic.com/2009/11/...r-control.aspx

For the same reason as before - AC current doesn't have constant polarity. All a foot pedal does is break the power going to the motor and add in some sort of resistance to allow variability of speed.

OK, so Archaic, you're telling me that if the foot pedal is the problem, it's ka-put forever? Sorry, but I'm a bit of a dunce on the electric things. Just checking. If that's so, I'll need to find another pedal.