Featherweight Newbie
 

Hey All,

I am pretty new here, more of a lurker than a poster, and I am anxiously awaiting a featherweight machine. I have searched and have read some informative things, but as a newbie there is so much information! What is the FIRST thing I should do after she arrives at my home? According to the seller she works, looks good, and saw stitching she made. I also ordered some lubricant and I have sewing machine oil here at home. So, my first thought was to oil and lube her. But maybe I should plug her in and see if she turns on? Thanks for words of wisdom. :D

Cozy

Enjoy your new machine! Try oiling well at first, for sure. Then just play with it. It will 'tell' you what it needs. These are very simple machines so there's not a lot to know... but you can search online. There are lots of sites for Featherweights and how to care for them.

Welcome to the board! The most important thing I learned about my featherweights came from an OSMG (old sewing machine guy). He explained to me that because of the tight tolerances the featherweight was made with it is best to always start by holding the threads in your hand with gentle pressure towards the back of the machine when you start to stitch. He also said it was a good idea to use the handcrank to lower the needle into the fabric before stitching. This eliminates the dreaded bobbin thread tangle that the FW can be prone to. Once I "trained" myself to do this, I no longer had the thread tangles in the bobbin.
You will love your machine! I use my FW's for 95 percent of my sewing. Fun to use, portable and perfect straight stitch! A good resource for videos, info and supplies is the April 1930's web site. Their school page is full of helpful info. http://april1930s.com/school/

***
*** Hi! Y'all from the upstate of South Carolina.
***

Thanks all for your quick replies! I didn't realize that my question was my first posting! :D I just checked the shipping info and the scheduled delivery is THURSDAY, not next week as I thought! WooHoo!!! :D

If you're on fb, here's a great group to belong to and run by April 1930s. Pretty much anything you want to know or need help with and a fun group of people :)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SingerFWGroup/

You will love using your Featherweight. I have 2 and had both checked by a sewing machine guy and he did all the servicing they needed which was a GOOD cleaning and oiling.

I would plug it in and see if it runs just don't run it for but a minute, then dust, clean and oil.l Have fun, they are great little machines.

Welcome to the group and I love your name.:)

I went and joined the FB page, thanks for that tip! Thank you all for your wealth of information! :D :D :D

don't use soap and water to clean it up, it will silver the beautiful gold decals. Guess how I know :)

Welcome to the FW club. I love mine. It's such a workhorse besides she's soooo cute.

I subscribe to the Nora Montgomery email. She sends helpful hints each week to show how to maintain the Featherweight. http://www.novamontgomery.com/feathe...month-2014.htm

I also purchased the laminated chart she sells for servicing the machine.

When you're sewing with your Featherweight, don't ever turn the hand wheel backwards or you'll get a thread jam in the bobbin area. I would check the wiring on the cords and see if everything is pliable and no cracks.
Sharon

Welcome. There is a FW site on yahoo and it is a membership thing, absolutely free. Good reading. I buy all my parts, lubricants and etcs. at Sew-Classic.com. You can find a new felt for the underside of your machine there. Remove the big nut on the bottom of the machine. This is the oil catching tray. Inside, there is a black felt pad with round holes in it. It will probably smell bad. That is where Sew-Classic.com comes in. They have these at a very nominal price. They also have parts. Their parts are the most reasonable I have found. You can contact Jenny there if you have questions. She is very sweet and helpful. If the carrying case stinks, and most do indeed, then put half a cake of Safeguard or Irish Spring deodorant soap, in the original box, inside the box so it doesn't come in contact with the machine. It will help get the musty smell out. Sunlight on a nice day will also help. Plain sewing machine oil should be all you need to clean up the machine. I use an artist paint brush to clean out the lint, fuzz etc. from the machine. A lint free rag should do the polishing. I use a good carnuba wax, like for high end antique cars, to polish the frame. Don't get any solvents or harsh chemicals on the finish or decals. That is just about it. Easy does it and moderation in all things. If you need a manual, to show the oiling points, try ISMACS.com and they download free too. The FW and the Singer model 15 operate very much alike. The 301 is the FW's big sister. Happy sewing.
Donna

You will love your Featherweight! The best thing to do is just use it and give it some oil and cleaning. Always hold your thread before you start sewing and watch to make sure your stitch is completed its cycle before stopping. The stitch lengths will be different so you will have to find the one which is comfortable for you. Different fabrics and thickness will see differently. Also, you might want to get a walking foot later; if you do small wall hangings or table runners. Good luck and enjoy! Welcome to the Quilting Board. Everyone is really nice and helpful.

Thanks again all! :D I found some old (as in like 10+ years) singer sewing oil, so I think I'll stop by and get some more as I don't think it's supposed to be yellowish.... I checked the tracking information and it's supposed to be here Friday. I've been hesitant to check again as I don't want it to be delayed! LOL :) :D

It will help to read through the manual to help familiarize yourself with the machine and its workings. ;) You will love this little machine!

Welcome to the FW club! I have two and take them to my quilting guild sew ins, there are usually three or four others there with FW's, soooo cute!

The first thing I do with ANY used machine or other items I buy used is clean and sanitize every bit of it including the under sides... I have no idea who has handled the machine or what they might have had on their hands... ( SHUDDER ) and I like clean clean clean.

Then I check out the bobbin area and clean it, if assembly is dry I take the bobbin assembly apart and oil it and then the whole machine as it shows in the manual, if you don't have one I suggest getting one asap. Study it and highlight any info that you think you will need to use over and over such as oiling, which way to thread the needle etc.

Remove old needle and put in a brand new one, inspect the belt and replace if old and worn, then oil and test the light, purchase a second bulb to have on hand just in case, same for the belt, having a spare is a good idea, check the electrical, make sure you are not getting a buzzing sound with a little vibration through the machine or if it feels like you are getting a tingle when touching it. If yes, unplug immediately!

Check the cords to make sure they are in good shape and no wires are exposed, see if the foot control gives you control. Slow to fast and in between as you apply increasing amounts of foot pressure. If it only sews fast every time you press on it and then stops when the pressure is let off even a little bit then you probably need a new foot controller. We like putting new electronic controllers with our machines, they don't get hot and they work great and they are very light weight to carry around.

If you have birds nests and needle jams chances are you have the needle in wrong or threaded the needle eye wrong or you have the machine threaded wrong. FW's can be very picky this way, but once you have the human errors out of the way they sew wonderfully.:):thumbup:

Make sure you thread it right. I didn't and my machine locked up. Fortunately, a very nice repair guy fixed it for me...for free. (I've since bought a Janome from him). Also make sure the bobbin winder is not engaged. Did that too! I was a newbie, too, once.

I keep checking the tracking info and it's still scheduled for tomorrow! :D :D I am so excited as tomorrow is a half day (I'm a teacher & it's the end of the quarter) so I could be home when she arrives :D :D I'm giddy with excitement! Now to just figure out what "end of day" means to FedEx...lol

Welcome waving from NE Ohio.

I'm working on a Bonnie Hunter spider web quilt and there's lots of stops & starts. Using my darling FW because she sews such a pretty seam. I do miss the start/stop button and auto thread cut on my Brother but I do almost all my piecing on my FW. She's soooo cute. Plus she goes over seams better than the Brother.

She's HERE!!! Sews great, but need to figure out the tension, as I'm seeing the upper thread showing dots on the bottom. :hunf: Tried to change the tension, so I'll play with it a bit. OH MY GOSH DOES SHE STINK! I took the case outside to air out. Cleaned her out, the foot pedal seems sluggish (could be her age), added oil and lube to the correct spots, and then did a bit of sewing. Still figuring her out. Couldn't handle the smell, so I took off her bottom and removed all the felt and put that outside too. Mom said to clean her off with vinegar and water...advice from experts?

I would have it serviced by a professional the first time...

Many have the 'FW fragrance" :)

If I remember right when I got mine I set the case out in the direct slight for a few days, and seems like there is a felt drip cloth in the bottom of the machine, change that out.

I have found the book Featherweight 221: The Perfect Portable by Nancy Johnson-Srebro to be invaluable, I think there are several editions, get the newest one.
If I used the machine more I'd probably invest in the CD http://featherweight221.com/

If it were my only machine I might consider painting it :)
https://www.google.com/search?q=pain...w=1366&bih=643

I would not ever use water when cleaning a vintage machine. That said, I have been known to use baby wipes if a machine is really dirty but I let them partially dry out first if it's a black machine. I used TR3 Resin Glaze to clean/polish my FW, you get it at auto parts stores.

Cari

If it does not come with a manual go to ISMACS.NET and download a free one. The model number is under the machine.