Generic sewing machine oil should be fine, even in the long run. The less additives the better. I guess we just try to find the very best of the old machines, but it's still arguable how much we can improve on a basic good quality oil. Some additives have shown to cause trouble in the long run. I think Singer made a point of using their own oil, but it was a purified, acid free mineral oil, neither to thin or too thick, no additives at all. I think it was the equivalent of SAE10.

I have a beige aluminium 201, the same paint as your 401, it polished up very nicely with autoglym super resin polish (for cars). It's the liquid type that dries to a whitish film, and then buffs of with a cloth. Many brands make a similar.

Welcome. It warms my heart to see those that return heirlooms to their original purpose. I didn't realize that in order to treadle a 401 that it needed a different hand wheel, until read http://www.toolfool.org/sewing/401G-...d-Electric.htm This morning I found https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...g-t184470.html and https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...s-t211311.html

Treadle is defined as "a lever worked by the foot that imparts motion to a machine." I think of a treadle as not only the method of operation, but the necessary parts that make said lever work. I work in a sheet metal shop that has an old press brake that is operated by a foot bar lever. I don't remember what the label says, but I remember reading something about "treadle" on it. I'll have to look at it a little harder.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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The pedal and cord are probably just missing. You need replacements. Don't bother about treadling a 401 unless it came as it originally. There are plenty of original trealde setups ot there if you need one.

LOL. Janey (or John), I have to say, I know what a treadle is, but I would just describe it as a sort of manually pedalling the machine in stead of motor ;- ) Not ideal words chosen for an official manual, but...

I guess I should have quoted #10 -"Is the treadle the base+pedal/cabinet? Or just what you call the way it operates."

From post #1 "- It was set up on a treadle," and the pictures indicate that it doesn't have any of the electrical stuff in the bottom.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I rescued one of these a while back with very little knowledge and the folks here helped me a lot to get it up and running

https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...e-t216956.html

[QUOTE=OurWorkbench;8417542]...From post #1 "- It was set up on a treadle," and the pictures indicate that it doesn't have any of the electrical stuff in the bottom.../QUOTE]

I noticed the missing parts too, but I noticed the belt guard until now A 401 with an original treadle set up is definitely worth keeping intact. It means that nothing is missing, sorry I missed that.

Wonderful news:
After 4 hours of cleaning the insides with machine oil and a lot of rags and paper towels I'm happy to say all moving parts are moving! Work is not even close to done but it's no longer frozen. I didn't have to force anything as soon as the old oil was removed and new oil permeated the joints things just started moving.

Good to know! I understand you a lot goes into oil especially for machines with such minuscule tolerances the right oil can mean a lot more years of service.
I assume the people here run away from 3 in 1 it's a great product for certain things, but it builds up over the years and it's hard to remove if left to dry.

​​​​​​Thank you. I think objects like this should always be kept in working order, used and treasured. These were probably incredibly expensive at the time and something that often was bought thinking of the future.
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In that case I'm a proud owner of a treadle too, tomorrow I'll poat pictures.
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​​​​​​Exactly John and Janey. It's missing a motor and was set up as a treadle. I have the treadle and the belt (unfortunately it snaped) I just removed the machine from it to make cleaning easier.

I always prefered eletrical, but I think it is all about what you get used to. I have never had a chance to work much on treadles. Some here love and use their treadles, and have developed a fanstastic feel for the needle and feed dogs movements you really only can get on a threadle.

I've never tried electric or treadle but I do have memories associated with treadle machines. When I was a kid I us to use my great grandmother's sewing machine as a desk and would keep my feet on the pedal. I'm excited to fix it and try my hand at machine sewing.

Update time, but first here's a picture of the treadle:
https://i.ibb.co/Km70Wh2/IMG-4620-1.jpg

Here's the machine after two days of cleaning and oiling. Everything moves, however, the stitch type knob works smoothly for a bit then gets stiffer, the problem is the push pull system. I assume it will get better with more oil and use.
The switch to change from the sew to clean position in is also harder to move and sometimes the bed gets stuck in the up position, but this is also getting better with time.

Thank you everyone for all the help and advice.

https://i.ibb.co/RcZ03XC/IMG-4621-2.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/KWjThwT/IMG-4623-4.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/cgYMg1Y/IMG-4622-3.jpg