How often to Oil a FW?
 

I just bought my first FW from a retired Singer mechanic. He replaced the belt and light bulb and gave it a good cleaning and oil/grease where appropriate. I then sat it down and pieced my brothers wedding quilt top on it (queen size), probably 6 hours of sewing total. The girl, who is yet to be named, didn't come with a manual so I downloaded one and watched some of the videos to service it. The manual says to oil daily. How often do I need to oil it? I confess I'm bad with scheduled maintenance but I foresee a lot of use so I want to keep her in good condition. TIA! I have tri-flow but I haven't busted it out yet.

When I use mine, I oil it before I start a project and from there you can kind of hear when it needs oil, if that makes sense. So I would agree - about 6 hours of sewing sounds about right. It is not a sound, like "oh my, I better stop what I am doing and get the oil can." It is just a minor change that you can hear when sewing. So maybe if you have a very busy day, oil it when you stop for the day. If you haven't used it for a while, oil before you start.

Well, my mom has a FW since 1948. Here is a link from when we cleaned it up: http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...t-t174236.html
I don't recommend her methods... a little oil once in a while won't hurt...

I found a wonderful source for Featherweight information, supplies and notions. Nova Montgomery and she conducts FW workshops as well for maintenance. She recommends oiling every 8 hours of sewing. You can find her website here. I've copied and pasted her tips into a Word document that I printed out and put in a folder for easy reference. http://www.novamontgomery.com/index.htm I've bought all of her laminated guide pages, the 1/4 seam guide, etc. I have no connection to her at all. I'm just a satisfied customer.

I agree with oiling every 8 hours on any vintage machine, especially Singers. When I get ready to leave my sewing room for the day, I oil the machine I was using. Use one drop where metal meets metal.

Well, if you "oil" it it might need it more often than if you use "Tri-Flow" on it. But I think every 8 hours of sewing is a good place to start.

One thing is for sure, when the oil dribbles out the bottom and down on your feet you know you oiled it too much. :)

Joe

I oil with tri-flow. I'll shoot for every 8 hours of use. Thanks for the info, now I have a starting place. Miriam, I hope I oil more often than your mom, though the machine didn't seem too put out for it!

Such a funny mental image!

not as funny as when it is you and the machine...