I'm learning a LOT more about this Featherweight than I had planned!
 

I posted the other day about finally getting a Featherweight (named her Miriam). I bought her from someone I've known for about 20 years, a friend from a sewing group. Now, this friend supposedly "rehabs" Featherweights as a hobby business. I assumed (yeah, that word is a bad one, I know) that she was selling me a completely rehabbed machine (at least, that's what I expected based on the price she charged me). I thought that I would take my little machine home and put in a few drops of oil and just sew along happily! Not so much.

First of all, this machine has a horrible odor. I know most of them have an odor, but this is not musty basement odor... this is what I assume (that word again) is a horrible rancid oil smell. I left it sitting in my living room, and when I came home from work the in the evening, I got an instant headache from the odor in my house.

I immediately removed the machine from the case, read every internet and message board tip I could find, and got to work. I put a bar of Dial Soap in the case, with a couple of those anti-dampness packets, and stuffed it with newspaper. It's been sitting (closed) on my basement stairs for a week now, and today I've got it opened and out on the deck, hoping for the sun to come out (right now it's a little damp and dreary here).

I cleaned up the outside of the machine by wiping it down with some warm water very gently, but I wasn't sure exactly what else I could use - does anyone have a suggestion? I think one of the websites I went to suggested mild dish soap. Then, I got to work by removing the oil pad. Underneath the pad was about 1/8" worth of grossness, which I'm not sure (after reading more on this Board) if that's old oil or glue. Anyway, I did about three soakings with Goo Gone and tried to clean out as much as I could, but there's still some crud in the bottom I just can't get out. I bought some wool felt and traced the old pad and made a new one, but I didn't know that I was supposed to actually glue it in the bottom. What type of glue do you all use?

Right now the machine is sitting in my front window getting a little air, but the machine itself still smells pretty bad, even after putting in the new pad. Do you think this might dissipate after she's out of the case for a while?

If I can't get the case deodorized, I'm going to just stick it in my basement and be done with it. I have a feeling that once I put the machine back in the case it's going to pick up the smell all over again - that is, if I can ever get rid of the smell in the machine to begin with.

Any tips about the glue and about cleaning the outside of the machine would be appreciated.

Oh, one more thing. The machine has a replacement (gray) foot pedal. Does that devalue the machine at all? I didn't buy it for resale value or anything, I'm just curious. Actually, I'm going to buy a new black pedal for it anyway.

I removed all of the paper/material cover from a case, sanded it down inside and out and painted it, the horrible headache causing odor was finally gone. The machine didn't lose the odor until I set it out in the sun for a week. :shock:

So sorry about the stink!

I would give the metal internals a careful (careful, staying awayyyyyy from the finish) with methylated alcohol. Q tip, no dripping, the alcohol will wreck the finish.

Any fabric, felt, etc that is stinky will remain so. I would replace those things.

One thing I have done with stinky machines once they were clean is put a drop of peppermint oil in their innards. Again stay awwwwayyyyy from the finish.

The rubber of the cords may also harbour a smell. Might need to wipe with alcohol or bleach (not great for rubber, but [robably won't kill it this once.... Or soapy water, of course not getting the wiring itself wet....) os who knows, maybe replace the wires if you are very handy!

The stinky case, those are a problem. A Big problem. Let us know how it goes.

Good luck, and again, I am sorry for the misfortune.

-C.

I use rubber cement (lightly and just dabs) on the bottoms to hold the felts. It's easy to remove if needed. I would first let the machine air out before doing anything. Then determine if the case is the cause or the machine or both.

I would also ask your friend if was serviced before you received it and see what she says! She may not know it wasn't cleaned up and have her husband do it for free. I would hint at that since you paid a premium for the machine.

I have a FW I'm working on right now that smells really bad too. The case smells like an active mouse nest and the machine has the rancid oil smell.

I can deal with the machine smell by making a new felt drip pad for the bottom cover. As for the case, well that might take some doing.

We used a bag of ceder shavings, amongst other things, to help remove the most of the odor from ours. But it wasn't as bad as this one.

I'd use sewing machine oil and a soft cloth or a make up removing pad to clean the surface. It might not happen on your machine but I've had water and soap turn the clear coating on black Singers milky white.

Joe

Agreed. Keep the water and soap off of an older Singer with a Japanned finish.

CD in Oklahoma

There's a local lady that rehabs featherweights and sells them for $400. I've seen her work and I can't say I would ever consider one of her machines.
Good luck! She will be a labor of love for sure.

I too had a stinky FW. the odor was in the box bad. it took alot of elbow grease with soapy water and weeks of sitting in the sun to destroy the smell. I read somewhere that the sun rays were the best. every morning I would put it out and bring it back in at night. smell is gone. now I have a couple of silicone gel packs in it(probably more than a couple). I have picked them up from the floor and/or shelves in stores and asked if I could have. they always say yes and I push it in the box. Hobby Lobby is a great supply for these. good luck, it will take time but to get rid of that smell is worth it.

Okay, no soap and water! And I will try a little polishing with the sewing machine oil. Never thought of doing that. The box was outside all day but we didn't have much sunlight. The machine is currently sitting on my windowsill and hopefully she is enjoying the fresh air!

I just got back from a class with the "Old sewing machine man" here in Florida. He is an expert on all things featherweight. So I have a solution for some of your problems.

So for the stinky case he suggested Odor eliminatior by Mary Ellen. Same lady that puts out Best Press. He says it's the only thing that will work.
He also suggests that you use a 1/2 water and 1/2 simple green to clean the machine. After that dampen a cloth with water and wipe it off again. Then dry it with a clean cloth.
You can shine her up.with Carnuba car wax. DO NOT use any wax with "rubbing compound".
Also do not get rubbing alcohol near your decals. They will turn silver and then dissolve.
For the case you can clean it inside and out with Murphy's oil soap.
Use elmers glue to track down any fabric that might have come loose. Use a permanent marker to color in any worn places.
He also said to use a piece of batting to wrap up the machine where you would normally pick it up and/or put it in the case. It keeps your skin oils from eating off the finish. If you feel underneath the top of the machine, it might feel bumpy. That's the finish wearing off.
You did right getting rid of the felt pad in the bottom. I just replaced mine too. It was full of oil and mold. I imagine with a good wipe down and some air, your machine will smell better soon. As will your case if you get the odor eliminatilor. I hope this helps. Gina

Wow Gina, that was a super post - thank you for all of the information! I will try everything, especially that Simple Green bath for my little pal. :)

So, I can use the Carnuba wax over the entire machine - even the decals?

Yes that's what he said. It wil be safe for the decals too. I'm glad you could use the information. I really enjoyed the class, and my featherweight is running much better after I oiled her more thoroughly.

I use charcoal for BBQ to remove odors, works like a charm.

I also use a Trouble Light balanced inside the case and leave it on for days. The end of the light with the cord keeps the lid slightly open leaving space. I make sure nothing is touching the shield as that does get warm or even hot. I read this somewhere a long time ago and has worked very well for me. Supposedly the heat from the light kills whatever is causing the odor. I am very careful in the placement and have never scorched anything. I imagine the low light bulb just keeps a constant warm temperature. I just used it in another Featherweight case and it worked pretty good. For the larger cases it's easier.
Good Luck,
Lisa

My last featherweight had a slight odor to the machine and the case. I put it outside in the sunlight all day and it did seem to help some. Then somewhere, I don't believe it was on this board, I read to use a bar of Irish Spring. Put it in the case, close the case and let it set for a week. I am currently using this method. I can't tell you yet it is will totally remove the smell but I do think it is working. For the machine, I just let it sit outside in the sun for a few hours every day that the sun shines. I think it is slowly losing it's smell also. I might add these odors were not very bad so I don't know about these techniques if the odor is extremely pungent.

I got a Featherweight off Ebay - no case, only 1 bobbin but the price was great & I was able to pick it up right in my town. I got the DVD from David McCallum at www.Featherweight221.com and did all the cleaning, oiling, lubing and cleaning up the finish myself. It was very easy and he is full of info on cleaning both the machine and case. My Joann looks great (named because I met the seller in the parking lot of a Joann's) and I saved myself a lot of money. Sure the book and DVD cost almost $80 but I would have spent that much to take it to my local service guy and he wouldn't have cleaned up the finish as well as I did and I can do all future work on it!! Check out his website - he really knows his stuff!! Good luck!

Yes, the person who sold me the machine recommended McCallum's DVD. I'm guessing she didn't take the time to use it with this particular Featherweight, though. :)

My shopping list is getting longer....now adding the Irish Spring and charcoal!

For the replacement felt pad: You do not have to glue it down, it will stay where it is put. I suspect it is old oil that you are trying to clean up. Liquid Wrench is OK for that, just wipe down with sewing machine oil when done cleaning.

I've used all kinds of things for the smelly box and finally got rid of it - not sure which one worked - but here's my list - a bag of cheap coffee from the $ tree, opened just a bit - sunlight - Febreeze - fabric softener sheets - Stinkies from Walmart - vanilla in a coffee cup - newspapers - opened bar of cheap soap, and some others I've forgotten about. Took a few weeks of back & forth.

I had a really nasty smelling case, also covered with mold, inside and out. After cleaning with dish soap and a small amount of bleach, it took 2-3 weeks of daily sunbaths to get the odor to recede. Patience is a necessary requirement in dealing with all things old. I always keep a bar of Zest, in an opened box, in all of my cases.

I gave the machine a Simple Green bath tonight after using a little bit of auto scratch remover on her imperfections (I had read that tip on another website). She is now amazingly shiny! Yes, there are scratches on her surface but they are not as noticeable now. She also smells quite a bit better after the cleaning and sitting in a window all day yesterday. There is a lingering odor (much, much less than before) so she will need to "sunbathe" again on the windowsill if we get some strong sunlight, although there's none of that in our weather forecast! I did buy the rubber cement and glued in the new oil pad, after cleaning out the drip pan with the Simple Green. I also cut some new felt pads for her (for the spool pin and the bottom where the nut screws onto the drip pan).

As for the case, I still have it sitting open on my basement stairs, and I have to say, the smell has dissipated quite a bit. Not that it's gone completely as of yet, but again, it's much better. I'm going to give it a good cleaning as you all have suggested and see what happens. Right now I've got the bar of Irish Spring in the case but have left it open.

I might just be winning this battle with that smelly machine and case!! :)

You have received some excellent advice! Members on this Board are wonderful to share their experiences and their advice.

My go-to person about my FW is novamontgomery.com She has monthly TIPs and an index to help you find answers to your questions. I would encourage you to go to her website and browse around.

Linda, I've become obsessed with Nova's website! I'm reading through all of her archived monthly tips and I'm learning so much. If I decide to order a new-style foot controller I will get it from Nova.

I have had dishsoap and water destroy some decals on a Davis. I think I've tried Simple Green, can't remember for sure, but I think it was a little too strong also. Someone suggested, and I believe Miriam spoke highly of Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Remover. I was skeptical, but I've tried it and it really does WORK! Just don't rub too much or too hard, because the decals may be bonded better to the old shellac grunge than the are to the machine, and a few flakes may come off. Always test in an inconspicuous area 1st.

I'm actually kind of excited about having done this whole process, because I have a Singer 66 I picked up a few years ago that could use some spiffing up. :) Might as well use all this stuff I've bought for something else too!

Congratulations on your purchase of a FW, even though smelly. It sounds like you are really making use of all our wonderful experts on sewing machines (experts though hard work and experience, I might add); some really good suggestions here. I will be using some of them myself to clear out some smell on a 99K that I recently acquired.

Are you sure this is a friend?? I would ask her sort out your problems with the machine.

I took a short seminar on the history of the 221s, a month ago, and the presenter mentioned using a trouble light or a light bulb with socket screwed on a block of wood - said that the tip came from David McCallum's maintenance book and said that he has used this method successfully.

It was an interesting seminar - he brought about 15 machines from his large collection - showed the slight design differences and changes between the machines and the different models of cases - also brought three of the different card table designs. He gave a lot of info that he gleaned from collecting FWs for almost 40 yrs. - was an enjoyable afternoon and made me want to go out on the hunt to find a few 'special' FWs :)

A couple of years ago I found a featherweight at an estate sale. Clean as could be, few scratches and included was the receipt for the last cleaning.
It and the case smelled terrible. At that time I was told the odor comes from the animal glue used to cover the case and having the case closed was no help.
We took the machine out of the case and let it sit in an airy place. Tried a lot of different things but time seemed to be what it took. Sponged the case down. Leaving it open carried it in my hot car or left in my hot garage for the summer. Tried the soaps suggested but that smell was almost worse. Later used foot Odor-eaters (charcoal) in the case and still do. It has been closed about 6 months so I just checked to see how it was doing. Good. Be patient and leave the lid open for good long while. At that time it was also suggested to use black shoe polish on the case cover. I did not have to do that but it might be worth a try on a really damaged case. Good luck and enjoy your featherweight.

I have a remedy! It may not be the best and for sure you don't want to get this on your machine's finish or decals! There is nothing quite as good for getting rid of offensive odors as cotton balls soaked in some 100% pure vanilla flavoring (and/or almond extract). Both the vanilla and the almond extract smell great! Just put the soaked cotton balls in a small open container and sit it in the case! Again, be very careful -- DO NOT get the vanilla or almond extract on the finish of the machine -- these extracts contain ALCOHOL which will damage or destroy the finish!

Jeanette

I would think that, leaving anything containing alcohol in a closed case would eventually contribute to the destruction of the machines finish. Might smell good but ---- I don't know.....