My Birthday Present to myself!!
 

Meet Elizabeth or Betty or Tucci... named after her original owner!

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she is not as mint as i thought... but pretty darn close considering her age. As far as i can tell she has come with everything she is supposed to (extra feet, bobbin case, lint brush, 2 screw drivers, and the manual.) including the case which i didnt photograph) except for the actual bobbin. the bobbin case is there... but no bobbin. so if anyone can tell me if thats replaceable that would be cool. im pretty certain it is.... but you never know!

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According to the gentleman, he told me that his grandfather purchased it for his grandmother and she never or rarely used it. I doubt thats the case because their are scratches and dings on it. but i think shes in remarkable shape and should clean up well after i polish her up again. what shouldnt i use due to the decals?

ever since then it has been sitting in a closet, closed up and never used. he had considered selling it to a pawn shop or something, but couldnt bare the thought of it not being used. so i came along and now shes home!! :D what do you guys think? im pretty excited to clean her up, and oil her and give her a whirl!

Oh! What does this screw go to? It and its mate was in the box with all the accessories .. i have no idea what it goes to??

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Kittywolf13,

Happy Birthday!

Tri-Flow or sewing machine oil in the oil places, Tri-Flow or Singer grease ( lube ) on the gears, Singer lube in the motor. The owners manual will tell you where to put it. I much prefer the Tri-Flow.

Bobbins are available from several places but my favorite is Sew-Classic { http://www.shop.sew-classic.com/Bobb...-SCBN45785.htm }

The little thumb screws go to the presser foot ( it's there ) face plate (looks like yours is missing), and the fabric guide which uses the holes just to the right of the needle plate on the bed.

Nice machine. I'd use oil and a soft cloth to clean it. As for polishing it, I'll defer to Miriam on that one. She's recommended something to me and my pea brain isn't remembering what it is right now.

Joe

See http://shop.sew-classic.com/Bobbins-...-SCBN45785.htm for bobbins. Congratulations and a very happy birthday to you!

oh you did great! she's beautiful!

look and see if the screw fits where you attach the feet. it looks kinda like that one.

there is a sticky at the top of the page on how to clean up a vintage machine. someone suggested in another thread using an automotive scratch remover, which i bought, and while it worked great on my car it didn't seem to make a lot of difference on the sewing machine finish. i didn't work it very hard, though, because i didn't want to damage anything. i think this one is good enough you could just clean it and enjoy it like it is.

you could also try waxing it. I bought an automotive wax that was safe for clear-coat finish and used it. the particular one i got was named Meguire's, but i think any would probably be ok. that would protect your decals, too, as far as i know, although i am new to this obsession. :)

have fun!

oh - i should add don't use that scratch remover or anything harsh on the decals. you might try out anything you want to use in an inconspicuous part of the back, just to make sure.

Kittywolf13....I see that you have been properly 'inoculated' with the "Vintage Sewing Machine Addiction Virus" :thumbup: :D just by hanging around with all of us enablers....heheheheh!

I think your birthday present is gorgeous! I use sewing machine oil on a soft cloth to clean up my machines. To oil the inside parts I like to use Tri-Flow. It comes in a little bottle with a teeny straw to help you get it into the hard to reach places.

I highly recommend Dave McCullam's book, "The Featherweight 221 and I". He has a terrific sense of humor, it's aimed at us DIY folks and the drawings are clear and easy to see. He also has a website with lots of info and tips about them.
http://www.featherweight221.com/fwrx/index.html

Do you happen to have a pic of the plate your referring to?

Thank you so much!! :D im off to order some bobbins! :)

I have scratch remover that i was useing on my W&G's throat plate. :) i will try that on the shiney metal bits... and the buffer. i need to buy some normal car wax though so they stay shiney and neat. :) Thanks so much!

Oh Yes! i have been thoroughly thrown into the hobby. now i need to stop so i can get both machines (3 if i can get my mothers working without too much trouble or fear of breaking her more.) in perfect working order so i can actually start sewing. She sounds lovely when i hook her up, but dont want to run her too much till i've cleaned and oiled her since its probably been many years since shes been cleaned and oiled. :)

For cleaning I follow this tutorial:
http://jillybejoyful.blogspot.com/20...herweight.html

The Scratchx is nice if there is residue from someone smoking or something dropped and dried on it. The oxy was amazing for the shiny bits, and the car wax protects the finish and helps the fabric glide across the bed.

Shes a beauty, I hope you enjoy her! I also recommend Dave's book.

Well, Happy Birthday to you. As I say ...I'm worth it. This summer for my birthday I bought myself a Benz SLK280. Glad you joined the FW club. I got myself a black one on Ebay a year or so ago, then found a white this summer off CL. When I got my machines I took them apart , cleaned them all up, oiled and greased them and they purr like a kitten. Great little machines. Enjoy...Oh, and the little screw looks like the one that holds the face plate on ??

That's what it looks like to me, too. I wonder if someone removed it so it wouldn't scratch the bed extension when it's folded up?

I love the 1951 anniversary badge on this machine- I have two others with that badge and I think it is quite attractive.
I always take the faceplate knob off when I put mine in her case, as otherwise the bed will get scratched. Anyone made a felt sleeve or something for the bed?

Happy Birthday, Kittywolf13!! Isn't it fun to buy yourself your birthday present? I bought sewing machines this year for mine...... so gratifying. Anyway, congrats on the FW. I have 3 and love them all (I've said that so many times). They are wonderful machines and will work so well for you. And, they are so cute and pretty!!

It sounds like you have gotten some great advice so I'll just add, ..... sew with her and enjoy her. They love working more than sitting around.

I place a piece of bubble wrap between the faceplate and the fold up bed. Not very elegant but works.

The most excellent birthday present:thumbup:.

Happy Birthday--great gift!!

I put a silicone bumper on mine. One of those dots that you stick to rulers to make them non slip. It works perfectly.

Oh so much good advice!! :) the screws fit next to the throat plate but I didn't think to look in the front plate? I will have to look again. Hahaha. Also I need to change out the drip pan thing and put something in the case. The first thing I smelled when I woke up was my machine. Hahaha! Not that it was bad really. A rinsed that it wasn't a dream. Also thank you for the birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday....you'll always remember this one, and love that machine. You can get 221 bobbins at JoAnn's too usually if you check the "singer" packages...check out the small print. I think I have even gotten some at Walmart.

Congrats on your little beauty!! Happy Birthday to you! :)

I have never heard of Scratch X, is it safe for the decals?
Thank you

i wouldn't use the scratch-remover on the decals or chrome or nickel parts. i'd be afraid it would damage the metal. on those i bought Simichrome polish at my local hardware store. it shines them up beautifully and won't hurt anything.

one little trick that i picked up somewhere here was to use cotton string, just an ordinary white soft string, to help polish the round parts. cut a long piece, and double or quadruple it up so it's wider and put a dab of the polish on it. then wrap it around parts like the needle shaft, criss-crossing over the front and see-saw the string back and forth. as it gets black, move to a new section of string and another dab of polish. that worked great for me. i also used old t-shirts for polishing rags.

I bought some stick on little "rubber" circles that you use to keep things from banging against one another. I stick one on all the screws of my Featherweight face plates to keep them from scratching when they're folded up.

I've use it on 3 fws now without a problem. I avoid the decals and use clean to soak the shiny metal in. All gunk just dissolves with no scrubbing.

Ok. Thanks for all the advice. I was going to do some cleaning on her today (didn't happen. The boyfriend stole me) but I laid her gently on her side and was cleaning out the underside briefly. There is a cable that goes from inside the machine to the electrical plug on the rich side of the machine. I'm guessing it was once rubber or something like that. It's white and powdery and kind of flakey. I'm afraid this means I will need to rewire her or something. (something I don't think I can do! :( ) I plug her in and she runs. The other cables look fine. A little feathery in the fabric department but she's 50 some years old, so I figured that's to be expected. Any advice? I took some pics but need to be home to download them to the computer. But maybe someone knows just by description? Help?

Kittywolf I think your problem is not a real big problem. That is lead sheathing over the wiring. I posted pics of my machine a few weeks ago when I was cleaning her up. I gently cleaned off the flakey white stuff with kerosene, let it dry and then gave it a coat of shellac. I did it outside and was real gentle because you do not want the breath the white stuff.

Happy Birthday and congratulations on finding such a great gift!

Thank you red warrior!

Caroline, I'm going to go take a peek at your posts then to see your images. :) thank you for letting me know it isn't a big deal. Makes me feel better.

Once at a quilting/sewing show a FW guy gave me a little rubber dot to stick on the screw so it doesn't scratch the bed.

I will either do that or see up a quick little sleeve. Shouldn't be too difficult. :)

OK guys, I'm not seeing where the faceplate is missing. You are talking the decorative plate that faces the flip-up bed, right?

I have no clue what their talking about either. I don't see any missing screws either.

Can anyone tell me what's the story behind the white FW?