My Singer 401A
 

I scan CL nearly everyday mostly just for fun and to see what is available. I have been looking for a Singer 401A for some time but every time I found one it was way out of my price range. This one was on CL for $75 so we went to look at it. It was quite dirty but it did a fairly decent job of moving the needle up and down. I have spent 4 hours in cleaning her up but I am now down yet. The cam dials would not work, neither did the lowering of the feed dogs. The electrical work seemed to be in OK but the foot pedal was very, very dirty. I explained to the gentlemen that I would need to get my OSMG out to do some repair work so he lowered the price to $55. After I got her home, I did an extremely good job of oiling her down and blowing out the lint and dust balls from underneath. Then I applied some grease to the gears and oiled the cam buttons really well at the top of the machine. I now have the dials working but I think the cam stack must be stuck together because when I try to use the dials for deco stitching I get a straight stitch. The tension works well and produces a very fine stitch but it is terrible dirty and I am afraid to tackle removing it. The machine doesn't immediately start right up and I think the wheel needs to be removed and possible oiled or maybe a little grease but again I am afraid to tackle that job also. Hence the OSMG. Still, I think I probably made a good buy. There was a Geist Decorative Zigzagger in the drawer with several little disks to change out but I have no idea how that works.

Blackberry, Congratulations on your score!!! You will enjoy this machine when you get it all cleaned up and working. About the deco stitching - there is a gizmo called the plunger connected to the needlebar. It's inside the left-side door. It is two pieces which slide in and out of one another, like a small piston. If it is gunked up, it won't slide, which prevents the needlebar from swinging from side to side for zigzag and deco stitches. It needs oiling to get it moving. I could try and describe it, but better still - go to Yahoo and join the Singer Slant group. There is a ton of info there and the info on the plunger is in the Files section, I think. Also, read about putting a couple of drops of car oil - not sewing oil - on the upper motor bearing. Almost everything you'll want to know is in that group.

Tate

be very cautious about what you put on motor bearings....

Nice. I acquired one several months ago and what did move moved very slowly. After help on this board, I bought some Triflow oil and a tube of Triflow grease and--sham-wow--it works great :) Good luck. Do a little search, I think there's a nice thread that is long and it is Archaicannes thread where she is walked thru getting hers to loosen up.

Nice machine!!!!!

Yes, I agree, which is why I said "read" about it. The grease in the upper bearing can dry out and instead of replacing the bearing, attempting to refresh the grease with a couple (not more) of drops can help.

Also, here is a photo of my machine's plunger. I put an index card behind it for contrast. You can test yours by trying to wiggle the needlebar from right to left. If it doesn't move, try cleaning and oiling the plunger. Oil where the parts slide together and I think there's a oiling hole on top, too.

Tate
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That is exactly what the Slant groups suggests. Motor oil. I've done well (sofar) with TriFlow, and that's with 2 of the motor bearings seized.

I think the thread you're talking about is this one?
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...e-t216956.html

Not my machine. :)

Triflow's the way to go (I think I just enhanced their advertising campaign). It should come free, be patient!

My bad! :)

Take good care of her ,I bought one new in 1958/9 (forget which) she still sews like a trooper. also have a 501A, that I
aquried along the way, she needs lots of cleaning though. Not sure why I hang on to these old machines ,is it because we are growing old together??:shock: