I don’t oil my machines after every 8 hours of use either. I wait until they tell me to, so I guess that I’m in the “as needed” camp.

CD in Oklahoma

The only thing that bugs me about waiting for the noise is that the noise is wear or friction. That means you're waiting for a little wear to happen so you know when to oil.

I would prefer preventative maintenance rather than remedial down the road.
But I freely admit that I'm guilty of having had machines remind me too.

CD, someone on the yahoo lists mentioned a few days ago that her vintage Singer (a 404) had a problem with the needle being slightly offset from the central position. This type of thing is a result of waiting until you notice evidence of some real wear before lubricating. A little damage has already happened by the time you notice it needs lube. Over time this will cause noticeable wear such as the offset needle bar.

Tammi is guilty of it and so am I so no judgement here :)

I agree that waiting until a machine tells you may not be the best thing, but often times poor castings are the culprit of offset needles. That, or a slightly bent needle bar. I wouldn't say wear would be my first guess as to why a needle is off center by a few hairs.

WOW, I can't beleive what I just read- I wonder if your serviceman thinks you would only sew on it once a year. I would seriously think of changing someone to service my machine. I have 2 FW's and a Bernina 930 that I use all the time and I oil them every time I complete a project if it doesn't take long to do. When I have a big project I am working on, I oil the machine just about every time I finish sewing for the day. I keep a scrap of fabric under the needle to get any residue of oil, and sew on that when I start the next time, to prevent any oil from getting on my projects. I think of oiling my machines like I would for changing the oil in my car, at least every 3,000 miles or sometimes before. That's like waiting until you completely run out of gas in your car, because you thought you could go a few miles further when the gauge showed empty.
I have a great book that I purchased when I bought my first FW years ago, and it is completely illustrated with not only where, when to oil, but to basically do your own service on the FW. I have several books on the FW, including the original manual, but this book is much better in my opinion than any of the others. It is called "The Featherweight 221 and I" I purchased it from Featherweight RX, at www.featherweight221.com, has more than paid for itself and I keep it where I can get to it at all times. PLEASE do not wait for 2 years to oil your machine. I recommend this book to everyone who owns a FW- I'm not affiliated in any way with the owners of this site, but have been very satisfied with anything I have purchased from them. They sell all sorts of things for FW's. I have been sewing for 60 yrs. at least- and I take care of all of my machines myself. Prior to my passion for quilting I did garment sewing for 2 kids and self- just mended for DH. I don't take my machines to the machine hospital, because I keep them well maintained. I sew all the time, and now mainly quilts. Hope this site is useful to all.

This topic comes up every now and then in sewing machine discussions across the net, and each time that it does, I can’t help but wonder how much profit the sewing machine companies (who wrote the instruction manuals) made from their sewing machine oil sales over the years?

And by the way, the manual usually said that theirs was the sewing machine oil that you should “Always use” on their machines. I guess that leaves TriFlow out.....


CD in Oklahoma