It's beautiful! In as good a condition as this is, I would spring for a new motor and all new electrical components for it - they're not very expensive and they're very easy to put on, yourself. It will be quiet and strong and you won't have to worry about getting zapped with a short.

You can clean the underside and inside the face plate and inspection plates with q-tips dipped in acetone or denatured alcohol - work in good ventilation and don't let it drip on painted surfaces.

If do your own cleaning and maintenance, you'll get such a sense of accomplishment, plus save a lot of money - a regular COA plus a bench fee at my local repair shop is $75. A new set of electrical components won't cost much more than that.

Jenny at sew-classic.com can provide all that stuff for you, along with a replacement spool pin, new felts, tire for the bobbin winder, etc. I always check with her first to see if she has what I need.

I got an extra long spool pin from her that has a hole through the top. I can now use cone thread on a stand behind the machine and run the thread through the hole in the spool pin on the machine before threading the machine - I had been using a large-eye darning needle taped to the motor. :)

You can learn how to do your own maintenance with the tutorials at Tools for Self-Reliance - it's so much easier than you might think! :)
http://www.tfsr.org/publications/tec...achine_manual/

And the Adjuster's Manual for the 15-91 is available on the Singer site:
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/15-91.pdf It won't match your new baby exactly, but it will be close enough to at least give you part names, if something needs replacing. :)

Have fun!

Thanks for all of your the cleaning tips. I may attempt to do this myself. The wiring is in excellent condition so that is not a worry. Ahhh, one more project to add to my list!

Nice find

$10.00. Lucky you. Looks like it has not been used much.

Pretty!

It is soooooo cute. Execellent thrift store find. I need to find your thrift store. :lol: I would probably put a little money into it. I looks hardly used, in great condition. :-D

She's beautiful! Nice and shiny.

Beautiful machine. I would just try oiling her and running for awhile. I think the clunkiness will go away. Great find and buy!

Really good point! :)

When I first started refurbishing old machines, one of my favorite things was to drench all the innards with TriFlow and push the control all the way down.

After a couple of minutes, you could hear the machine's speed jumping forward as the oil worked into dry, crusty places. It would go faster and faster and faster and after five or ten minutes, it would be up to full speed and much quieter than when it started. Such a rewarding feeling! :)

It looks almost just like the machine I got last month. It is a Sterling, also supposedly a clone. I oiled and cleaned her up and she works like a charm. From the side they look the same. It has the tension in back also.