Well, in most cases, I'd prefer to get the machine uncleaned anyway. That way I know they didn't put something really nasty on it to clean it, and didn't oil it with 3 in 1 or something.

Their idea of clean is rarely up to my standards anyway. By the time I'm done with them, my machines don't dare get dirty ;)

Here are a few shots of the 431G
Assembled:
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"Converted"
[ATTACH=CONFIG]426993[/ATTACH]

Inside the cubby:
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Another interesting bit of trivia:
The 431G is the only machine of this series that I know of that comes with a darning foot as standard equipment. And it's my favorite darning foot for the slants. I use it to FMQ on the 301.

Yes, I can FMQ on the 431, though most people will tell you you can't on this type of slant. It's harder to do than on a 301, or a low shank vertical foot machine, but I can without skipped stitches for some reason. A few others have said they could too, but I don't recall who. That said, it's far from my favorite machine to FMQ on, so I don't bother anymore.

Plume -- Did you remove the needle plate and clean under there? Was lint or thread down there causing your problem? I'm glad it's working better! If you haven't tossed the felt already, trace it on a piece of paper first. That will make it a little easier to cut a new one.

Tammi -- What a sweet story of your kitties! The jumpsuit thing was genius. Obviously your vet was wrong and you did the right thing.

Why is it hard to FMQ on the 431? Does that apply to all the 400 series? Is the elevator plate a problem? I know of two darning feet for the 401 -- 161162 which has a metal foot, and 161596 with a plastic foot. Is your favorite one of these, or a different one?

About needles -- I'm confused about the ball point/stretch needles. On the vintagesingers yahoo group I read that the Singer yellow band and Schmetz stretch needles are offset so that the needle is closer to the hook, and these needles shouldn't be used in an older machine because they can hit the hook. The story I read is that the T&S or Stylist (can't remember which) has a bobbin bracket that can't be adjusted. When these machines came out, sewing lingerie was in vogue, and the machines would skip stitches on tricot and light weight knits. So, because the machines couldn't be adjusted, Singer came out with the offset needle, and Schmetz followed suit with the "stretch" needle. Jenny at sew classic also wrote something somewhere about this (if I find it I'll link to it.)

I've been using yellow band needles in the 401 and I won't anymore. But I'm wondering -- why would they still be making offset needles now that the T&S and Stylist are no longer "state of the art". Also, what is the difference between a ball point and a stretch needle?

Here are a couple of pages about needles. They don't answer the offset question, but are very helpful:
http://www.sewmamasew.com/2009/06/se...o-choose-them/
http://www.joann.com/static/project/0704/PA00223.pdf

Tisch, Congratulations on your new machine. Your English is great. I wish I could speak Dutch. I'd like to visit Holland or Italy and buy a 431 while I'm there. In case you don't have the manual already, here are two sources. One might be better quality than the other:
http://www.singerco.com/uploads/download/1306_431.pdf
http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/431.pdf

Oh, that's a beauty. Looks like a new one after all your great work.
Gotta love a rocketeer!

Tish — foto's a.j.b... Kinderen kunnen wachten, wij niet ;)

Tammi — Which part is the "post" please?! Also, I oiled/greased all other parts too at the same time (top + side), this plus the rocking probably did it.

I totally understand! Great pictures & machine btw.

Sheila — Yes, I had cleaned under the needle plate the 1st time already, there was a lot of lint & thread & what I thought was hair and turned out to be the felt, lol. But the tension only got better when I added more oil & grease & rocked the machine! The felt is still in the garbage bin, I'll do that, thanks!!!

•••

I just got an email from my friend who brought me my 401 & table from Milan in his car. He's currently in France, to empty out his dad's house. Check out what he discovered there! He wants to sell it, I told him NO WAY. I told him to clean it up & offer it to his wife, knowing her, she would love it too. I hope he listens to me...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]427090[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]427091[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]427092[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]427093[/ATTACH]

There was one on ebay (France) in June :
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/RARISSIME-mac...-/400512535564

Oke lets see if i can put some foto's on here.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]427173[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]427175[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]427172[/ATTACH]

An some pics off me Kohler in his cabinet.

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Ok it worked. I got the Kohler about 3 months ago i was talking to my hubby that i wanted a vintage sewing machine for display for over a year but always tought they were verry expensive( now i know they don't have to be). About 3 months ago my mom started sewing again and just bij a random search for bobins for her machine we found a cabinet that was alterd to fit her pfaff hobbymatic 919, i told my mom wow that is a cool cabinet. I would love someting like that! So i searched on marktplaats for one and found my kohler in a cabinet for 20 euro's and is was only 4 km from my hous, i just had to have it! I bought it not knowing you could still sew on it! it can do treadle and has a little motor on it.

The 431 G was found by my mom the selller was selling 2 and she asked me if i want the other one. So i looked a bit online and knew i really wanted it. I could not find a whole lot about it but is looked really cool. I'm so happy i got it!

Wow that is one big story sorry for that!

@ Plume that looks really old! I think it will be verry pretty when cleaned up!

Wow, that French machine is old and lovely. Tisch, I love your Kohler and its cabinet.
Plume, I did read that you cleaned lint from around the feed dogs and forgot, sorry!
Plume, Tammi -- I wonder if oiling the hook race helped with the tension?

Tammi, I just purchased the needle clamp + some more bobbins from Helen Howes! It said on her website the needle clamp I needed was sold, I emailed her anyway and she found one for me!

Miriam, I tried the 2 needles. Amazing! And, btw, while inserting them, I realized the new needle I had put in at some point was not all the way up. Oops (I wish there was an emoticon for "ashamed"). Maybe the stitches will be even better now (Is it even possible?! They were so nice already!).

Tish, your machines are super nice! They seem like new, and the Kohler cabinet is indeed beautiful. I love the last picture, it looks like a magazine photograph.

Sheila, no pb. And to be honest, I recently re-read all of everyone's advice, and if in the beginning most of it sounded like a foreign language to me, I know understand a lot more & can follow them more accurately.

My friend's wife emailed me yesterday night, thanking me warmly for the Brion machine her husband offered her.
She thinks that without all this story about my Singer, he would have trashed it without thinking twice about it.
:o

Well, I'm glad the two needles trick worked in more than one way!!! I love playing with them. The points do not come to the same level. They are not even when they are in all the way. I'm glad another fine old machine has been rescued! Glenn has the best info on restoring those. He and his wife are coming to my place in about a month and he is going to fix a few of the rescued around here. I can't wait. Here is a link to Glenn's stuff: http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...s-t193635.html You can also look at his profile and then go to started threads for more of his posts. He is very helpful with refinishing the old finishes on both the machine and the cabinet. I have seen his work at his house. He does wonderful work - everything looks like it is new.

This link is perfect, I'll forward to my friends! Thx!

Glenn has more and you can PM or email and he can answer questions.

*** Sorry for the huge response everyone. I'm catching up.

Sheluma One of these days, I'll see if I can dig up that photo. She was less than impressed, but she healed up fast once I started doing it. :)

The Slants (other than the 301) have a few things working against them as far as FMQ.

1. Horizontal Bobbin
2. Supposedly the slant needle
3. The lack of the ability to drop the feed dogs, and instead the raised plate which causes drag and I bet some tension issues.

The only reasons I ever tried it to begin with is

1. People said it didn't work, but I didn't understand why - the 201 is a horizontal bobbin, as are many of the modern machines and the 301 is a slant needle
2. I don't always drop my dogs to FMQ.

I found that the upper tension needed to be higher to not eyelash, and it seems like you have to go faster on these slants than with say a 15, hence more concentration. The biggest thing is set the stitch length to 0 and don't raise the plate (which is a non-issue on the 431) The 301 though in comparison is effortless, and you can sew at any speed you want.

The foot I FMQ with is the 161596 that you mention above. I've never seen the other one in the wild.

As far as needles, I'm definitely the wrong person to ask. I typically know which needle system to use, but as far as the application, I almost always have the wrong needle in the clamp. I caught myself piecing with a leather needle not long ago. :shock: The only thing I'm reasonably sure of is that a ball point needle is for knits, its slightly rounded tip is supposed to push between the threads instead of tearing them. How that's different from stretch? I don't know. I use topstitch for almost everything these days, and rarely do anything with knits anymore (though I should, I have no shortage of the stuff around.)

I'll check your links out, thanks :) I really should learn more about needles, but it seems like it usually just falls to the bottom of the list, because I'm not having trouble at the moment.

manicmike - Thanks!! I always find that the time is worth it with these machines. Technically, I'm not sure of the German 411 / 431s are Rocketeers (Those are the 500 and 503), but they were out at about the same time, and take a few of their styling cues from them, don't they? :)

Tisch - I think anything that will get you working on your 1/4" seam accuracy is good. That said, I'm less a piecer than a quilter. The piecing doesn't do much for me, which is why I now have a frame. A cover for your machine is not a bad one to start with. I made liners for my featherweight cases. Mug Rugs... even a lap quilt. Just beware the "Add A Row" problem - "You should just add a row..." My first "lap quilt" fits a Full bed because of that. Of course if you go in with a plan, unlike what I did, you'll be fine. ;)

plume - The post is the part that the whole tensioner is assembled on. It's held in with the screw with the red arrow on the page you linked to: http://mysewingmachineobsession.blog...f-tension.html. If it was out a little farther than it should be, it could possibly give a little more space for the discs to bop around and cause inconsistent issues. It's just a theory though without being able to see it. If that is the case though, it's a temporary fix that you have, so I'm hoping something else resolved itself.

That machine is gorgeous! I'm glad you were responsible for making sure it went to the right home.

Doubtful, but stranger things have happened. I'm concerned that plume has a temporary situation here though. Usually if I didn't have anything to do with the fix, but it's suddenly working, I think it could suddenly not work again too.

Yeah!! I'm glad she was able to help you! She was a huge help to me when I needed some things I couldn't find on this side of the world. Very nice lady.

Maybe un- and re-screwing it completely was the fix (I had done that)?

Please don't say that!!!

Thanks, me too :) Oh, and in the meantime, they found 3 more machines, 1 Singer (black & gold decorations), 1 Frigga (same), and the last one is locked inside its case, no key to be found, so they have no idea what it looks like... The wife told me she was starting a collection (her husband is gonna hate me now)!

Nooooooo! Please come over here (nice little Italian vacation) and check it for me :)

Yes!

The screw with the red arrow is the set screw. It would be a 2 part operation. unscrew it a bit, then fully seat the post (push toward the back of the machine) then tighten the set screw again. If that's what you did, it's not a temporary fix, if that was the problem.

I hope it's not a temporary fix, but we'll figure it out if it was. :thumbup:

Depending on the case, if it's a singer, a small blade screw driver in the lock may open it, as may a robertson
Unless of course it's a featherweight case, then the easiest thing to do is take it to a sewing machine shop and they may have a key to open it. No matter what though, there's almost never a need to cut hinges off or bust the case open. With a pic I can offer more help. :)

You don't want to make that offer. ;) DH and I both want to take a motorcycle trip to Italy, the only thing that holds us back is finances. ;)

Aaah, now I understand. Not sure if I pushed it though... I don't want to disassemble the tension again right now, since it works like a charm. But I'll keep it in mind in case, thanks for the explanation.

I'll forward & will ask for a picture too, if they still couldn't manage to open it.

Well, I did :) You're welcome to stay w/ us, it saves a lot! If you ever want to consider this more seriously, don't hesitate to contact me, I mean it.

It would be so much fun to travel from place to place and stay with QB members wouldn't it. I bet you could at least all the way across the US maybe even go all the way around the world.

Gosh Miriam that does sound like fun. We're in Baton Rouge...

It does! It should be sponsored by Singer...

In all honesty no it should be sponsored by Tri-flow oil and some of the places that sell parts... but I doubt if they have any more money than we do...

Yes! We should show tri-flow how many times their product is mentioned on this site. Plume, I went to Italy a long time ago (1979) but didn't go to the south. Just Rome and Florence. I wanted to see the south but I thought I didn't have enough time because I wanted to go to Greece and the islands. I had a eurail pass, carried my stuff in a back pack and stayed at youth hostels. I lived on cheese and bread and fruit. Didn't eat in any restaurants. I knew no Italian, but had just spent a semester in France, so I spoke some French, and it turned out most Italians spoke French! I practiced my French more in Italy and Switzerland than in France (where I hung out with my American friends). If I were to go now I would go nuts buying vintage linen sheets and of course at least one 411 or 431 sewing machine. And I would want to eat in restaurants. sigh. If I could travel now like I did then, maybe I could afford it.

I was just looking at a 1911 book called Singer Instructions for Art Embroidery, scanned by the LIbrary of Congress (http://archive.org/details/singerinstructio00sing). It has some beautiful color plates. It says "Place a small iron washer or a spool weight on the spool to retard the movement of the upper thread. A spool weight (No. 9537) can be obtained at any Singer shop." I wonder if that advice still applies.

You wouldn't have to disassemble, just loosen that screw, push the whole assembly, then tighten, but I agree, "don't fix it if it ain't broke"

What a generous offer. :) I may just have to do that. It wouldn't be soon anyway, we won't go too far while our geriatric animals are still here, but after that, we're empty nesters ;)

I bet I could make it a long way just going in an organizing people's stashes and tweaking machines. Gives new meaning to a mobile sewing machine repair business. ;)

-Some- of the parts places make money hand over fist. You know mark up is up to 500%? Depends on the part, some are 50%, but still. I learned that from the Singer store when they were closing and wanted me to buy it. If you owned your building and your stock.... That said, it's a side line / hobby for a lot of the others, like me, and I sure couldn't sponsor something like that.

ETA: that and I've never charged that sort of markup. I like to sleep at night.

I don't think the spool pin weight is still available (not in my spreadsheet anyway) but the weight is still valid advice. I was told by a OSMG to put a finger on top of the spool when winding the bobbin for a better, tighter, more consistent wind.

Rome & Florence: great choices! Puglia is very similar to Greece, so all in all, you did well going to Rome & Florence. Yes, they still do speak more French than English (at least down here)! Vintage linen sheets: It's not the 1st time someone mentions then to me, because I live here, but honestly, I have never seen them. Not that I'm looking, but still... Markets are now filled w/ the same exact stuff than the rest of Europe. I'm not sure where I'd have to look. It's a little sad. There are MANY vintage Singers though :)
Lastly, about restaurants: super cheap & good here!!!!

Still going perfectly, didn't touch anything anymore :)

Oooooh, I understand about the animals...

That's great to hear!! Sounds like you managed to fix it right after all! :)

At 8M for the .pdf download, my dial up would never do it. Could someone here burn this to a CD and mail it to me?
I'd gladly reimburse you for the CD and postage.

Joe

Tammi,

How heavy should the spool pin weight be? I've got several machines that could use some thread retardation <- I just made that word up :) .

And I also put my finger on the thread spool when I wind bobbins. It does make them wind better.

Joe

I'm not truly sure. I've seen people use quarters, loonies (sorry, that's a canuck term, I don't know if you have a coin of a similar weight), washers, etc. I would say til it stops being bad. ;)

ETA:
OK,.. this link may help. I knew we discussed it at some point:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...s-t202648.html

Wow. Those are beautiful machines. I was fortunate to find a 401A at a thrift store in the cabinet with manual and all attachments and cams for 45 dollars. It is so clean it looks like it has hardly been used.

Even the beautiful machines get the stitch selector stuck up.

I have the 401A. Was my first anniversary gift in 1956. Is really a work horse.......I have two other machines, but I always go to this machine for my quilt block piecing................