I also have the complication of NO pedal. We plugged in direct to see if the motor worked.

Thanks, that's interesting. I don't have the machine yet. Just wondering how bad it's problem may be.

I also have the complication of NO pedal. We plugged in direct to see if the motor worked.

Sorry to hear that, may be Billy will have an answer. Good luck.

[quote=qltndog]I have a question about cleaning my featherweight. I have been reading all the posts for a couple weeks and have read Billys tute on cleaning VSM. My machine is in good condition and I don't know if I want to take it completely apart to clean. I just want to remove the old grease and oil and put new grease and oil in it. Can I use a toothbrush and Kerosene to clean it without taking it apart? [ quote]

Qltndog, first no I would not take the bed off or completely take that FW apart. Yes, you can use kerosene or WD-40 or just oil to clean the machine. Yes, you can use a tooth brush, pipe cleaners, tulle, anything to get in and get the hardened grease out. Just be sure to clean all the WD-40 out if you use it, it will harden eventually. Take off the face plate and oil all the oil holes - about 11, and joints. Open the top little plate under the spool pin and oil, grease the gears. Open the bottom cover - under the machine - and oil the joints, grease the gears, grease the grease holes in the motor. You can remove the clutch and handwheel to clean that, but be sure to put it all back together exactly as it was. Also, use a flashlight to make sure there is no thread, lint in the bobbin area -- look from the top after you remove the slide plate and the bottom. Now oil all the oil places and she should purr like a kitten.

Nancy

Sewbizgirl, I think sewing is making a come back because of all us quilters! It seems more and more young people want to learn to quilt. Sewing garments, I think, is becoming a lost art, though.

Nancy

Sewbizgirl, aren't you the one that doesn't have the foot pedal? If you do have a foot pedal, the same thing has happened to me twice. Once with a Janome, (new machine) and once with a 1960's New Home. The foot pedal was the culprit both times. My DH took the foot pedal apart to fix something in there that had gotten stuck!

Nancy

Yikes is right! Billy and a couple people here have experienced the flying sparks -- I wouldn't plug that machine in again until you get it figured out!

I can't help you with the 201 or Brother problem. I don't have either machine! Love your whole set up, though! It looks like your cat does too!

Nancy

Because I'm new to the 'electric' scene, I wondered if anyone could tell me if when I press my foot pedal the machine is supposed to continue on a consistent speed or is it OK if it seems to slow down a bit? Sorry for the dumb question, but all the machines I sew on are people-powered.

Bojangles, thank you for the reply to qultndog. I was wondering the same thing about my 301. I really don't want to take her totally apart, but she does a little discoloration on the bar the needle attaches to.

Tomilu, I tried Yahoo again. The addresses that were bounced back last night went through today. I have messages sent about 1 Davis and 2 Singers. All treadles.

Wow, that was fast. I got a response already. The Davis is a 1910 vertical shuttle with no belt and she wants $300. I will keep her #, but I don't think that one is a go.

I received a very nice response from them in regard to the Pfaff 230 spool pin. They are restoring theirs, so also looking for another spool pin. I asked them about their no shipping policy, so we'll see.[/quote]
Here is their answer to my question:
I probably should clarify my shipping policy on my website, but I haven’t figured out any better way to state it. Too many folks think that I don’t ship anything, when in fact, I ship all kinds of parts. I just don’t ship complete machines or cabinets. People tend to think that I have a “no shipping” policy because of that.

Many of my machines are what I call “parts” or “donor” machines, and they’re as hard to get shipped in one piece safely as a pristine collectable machine. Trouble is, folks usually don’t want to pay the expense of proper packaging for a parts machine, so I just don’t ship any of them.