Vintage Singer Tension Assembly Styles
 

I was wondering whether anyone has noticed the different styles of the Tension Assembly units on some of the Vintage Singers. I have three 201K's. Two from the mid 30's and one from 1940. Each have a slightly different style Tension assembly. I have often seen the all black ones, and the gold speckled ones. But not the one with the plain unpainted steel number section with a pointy bit to show the start line! Please see my photos and let me know what you think...

I know nothing about the 201 other than what I've read, but I know this much: the silver coloured unit on the left is a beauty.

Thank you, I was'nt sure whether it was a replacement of some kind! Its in pristine condition. But machine has not been used for many years. Mystery to solve...

Yes, the "plain unpainted steel number section with a pointy bit" is original. Most places say that the 201 was introduced in 1935; however, there is one place that gives the date as 1932. I went through the serial numbers for the 201 class machines and found that Kilbowie allotted 11,600 numbers in 1934. For Elizabethport, there were 2,200 serial numbers allotted between April 1932 and May 1935.

I have a 201-2 machine that the serial number was allotted in December 1935 which has the unpainted tension assembly. There is an image of a 201 leaflet (unknown date) showing the unpainted one at https://oldsingersewingmachineblog.c...-later-models/ There is an adjusters manual from 1936 and the tension can be seen at https://www.manualslib.com/manual/10...page=54#manual

Probably the "gold speckled one" is just one that the paint has been worn off.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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Ah, thats great thank you for the links and information. I have now also just seen one on ebay with the unpainted section and pointy bit! I think the speckled gold one is deliberate, (as the design is very consistent all the way around - and it's not a section that gets touched very often). It seems to be on the 201's that have the more decorative chrome front and back plates. Later models with the contemporary chrome plates seem to have the plain black painted number section. All interesting stuff and probably just minor design tweaks made as the years went by.