What makes a machine sew fast?
 

There was a thread a couple of weeks ago where the poster said her 401 sewed almost as fast as her 301. My 401 sews very slowly, even with the pedal down all the way. This is the 401 that was really gummed up when I bought it. It took repeated cleanings to get it to zig-zag. I always just assumed it was the way it sewed. Now, I want my 401 to go like my 301. (I have another 401 that is untouched since purchased, so wonder if I should start there?)

Where do I start?

bkay

Sounds like the internals are still gummed up. My 401A was similar when i purchased it https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/thumbup.png

I have had similar experience. I it once took me 4 days to free up a sluggish 201; to start with it was pretty clean, very dry and hardly any dried up oil residue. Still something made it sluggins, and it wasn't until I had oiled and test sown 4 days in a row it suddenly freed up. I guess a 401 with sticky old oil can be even more of a challenge, more gears and parts to clean and flush out dried up oil from. It can take days to dissolve stubborn grime. A straight stitcher like the 301 might run faster with the same motor power, but the 401 is pretty fast when cleaned and finetuned.

I keep up a daily oil and test running routing on a machine like this for a while. Detecting all oil points can take some time on a new model too. I once had machine that turned out to have the needle bar go up and down with quite a bit of resistance. Even after thorough cleaning, oiling and test sewing it was slow, I didn't realise until after yet another turn of cleaning and oiling. I poked around with a tooth pick and it looked like sticky grime had turned up where the needle bar moved up and down in the body. Heaps of oil down there did the trick. It was a bit messy,and required a bit of clean up, but it has been fine since. My point is; you don't always know which link(s) are frozen or sluggish, so keep oiling all of them. Some points are hard to reach, and needs extra attention to get oil all the way.

Many vintage machines did not get the right machine oil that evaporated, most got 3 in 1 oil that does not evaporate, so it stayed in the machine getting built up and sticky. I know most vintage sewing machine restorers will use kerosene to remove sticky oil.

I bought it at auction. It appeared to have been left in it's cabinet in a hot, dry place for many years. It had no rust, but it had this goldish/brownish gunk everywhere, especially on the face side, as it had collected on the front of the machine where it had run out of the mechanical areas.

It's been cleaned and cleaned and cleaned with sewing machine oil, kerosene, denatured alcohol, tons of q-tips, t-shirt strips, toothpicks and cotton balls. I could be wrong, but it appears to be clean.

I have worked on a couple of controllers, but I'm not sure I've worked on this one.

This is my everyday driver. I've made several quilts on it and really like the machine. I finally cleaned up my 301 and used it....and WOW! was it fast! I loved it! I went back to the 401 yesterday and it was soooo slow, I was surprised. I've considered exchanging the cabinets. That, however, means adapting the cradle to the 401 cabinet. Also, the 401 cabinet doesn't have a knee adapter.

Maybe Mickey is right. Maybe it's dry. I'll work on that and see if it helps.

bkay

Since you have two 401s, would suggest trying the other one's controllwe on your slower one, just for a test.

Well Leon, I guess I gave the 401 controller to the lady I gave the 503 to. I have two 503 controllers, and one 503 machine. I have two 401s and one controller. I texted her son to see if I gave her the wrong cords. He hasn't answered me. He may answer me yet.

I guess I'll have to take this controller apart and see what I find.

THanks,

Bkay

It likely will pay off to keep up a daily oiling application for a while, test sew, poke around a bit, move levers and knobs. It will eventually get to the source of the problem. When I take out a machine I haven't used in a while, I need to fresh up my memory and check where all oil points are. I have to say, I had my black cast iron 201 out for a spin yesterday and I was reminded I need to get a slightly wider motor belt (it's not the potted version), and I need to tidy up in the drawer with bobbins and spools of thread. I know you are all onto the details of your 401, but at least for the inspiration this is a good video.

Thanks, Mickey. I used her posts here to (and someone else's - maybe Joe's) to clean the machine to start with. I had not seen her video, though.

Thanks.

bkay

I brought out the big guns. I used my tri-flow oil and grease and went through it end to end. I also figured out some things I had not fully understood when I tackled this before. I'm still not sure what moves the feed dogs. It did not make a noticeable difference. I adjusted the controller today. It helped. Between both, it helped. I'm still don't think it runs nearly as fast as my 301, though. I may buy an electronic controller. I need one anyway for the other 401.
Bkay

From my reading up between the two machines. The 401A has a lower SPM at around 1300 (still seems a tad high imo) and the 301 is faster at around 1600SPM https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/thumbup.png
Very few run their machines at full speed ;)

When you think about it, a 301, being a straight stitcher, has a lot less internal mechanism to move than a 401 does. The 401 has the internal cam stack, the parts to swing the needle bar.

I'm not sure the weight of the 401, but it is definitely heavier than the 301's 16-17#. The 401 may have a more powerful motor than the 301, but I would guess the majority of that extra power goes to move the extra internal mechanisms. Speed is sacrificed somewhat to accomplish zig zag.

One more consideration, is the belt tension. I do some local service for friends and one of my gal pals brought her machine to me asking why it was so slow...her belt had ZERO play. Vintage belts should only be tight enough to move the needle mechanism effectively, beyond that is a dangerous weight on the motor. Her brushes were full of carbon from the load on the machine. She sat down to a whole new experience after just a simple fix.

No belts on the 401A https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/thumbup.png

I suppose I should know that... I have one in its case upstairs 😂 It’s not particularly fast thinking about it.

@bkay & @featherw8love wished i knew how to upload a short vid here of my 401A running to provide you both with a comparison.

Thanks Hooligan, On part 1 of Andy Tube's youtube video on one button controllers, he shows his 401 running full speed. Mine has improved with the oiling and lubing and adjusting the controller. I adjusted it all the way out and it barely will reach the place where it goes full speed. It's better, like I said.

I'm going to order the new electronic controller to see if it makes a difference. Since I've misplaced the other 401 controller, I need one anyway.

bkay

You should be able to sort out the button controller, they are better than their repuation. Either way, a new controller is a very good way to get something to compare with. Replacement controllers can be a bit of a fuzz new or old.

I think a top condition 301 has around 1500 stitches per minute, few zigzaggers reach those speeds. My Supermatic is probably around that speed, and I think the old Husqvarna 19 and 20 (the green 1950s models) are on the speedy side.

I personally regard 1000 to 1500 stitches a minute fast, you have to search for special models that exceeds this range, especially domestic machines. I rarely floor the pedals on my fast machines.

I am pretty sure a 401 should do at least 1000 spm, but how close it comes to 1500 I don't know. For comparison, a lot of new computerised machines are in the 500-800 spm, if you need a faster machine you have to search out special models. An old belt driven 201 or a humble 99 are not slow at all compared to some current models. A 201 with a potted motor tend to be slower than a belt driven 201, something that surpised me. There was a thread on this a a couple of years a go.

With further oiling it might even improve more. I personally like experimenting with oils like TriFlow, and I have found a favorite is a bike oil Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube. They both have teflon and at least makes my 201 run extra smooth. Some greases are more sticky than others, and the right grease can reduce friction. I haven't tried many greases, just the basic recommended ones.

I go on and on about this, I sort of just talk around the subject. I have been onto much the same with my machines ;- )

The 400 and 500 series singers are prone to getting oil into the motors from people that over oil the machines.
The oil gets on the commutator and brushes and forms a film from the electric sparking. You can pull the motors out
and disassemble them pretty easily. Use 600 grit emery and polish the commutator and the brush ends to get the glaze off.
I have had some motors that ran real slow with no power and this was the problem.

Thanks, Quilterman. I'm not going to remove the motor, though. My mechanical skills don't go much further than clean and oil.
bkay

This is a video about how to measure the speed with a Smartphone. I have tested it, at it gives results exactly as other instruments I got. Then you can compare to speed with others in forums:
https://youtu.be/qbxA0XPbl6w

I have tried to measure on my Singer 201k. With a loose black V-belt, it runs 920 SPM max speed. When the V-belt tension is set, so the pulley just slips very slow, then the speed drops to 820 SPM. So the belt makes a significant power loss. The channel got some info on belts too.