Originally Posted by vintagemotif

It's needed to help oil the race. Like older machines that have a felt wick for the shuttles, the Singer 66 & 99 have a wick for the same reason. Makes sense since the parts are rubbing. Gears get greased and all other parts on metal machines get oiled.

Originally Posted by grayhare

Hi Monica, silly question, cause I'm still learning. By race are you referring to the hook ring? I just started cleaning the bobbin area of my 192K Spartan. Thank you, Anamaria

Looking forward to your tutorial.

Originally Posted by vintagemotif

On the Singer 201, the hook ring is different from the race. I think on the Singer 66/99 the race includes the hook.
I don't know how the bobbin area is set up on the 192k Spartan. Have you looked at Rain's blog?

Some of my favorite sites are Rain 's blog, Sew-Classic, and Thayers (CD)-lots can be learned just from these sites.

Originally Posted by grayhare

I was using the manual for a 99, which if I'm not mistaken is very much like the 192K Spartan. I was using the TFSR website. I will check out the sites you mention, Thank you.

Originally Posted by pfroggg

Ok, I found Thomas Book I. She mentions that the 'American Girl' variant was offered in Montgomery Ward catalogs from 1928 through 1938, but that the 'Damascus' variant appeared in the MW catalogs of 1939, 1940, and 1941. So these little guys apparently were made into the 1940s (she gives the Damascus manufacture dates as 1930s-1940s). I'm not sure of the production dates of the full-size Damascus machines, but National may have introduced this variant to coincide with some promotion of its larger cousin.

Thank you Pat and Cathy! Very interesting! So my little Damascus was made anywhere between the 1920's to the 1940's? If book 1 estimates the dates between 1920's to 1930's, then book 2 says 1930's to 1940's, I am going to go with Book 1 since according to the owner his grandmother made doll clothes with the machine in the 1920's after getting the machine as a gift. If you guys see in Book 2 that for sure my machine was made later than the 1920's, I want to know! This is fun!

Oh Cathy, according to ISMACS needle site, the Damascus TSM takes a 16x1 needle, which to me would be way too big?

Nancy

Originally Posted by J Miller

Got a question for you. What is the little felt wick for, and how bad is it to the machine if it's not there? I too have a couple with that part missing.

Joe

Originally Posted by irishrose

Joe, I have read if you can't get wool felt to replace the wick, you can use cotton yarn. I almost pulled the wick out when it was dirty thinking it was compacted lint, then I remembered I had read something about a wick before I got my Redeye. Now that I have soaked the base in kerosene, the wick is bright red.

Originally Posted by jljack

If you need any pictures of the inside or other parts of the cabinet, let me know. It's sitting in my living room, so easy for me to get pics for you.

Originally Posted by chris_quilts

Janice; Thanks again. I think this is a tonite project for us so will let you know. The cabinet wasn't a priority until MIL said she was coming out for DD's HS graduation which means I need to almost completely empty craft room for a bed to go in there for her. OTOH, I am cleaning and sorting and putting tohether vaious bitsd and pieces which had gotten separated. Still have yet to find the mssing ruler which was replaced but replacement is also missing. Murphy's Law running amuck in my life again.

Originally Posted by miriam

There is NOTHING worse than cleaning your house MOTHER IN LAW clean. You know we would ALL be down to your house to help you spit and polish if we could just gather up. I do have to tell you a funny one though. My DD is really good with training birds. I don't know how but it comes natural to her. ANYWAY. She acquired a very ugly old bird nobody could do anything with once. That bird took to her and my youngest son, especially my youngest son. He was about 7 or 8 years old at the time. That bird would ride on the back of the neck of his shirt - they went EVERYWHERE together. He was that bird's baby or something. You didn't mess with that bird. OK so MIL comes for a visit. The kids decide to introduce MIL to bird. MIL tells the bird she is ugly (true) so the bird says just as plain as can ever be, "YOU BI*** - F*** YOU" We had NEVER heard anything like it from that bird before or after that.....