Warning on Vintage Brother Machines!!!
01-05-2014, 04:02 PM
#12
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Location: Richmond, Texas
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In the 60s I had a Singer Touch and Sew, and it had all plastic gears. I wore out the gears so my then-husband replaced all the gears in it (in his previous life, he was a Singer store manager, so he know how to do all of that and reset the timing)...but, I don't want to own any more machines with plastic gears.
01-05-2014, 05:01 PM
#13
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Location: Springfield Oregon
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Jim,
The top does come off. There is either screws down through the top, or spring catches or tab on the right with a screw on the left. I can't see the top of your machine.
My Ideal Automatik ( made of a Japanese casting, in The Republic of Ireland, for the German market is almost a twin for you machine. Except it uses cams.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]454909[/ATTACH]
Joe
The top does come off. There is either screws down through the top, or spring catches or tab on the right with a screw on the left. I can't see the top of your machine.
My Ideal Automatik ( made of a Japanese casting, in The Republic of Ireland, for the German market is almost a twin for you machine. Except it uses cams.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]454909[/ATTACH]
Joe
[ATTACH=CONFIG]454994[/ATTACH]
entry is through front and back panels, and I hope I never need to...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]454995[/ATTACH]
I think it was assembled, "ship in a bottle" style. Right now it works perfect, has a center homing needle, and I have a unopened kit of accessories coming (from eBay)
01-06-2014, 10:11 PM
#15
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The OSMG that worked on my 403 back in the day (like 2 years ago 
) told me when I said as thinking of starting to fix vintage machines to stay away from Brother machines. New and old (he didn't specify the vintage, and I automatically rule out the 50-60s machines from this statement) he said they more often than not have broken gears right from the factory. He said he'd opened boxes straight off the shelf and found broken gears.
The Galaxie 221A I had here looked like the nylon gear had been split by the rivetting stage. It still sewed lovely duckies, but I couldn't sell it in good conscience.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]454922[/ATTACH]
I didn't differentiate a lot for the first 18 months, and took any machine that came across my desk to learn. I had a lot of Brother machines to dispose of because of broken gears. Now I won't take them at all, unless I can salvage pedals etc from them and I always tell people they're parts only if they want to "sell" one to me.
) told me when I said as thinking of starting to fix vintage machines to stay away from Brother machines. New and old (he didn't specify the vintage, and I automatically rule out the 50-60s machines from this statement) he said they more often than not have broken gears right from the factory. He said he'd opened boxes straight off the shelf and found broken gears. The Galaxie 221A I had here looked like the nylon gear had been split by the rivetting stage. It still sewed lovely duckies, but I couldn't sell it in good conscience.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]454922[/ATTACH]
I didn't differentiate a lot for the first 18 months, and took any machine that came across my desk to learn. I had a lot of Brother machines to dispose of because of broken gears. Now I won't take them at all, unless I can salvage pedals etc from them and I always tell people they're parts only if they want to "sell" one to me.
01-06-2014, 10:44 PM
#16
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I would always follow the manual. Greasing nylon gears can be a controversial subject, as there are those that have strong opinions on it. I, personally, don't grease nylon gears but if they've already been greased, I clean them as well as possible and then add Triflow grease. Some will say it's fine, others will say it will attract lint, junk and "stuff" that can cause the gears to crack or the grease itself will cause the nylon gears to break down. I figure if the gears have already been greased for 20-30 years, any possible damage has already been done...
01-07-2014, 11:52 AM
#17
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I've often thought about this. Here's what I understood from various sources:
But old dry nylon / plastic is brittle. Wouldn't grease help prevent that? I've had broken nylon gears to replace and as many or more were dry than were greased. The ones the lady tried to sew through saddle leather with her touch and throw don't count in my mind. She exploded 4 of the gears in that one, including the 2 vertical ones. 
Also, a lot of the newer greases (like the TriFlow grease) are synthetic. Wouldn't that be less likely to break down the plastic and nylon but still keep it from getting brittle?
I also found it interesting that the replacing gears video from SewingPartsOnline shows the techie guy slather a layer of (synthetic?) bearing grease on the nylon gears he just changed.
I'm on the fence and undecided, so I haven't tried anything, since I'd not likely see the results in my lifetime anyway...
The grease wasn't supposed to be used (except when it was according to the manuals?) because the the gears and the grease both were petroleum products and could break the gears down.
Also, a lot of the newer greases (like the TriFlow grease) are synthetic. Wouldn't that be less likely to break down the plastic and nylon but still keep it from getting brittle?
I also found it interesting that the replacing gears video from SewingPartsOnline shows the techie guy slather a layer of (synthetic?) bearing grease on the nylon gears he just changed.
I'm on the fence and undecided, so I haven't tried anything, since I'd not likely see the results in my lifetime anyway...
01-07-2014, 02:02 PM
#18
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I've often thought about this. Here's what I understood from various sources:
But old dry nylon / plastic is brittle. Wouldn't grease help prevent that? I've had broken nylon gears to replace and as many or more were dry than were greased. The ones the lady tried to sew through saddle leather with her touch and throw don't count in my mind. She exploded 4 of the gears in that one, including the 2 vertical ones.
Also, a lot of the newer greases (like the TriFlow grease) are synthetic. Wouldn't that be less likely to break down the plastic and nylon but still keep it from getting brittle?
I also found it interesting that the replacing gears video from SewingPartsOnline shows the techie guy slather a layer of (synthetic?) bearing grease on the nylon gears he just changed.
I'm on the fence and undecided, so I haven't tried anything, since I'd not likely see the results in my lifetime anyway...
But old dry nylon / plastic is brittle. Wouldn't grease help prevent that? I've had broken nylon gears to replace and as many or more were dry than were greased. The ones the lady tried to sew through saddle leather with her touch and throw don't count in my mind. She exploded 4 of the gears in that one, including the 2 vertical ones.
Also, a lot of the newer greases (like the TriFlow grease) are synthetic. Wouldn't that be less likely to break down the plastic and nylon but still keep it from getting brittle?
I also found it interesting that the replacing gears video from SewingPartsOnline shows the techie guy slather a layer of (synthetic?) bearing grease on the nylon gears he just changed.
I'm on the fence and undecided, so I haven't tried anything, since I'd not likely see the results in my lifetime anyway...
Me..I don't have a strong opinion either way. I don't grease nylon gears, but I'm not strongly opinionated on the subject. But many techs are pretty adamant it shouldn't be done.
01-09-2014, 10:08 AM
#19
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Thanks, I'll have to go check under the hood on my one Brother, there is no hood to pop up, so it will be challenging[ATTACH=CONFIG]454861[/ATTACH]
The chocolate colored area on top, doesn't open. Amazingly, it runs perfect, maybe because noone ever adjusted or repaired it
The chocolate colored area on top, doesn't open. Amazingly, it runs perfect, maybe because noone ever adjusted or repaired it
01-09-2014, 10:28 AM
#20
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Posts: 8,091
oldsewnsew,
OK, you got me. It sure looked like it had a top in the first pics.
Plastic gears and grease - I've had and still do have a number of Singers and others with plastic gears. With one exception; a Kenmore Sensor Sew 100, every machine with plastic gears had grease on the gears. Some was an amber color, some was icky black, some was whitish. But all had greased gears.
So, on those I've cleaned and serviced I use Tri-Flow or the white Singer gear lube.
Joe
OK, you got me. It sure looked like it had a top in the first pics.
Plastic gears and grease - I've had and still do have a number of Singers and others with plastic gears. With one exception; a Kenmore Sensor Sew 100, every machine with plastic gears had grease on the gears. Some was an amber color, some was icky black, some was whitish. But all had greased gears.
So, on those I've cleaned and serviced I use Tri-Flow or the white Singer gear lube.
Joe
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