Melissa25125

I just found a Singer 401A in the thrift store yesterday that was given to me for free by the manager because the cam stack and the gears are completely frozen up. I almost didn't take it, even though it was free, because it was THAT frozen...Nothing would budge. But I have heard only positive reviews on this particular model, and it seems to sell for hundreds on ebay so, I took it with me. Free? Vintage? 401A? Say no more!! It only came with the controller foot, and no manual, feet, or cams. I took it directly to the sewing dealer/repair center that I just had my Viking Husqvarna 6020 cam stack replaced on, and she quoted me $90 to get it unfrozen and fully serviced. Today I found a Singer 503A in the thrift store for $15.00 and it is in sad condition (top lid is off (although I do have it), side door hangs by only 1 hinge, and it is filthy inside and out. What really motivated me to purchase it is that it has the cams (I got home and counted 1 through 21, with #18 missing) and the accessories box with manual, feet, and extra needles, so honestly, that was the only reason I purchased the 503A (to get my hands on the attachments and cams). Now that I have read this review, I think I will have it fixed up. It will be nice to have the features of both machines

miriam

Looking into the crystal ball - you will like the 503 better.... I'd like the hand wheel better on the 401 though.

ArchaicArcane

Those machines that have the nose plate hanging by one or no hinges.... is it the little metal pin that breaks or the part of the cover that holds the pin? I was able to get the pins from a 514 or some such out of the nose cover... I bet they'd work, or if not those ones, then a little piano wire in an appropriate thickness.

Congrats on your new machines btw. They're both great machines.

miriam

The part that has the hole breaks. My BIL managed to JB Weld a pop rivet in one and some how fix one. Some times the pin gets lost though - the pins can be found easier than that hole.

ArchaicArcane

Darn. I was hoping it could be an easy fix. I had DH drive a few of the pins out so I could keep them on hand. For some reason, I haven't seen any with the doors broken.

Mrs. SewNSew

This is a good read , thanks! I am pleased to see the 503 getting such praise because my "dump machine" is coming together and it's a 503! My 500 is running strong with the clutch un-done and then back to struggling once I engage the machine.

I am planning to clean and oil it AGAIN and see if I can solve the problem. I will look for hot spots and try adding heat to see if that helps as well!

I have a question for Tammi. You mentioned taking apart the hand wheel...finding the cir-clip, the metal spring and GREASE. This machine was really nasty when I got it and I cleaned it thoroughly. There had been grease in the hand wheel and I cleaned it out. Should I re-grease in there?

miriam

I'm not Tammi but use a thin line of grease - like the string on a kite

As far as a stuck up 500 - check the bobbin area and below. I had one that would turn freely with the clutch off. It would chug and chug with the clutch engaged. I oiled it and nothing until I turned it upside down, side ways and end to end and ran it after oiling. It was oiled but the oil was not moving in like it should have. Is the stitch selector still stuck, too?

Mrs. SewNSew

The stitch selector is good. All parts are moving well--I thought. When I got it, it was heavily gunked up and the motor was slow and un-even. After cleaning it is a lot faster but not full speed and I can still hear the un-evenness. When I undo the clutch wheel the motor is fast and even.

When I cleaned the machine I took apart the hand wheel. Now it feels a bit sloppy, so I am going to check that I got the spring back in right and want to add the grease back to see if that helps. I'll also have to go over the whole machine again to try and find the stiff points.

When I grease in the hand wheel should it just go on the flat side of the fiber gear?

Mrs. SewNSew

Whew! I put in some time today and cleaned and re-oiled everything. I added heat which helped a bit underneath in the bobbin area. Here's a tip: Don't pick up your heat gun from the wrong end..ask me how I know.

My 500 still wasn't running well and the motor was really noisy. I had tried the motor oil trick and that didn't make a difference so I pulled the motor out. I checked the brushes-they were fine. I checked the connections-they were fine but I cleaned them anyway. The motor looked good. Since I had it opened up I cleaned the commutator.

When I was putting it back together I noticed the end piece didn't turn well. It felt choppy and sounded like I was crunching potato chips. I tried taking it apart and reassembling it a few times to be sure nothing was in the way but that wasn't it.

I figured the bearing must be shot so now what? i don't know if this was a bad or good idea but I sprayed the end with Lectra-motive. It dissolves greasy gunk really well and immediately I could free spin the end! I carefully suspended it to dry in a way that the cleaner wouldn't drip into the motor and then put everything back together. That seems to have done the trick! It's much quieter and it's running smoothly. I guess now I have to give it the test of time to be sure I haven't done any damage but it's working really well now.

I fixed the broken tension with some non-original parts added to the pre-existing ones. The poor baby has no lid but I'm ready to move forward and see if it sews! Yay!

miriam

Some times you have hours and days into those machines. Ask me how I know. A little oil and heat won't hurt any area of them. I've seen a few motors more or less locked up like that. A little oil and a lot of turning the motor back and forth does seem to loosen them up a bit. It should still sew with out the cover on it... not as pretty looking though.