J Miller

Truth be known we have over ..... I really don't wanna say how many .... machines. As I get them I clean and clean and clean and fix and oil and grease what's needed. Put new belts, bobbin winding tyres on them and replace anything else that needs replaced.
Then I test sew with them, clean them again and put them in rotation.

So, in reality, many of our machines do not need cleaned. Those that are used continuously get cleaned as they go.

That said, I cleaned the two I just used before putting them on the shelf.

You won't find any of my machines looking like this:

This was what Betty the Kenmore 120-49 looked like when we got her.

Joe

Latrinka

Thanks for sharing!

ArchaicArcane

What the,... She's naked, Joe!! Poor gal!

I did the 503J last night, yay! Now I just have to stop buying and rehabbing them for a bit and start using them so that they need these cleanings again. Thanks for the kick in the rump, miriam. You're so right about this being a neglected area, unless something goes wrong.

miriam

Key word "UNLESS SOMETHING GOES WRONG" then nobody remembers to do it... Prevention will make the machine last a whole lot longer.

mom-6

Thanks for the reminder! Next time I get out my machines that need TLC (some of which have not been used for several years due to various issues with them not sewing like they should) I will tackle the bobbin area first. In fact on one of them I suspect that the real problem with it is that I may not have the right size bobbin in it.

The one I use all the time gets the bobbin area at least blown out every time I change a bobbin. If I've been sewing on things like flannel, fleece, velvet, corduroy or the like I may have to do a more thorough job of it.

QuiltingLubAS2C9

You are so right about lint. One thing to remember is don't use canned air and blow the lint back into the machine.

A former Singer dealer told about this woman who brought her machine for service. Picked it up and took it home. She called back mad as a wet hen. She said her FELT feed dogs had been removed and she wanted them back. He had a very difficult time explaining there is no such thing and that it was compressed lint. He didn't think she ever really believed him.

So watch out for those felt feed dogs, you man need a finger nail orange or other pointed wooden stick to get them cleaned out. It won't brush out if they are really felted.

Lu in TN

miriam

SNORT
Reminds me of a story. We had an elderly neighbor who was a story teller. I love a good story. Anyway he also was the neighborhood handyman. One day he was fixing up some screens for his house. He said when he was a kid there was an old lady refused to put screens in her windows - she said, "I can't breathe no 'sifted air'..." It is right up there with 'felted feed dogs'... Probably came with the machine if it was used. I've seen some of those felted feed dogs - recently in fact.

ArchaicArcane

Hey Miriam,

I was cleaning and trying to adjust the 99's tension and took some pictures of the bobbin case area, and how to remove the bobbin case. Do you want those pictures?

note to self: must stop spelling bobbin with 2 "o"s and two "b"s. Geez.

miriam

Go for it.

miriam

Ok, my sister pointed out that the feed dogs were not terribly clean before I shot the last picture. I was quickly working at home in my dark basement with a machine with no light. I was trying to, at the very least get it so people could see how it comes apart. I can still see lint under the feed dogs in that last pic, too. The easiest way is to take off the throat plate at the same time you pull thing and thingy - brush it out, vacuum it out, pick it out - get the lint out any way you can! Then drop a little oil on the moving parts. Oh and then re-assemble. Is that better, sis?