OK,.. sorry, I was out tonight at Sewing Circle. I also have to go and remove virii from some computers tomorrow, so I won't really be around until tomorrow night.

In the meantime, I have 2 observations / questions.

My gut thinks there's something "wrong" with the stitch selector being in between A and B. If you look at the front cam follower, it will be fully recessed into one of the slots when it's on, say M. If you have it in between M and L, it would have to be sticking out of the slot to be able to move. If this is the position it's in, something's jammed, possibly beyond old oil jammed. I will try tomorrow to get a good pic of that area with the follower in both positions, and would really like to compare to yours.

If you take a good look at the little metal "bar" that indicates that A or B, etc, does it look bent at all? Does it have basically the same contours as the other side? Does anything in there look like it's been "convinced" to read something other than A or B, if the follower is fully seated?

DH says PB blaster is mostly kerosene. He thinks ours came from an automotive store. Personally, I haven't had to use solvents like this on the stitch selectors, but I've heard of it happening. I've been really successful with just the triflow.

DH also says the best "unsticky" stuff is "Kano Croil", it's hard to find, but it's what Ford recommends to un-stick stuck (galled in) spark plugs in their V10 motors. I do however have no idea what the contents of it are, they may be deadly to paint and small kittens.

I was thinking if miriam and I were both there, we'd be able to help you out so much easier, once we got past elbowing each other out of the way that is ;)

Nooooooooooo! You can't just stop! There are people out here! People who avidly read all 10 pages of this thread to see if the brake fluid will bust up the dried oil in the thingy! People who might worry half the night about cams and switch selectors and pins...all on pins and needles! Ok, that last might have been a bit of an exaggeration. But it is a very suspenseful thread so don't even think about not keeping ....um....people updated. Not me, mind you. Other people.

And what's a PB blaster, for Pete's sake?

Just to clarify, the pins never truly clear the collars, they just come out of the slots in the pillar piece. If that makes any sense?

For now, it's best to just forget about the red stitch width lever. I think it's issues just may go away once the stitch selector issue is fixed. Best to handle one issue at once.

I think I may have a way to tell what's stuck, so you can focus your efforts. Let me shoot some video for you tomorrow.

Do you have skype and the ability to watch and send video by any chance? I just "upgraded" to it, perhaps I can sort of step through the monitor in a way....

Not sure what PB Blaster is but it's worked very well for me breaking free gummed oil and found almost everywhere.
I'm on the edge of my computer chair waiting to see how this will turn out.

Jon

Ok,.. I sound like a 12 yr old with a weird Canadian accent, but the video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew0x0...ature=youtu.be

My camera didn't really want to focus, but rather than leave you all hanging, I thought I'd just record and up it so you can troubleshoot while I'm out working on computers tomorrow. (As an aside, the client has a 401A stashed in his closet and I'm going to stick some oil on the stitch selectors while I'm waiting for Computers to do stuff. He doesn't know yet.)

LMBO!! The camera stopped recording. I wanted to also point out the indicator, and what it should look like. I'l do that tomorrow when my cell battery isn't dead if it's still needed.

ETA - I don't know what it actually stands for, but I hear PB blaster, I think it should be ice cream, fudge and peanuts, and served at Dairy Queen.

The video is excellent, Tammi! I love your accent - QB is the world!!!
One other thing. When you move one knob the plate thing should be resting in the groove on the other post.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this photo! A 401A for $19? I have one and it's my favorite...was a high school graduation gift from my folks back in 1980. We have been inseparable ever since!

I've gone back and read all the posts...have you tried moving the A-J knob when the special knob is in the K position? On my machine, the special knob won't budge unless the A-J knob is set on something OTHER than A. It is possible that it got stuck somehow when the special knob was moved. Try setting it to K, and then push HARD on the A-J knob and see if it will move back to A.

Tammi - great video!! My flapper moves with the red lever, but I can't move it by hand. Cindy, I have tried moving the other knob and it is in the K position when I try to adjust the left side. I have tried pushing hard. Here is something else of interest I found.

http://sewingmachinenut.blogspot.com...cam-stack.html

PS My name is Alyce

now you know why I prefer a Singer 403 over a 401 - much simpler machine.