MY SINGER COLLECTION PART 1

HI ALL...AFTER 4 YEARS...I'M BACK!!!

TO CELEBRATE MY RE-NEWED ADDICTION, TODAY I CHECKED UP ON SOME OF MY 201 COLLECTION...NONE OF WHICH HAVE BEEN OUT OF THEIR BOXES IN 2+ YEARS...AND DECIDED TO TAKE SOME PHOTOS....FOR TWO REASONS....FIRSTLY TO SHOW OFF...SECONDLY AS A GUIDE FOR ANYONE OUT THERE, BE THEY A COLLECTOR/OWNER OF ANY DEGREE ALREADY OR TO HELP ANY BEGINNERS TAKE THE PLUNGE.

I'M NOT GOING TO TYPE OUT MUCH THAT I'VE ALREADY SAID BEFORE IN MY BLOG BUT ONE THING I WILL SAY IS THIS....TAKE THE PLUNGE AND DONT BE SCARED!!! OF COURSE IF YOU BUY SOMETHING THAT QUITE CLEARLY HAS HAD A MASSIVELY TOUGH LIFE THEN THERE'S A CHANCE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM OF SOME KIND BUT LET ME ASSURE YOU, THESE THINGS ARE VIRTUALLY INDESTRUCTABLE AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF SPARE PARTS EASILY OBTAINED AND TONS OF INFO ON THE NET...AND OF COURSE IF I CAN HELP IN ANY WAY PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DROP ME A LINE, WHETHER IT BE ABOUT A TECHNICAL ISSUE OR ADVICE ON WHAT TO BUY.

MOST OF MY 17 201'S DID NOT LOOK LIKE THIS WHEN I BOUGHT THEM...THEY WERE ALL STRIPPED, CLEANED, OILED AND HAD SHINEY BITS ETC BOUGHT FOR THEM IF I DEEMED NECESSARY. AS A RESULT MOST OF THEM ARE IN NEAR AT LEAST NEAR MINT CONDITION AS ARE THEIR FOOT-PEDALS, EXTENSION TABLES ETC AND ARE COMPLETE WITH FULL SETS OF FEET AND ATTACHMENTS, GREEN BOXES, GODZILLA TINS, MANUALS AND SO ON IN TOP NOTCH BASES AND CASES WITH KEYS ETC ETC ETC....I DIDNT PHOTOGRAPH ALL THE GUBBINS BECAUSE IT WOULDVE TAKEN ALL DAY...

SO, FOR NOW...HERES SOME EYE CANDY... FIRST UP A LOVELY 127K HAND-CRANK WITH SPHINX DECALS, WHICH I'M YET TO WORK ON PROPERLY...I'VE REPLACED ITS BALANCE WHEEL AND CLEANED THE DECORATIVE FACE PLATE AND ADDED A NEW RUBBER BOBBIN RING....APART FROM THAT ITS NOT EVEN HAD A WIPE OVER...NEED TO GET A NICER SET OF STITCH PLATES AND A STITCH LEVER ARM FOR IT THEN ITS DONE...AND TO HELP YOU FURTHER,

I PAID £50 FOR THIS ONE....ENJOY!

HERE IS THE FIRST MACHINE I EVER BOUGHT...PAID £200 FOR HER...I REGRET NOT A PENNY...A 201 MKII ALUMINIUM BODIED ELECTRIC...

THIS IS A 201K2 MK1 DIRECT DRIVE / POTTED MOTOR...PAID £50.

THIS IS A 201 MK1 HAND-CRANK WITH LINED FACE-PLATE...PAID £25.

THIS IS A 201 MKI ELECTRIC BLUE BADGE CENTENARY EDITION...PAID £22-50

AND HERE'S A 201 MKII TAN WITH DARK BROWN, ELECTRIC...PAID £63.

OK...THASSIT FOR NOW...WILL GET MORE DONE ASAP...

HOPE YOU ENJOY AND HOPE THEY HELP!

REGARDS!

SONNI, ANGELA...OLIVER & RAFFI X

https://www.facebook.com/Beneaththestars.leathercraft/

http://beneaththestars.net

Ear-wax & Lubrication

Rant time lol!

Now you wouldn't put the wrong fuel or oil in your car would you? So why put the wrong stuff in your 201 motor and mechanics? Especially when you consider that back in it's day the 201 cost more than our BMW 1 Series is worth in todays money. I've tonight been stripping and cleaning my third machine this week and the experience has reminded me off the ear problems I've had over the years.

Disgusting huh? All of that came out of the head alone! That's more than ever came out of my head. Whoever had done the lube job had squirted thick grease in through the oil holes...the grease was so thick that most of it hadn't even reached the parts it was supposed to...hence why this 201 is the only one out of the 18 I've bought so far that was totally jammed up through stiffness.The grease had simply squirted in and coiled up and adhered itself mainly to the inside of the body...where it had mostly dried up in to a crumbling gloop.

My friend Mac told me very early on in my Singer Journey to R.T.F.M.!!! (read the f****** manual). Even if you don't have the appropriate manual it's all there to read online or ask someone who'll know like any one of a thousand ebay sellers, mechanics, sewing machine shops etc etc.

In the last year I've done a fair bit of reading and lots of people say lots of different things about their favourite lube and so on. I've a very simple way of looking at it...Singer know lots about sewing machines, particularly their own, and they know just as much about how to lubricate them, so guess what....?....that's why I use Singer oil and Singer grease...easy peasy innit?

Regards,

Sonni

ps...just to clarify...grease for the motor...oil on everything else...

...and if you need any help or advice or have any questions, feel free to drop me a line...I'm still very much a newbie at all this, but if I can help, I will:

http://beneaththestars.net/

Cleaning A 201-3 Mark I

Hi there and welcome to my dirty world!

Spent just about all day yesterday stripping the insides out of a 201 that was in dire need of some t.l.c.

I don't know if it's because everyone used to smoke back in those days (I'm still guilty) but I swear some of the machines I get have a lifetime of not only sticky and congealed grease and oil on them but also a thick dose of fag smoke mixed into the delightful coating all over what should be the nice shiney bits. This one was worse than normal and even neat alcohol didn't succeed in stripping it off so I had to use Maas metal polish on the worst pieces...

Everything necessary laid out ready for cleaning...you can see nearly everything is near to black-looking...yuck!

and here's one re-assembled after cleaning & polishing...takes a lot of time but aint it worth it!

Always make sure you use screwdrivers of the appropriate size and of the hollow-ground type rather than wedge-shaped as they fit better....and for screws like those for the feed-dogs and needle plates use a ratchet screwdriver to avoid having to struggle with awkward angles and messing up the screw heads...

oh, and don't use alcohol anywhere near the black Japan paintwork as it will strip the lacquer finish...only use it on bare metal. For cleaning the actual body of the machine I only use warm water and a lot of elbow grease with a soft cloth!

regards,

Sonni

...and if you need any help or advice or have any questions, feel free to drop me a line...I'm still very much a newbie at all this, but if I can help, I will:

http://beneaththestars.net/

Wobbly Stitch-Length Lever???

ok...next instalment...

I've had the problem of a wobbly 'stitch length adjustment lever' on two of my machines...on one of them it just waggles (machine name- waggler) up and down in a very annoying manner and on the other it waggles and slowly rises (machine name- waggly-riser) so that the stitch length slowly gets smaller the more I sew. Waggly-riser is a near mint condition knee lever Mark 1 201-3 I bought just a few months ago and at the time, whilst it pee'd me off a bit, I didn't know what to do about it and as the whole thing was in such beautiful nick, and worked fine apart from this, I decided to keep it and come back to it at a later time when I had more confidence and knowlege. Then last week I started work on a new arrival, waggler, discovered the same problem, and thought 'ok, enoughs enough' and tonight got both of the troublemakers out onto the kitchen table, along with a perfectly working machine, to do something about it.

Angela loves me using the kitchen table for stripping down my oily sewing machines by the way. I do it as much as possible just to keep her happy.

I've never taken a 201 completely apart and until I do I'm never going to totally understand what is what exactly. I've always tried to work out as much as I can by peering amatuerishly into the gloomy depths with my trusty head torch...and this is exactly what I did this time too.

I ummed and aahed...did the whole 'the knee bone's connected to the leg bone, the leg bone's connected to the...' thing...scratched my head and so on, but then I started to notice a few things...the lever seemed stiffer on the faulty machines...one of them even squeaked a little when moved despite the fact it was well oiled...the feed-dogs went up and down but not in their regular 'circular' motion. So with a bit of force I held a lever as hard as I could then turned the wheel, sure enough they now went in the circular motion. I gradually arrived at the conclusion that 'something' was 'blocking' the feed-dogs in 'some way'...but before I go further, obviously the first place you would check is right here...:

...no need to on any of my machines because they're as clean as a whistle however usually that's not been the case when they've arrived on my doorstep. Sometimes there's so much compressed and congealed cloth, dust and God knows what else under feed dogs it's a surprise they even move at all. So I started working backwards from the feed-dogs...I tilted one machine backwards and carefully watched what was going on underneath and then noticed something...

As you probably know, underneath a 201 there are three long rods/shafts that travel most of the full length. The back one is the one we're interested in. As I turned the wheel with my right hand and moved the lever now and then and then turned the wheel again I noticed it wasn't moving much. It moved...but not a lot. A quick cross reference against the perfect machine confirmed this...and here is what you need to do...:

The above picture is of the back-right-hand-corner...get your spanner and loosen the nut, then do the same the other end.

Then get your screwdriver and loosen what initially appears to be a screw but is actually a pointed grub screwy thing. At no point did I take anything completely off so I don't know if the shaft is completely hollow (I doubt it) but its ends certainly are. The points of the grub screws enter the hollow ends and the shaft sits/floats/rotates upon them. Now if these grub screws are either done up too tightly, or just as importantly not tightened the same each side, there'll be a problem.

Drip a bit of oil in, then tighten the screws just enough so that when you give the shaft a tug it doesnt move at all. Then, ensure you've got the same amount of grub-screw-head protruding from either end and then re-tightened the nuts. Now turn the wheel and hopefully your problem is solved? You may need to tinker a bit to get it just right so that when you run your machine the lever stays put.

Hope this helps and if you need any help or advice or have any questions, feel free to drop me a line...I'm still very much a newbie at all this, but if I can help, I will:

http://beneaththestars.net/

regards!

Sonni

Removing Tricky Bits From A 201

Hi!

I doubt there are many people out there who would be so stupid as to want to do the following unless they're professional restorers or have a back-ground in classic cars or similar...however I am one of those stupid people and it's the fault of YouTuber Eric Wengstrom. I happened across his videos and that was it...when you get a moment have a look at the incredible work he does:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDoY3KtTc9ZbCO7Q_Set7w

So here's me, a raw-ass newbie at this stuff, about to re-spray, re-decal and re-lacquer two of my 201's. And to make it worse the pair are technically my most 'precious' being very early examples with 'Y.......' and 'EA......' serial numbers. Both do indeed need this attention but it's maybe not a good idea at this stage in my journey. But then, I've never been very sensible, so why start now?

Anyway...I'm not going to go the whole hog like Eric has...for a start I'm not stripping them back to the metal (I've only de-lacquered using pure acetone...but more of all this later) and also the chances of me matching his finish is highly un-likely...I'll sincerely be happy if the just look better than before...however to even achieve a semi-decent result I've needed to do certain things, some of which were a right pain in the ass and because of this I thought I'd share them with you.

Eric first got right up my nose when I noticed that he'd managed to remove the gold Singer badge. He does say that this is tricky and should be attempted only if you're comfortable working inside the body...tricky??????? understatement of the year! And being stupid and lacking in sense I decided to have a go too...feel free to laugh your head off in private but for heavens sake, if you know an easier way, I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW IT BECAUSE I'LL BE TOTALLY HUMILIATED! lol!

The above picture shows the machine laying with the badge facing down and on the left. If you look inside you'll see two little brass pins sticking out into the inside of the body. To make this as hard as possible for you the lovely member of Singer staff has probably bent them over a little to prevent the badge being moved even by Superman himself. So, VERY gently and VERY carefully, with a screwdriver and a hammer, the first thing you'll probably need to do is straighten them a little to allow them to come out. Then to get the correct angle necessary I grabbed a block of wood, laid the flat side of the end of my large screwdriver on top of the pin then smacked down on the metal of the screwdriver with a hammer. If you've got the luck of the devil himself the pin will start to come out. And that's a whoppin' great IF. The pin on the left is not too bad but the pin on the right is more awkward due to the mechanics being in the way...unless of course you want to unscrew it all, or in my case IF YOU CAN unscrew it all. I just did my second badge tonight at about 1am and I'm all by myself and without a spanner that fits the nut correctly and in need of someone to hold the machine so I can exert the correct pressure with what tools I have...so I just got on with it and after 10 or 15 sweaty, curse-filled hours I managed to get the right-hand pin moving too...and ended up with this:

But this is when it gets really tough. These tiny pins are made of brass, which is soft. And if you keep smacking them with a hard screwdriver/hammer combination two things are likely to happen...firstly they'll probably start to bend, meaning you need to keep futilely trying to straighten them, secondly the ends will start to squash/mash/peen...which means that you won't be able to get them out.

So now you get real, real nasty. You'll like this lolol

I reached for a narrow chisel...sharpened it right up...slid it up inside the body against the first pin and hit it with my hammer, slicing off cleanly the ramaining mashed nub...then repeated on the second pin. Then using a BLUNT pair of pincers (blunt so that you don't snip the decorative end off...and don't use pliers because you may mash the heads up)) I was able to pull the rivets out.

And here's a picture of the job done.

You can afford to lose a little of the length and even if you lose more than you'd like...I guess there's always superglue! Either way, to do a decent re-paint job it seems sensible to get the badge off if possible...

maybe there's some sense in this sensible lark after all...?

The other bit I had trouble with initially was the thick metal sleeve that is in the head that the needle bar slides up and down in. Not only have Singer made the hole it goes into EXTREMELY snug but the fact that this sleeve has most likely never been moved since the day it was installed just adds to the difficulty.

But before attacking the main sleeve you'll need to remove the small silver cap that's on top of the head...it's easy enough to do but I just wanted to mention it because if you stick anything even remotely pointy in to it from the underside to then whack it out you'll likely damage it and leave a raised bump on it where the pointy bit has dug in as it's made of thin metal...I stick a bit of thick leather into it first before whacking it...here you can see the cap out, the piece of leather and the rod I use:

Anyway...the first time I tried to get the thick metal sleeve out by getting my largest screwdriver in from the top but the end was too wide to fit through the hole on top that's covered with that little silver cap. So, with the face-plate off I tried from angles and the corners of the screwdriver blade slightly damaged the inside of the sleeve...just ever-so slightly, meaning the needle bar wouldnt slide up and down...after half an hour of frustrating extra effort I managed to sort the problem out by filing off the tiny burrs with a hardened round file. Lesson learned.

Sensibly I developed a plan...I measured the hole on top of the head where the silver cap goes...went on ebay and bought myself a rod of stainless steel just slightly less in diameter...and now I can hit straight down on to the sleeve and damage is eliminated and it's much easier to do. But I will warn you...you'll be surprised how hard you have to hit it to get it moving...seriously, if my machines still sew properly after the battering they've had so far I'll be amazed but again it seemed necessary to get this piece out in preparation for re-spraying. Oh, and don't forget to first loosen the little grub screw that's on the front of the head prior to hitting the sleeve!

I'd like to add one last thing because it's 3.35am and I'm knackered...I noticed in Erics video that he left this sleeve in, probably because he's cleverer than me and knows something I don't, granted...but I like to think that it's because it was too tough for him and that I've achieved something above and beyond haha!

Sensible?....Who?

Sleep tight,

Sonni

...and if you need any help or advice or have any questions or simply want to laugh at me and the above fiasco's, feel free to drop me a line!

http://beneaththestars.net/

Restoration & Re-wiring Of A 'Potted Motor' aka 'Direct Drive' Knee Lever Singer 201-2

Hi there and welcome!

I finished this off a week or so ago but what with the arrival of my second son (Raffi, 10lb 1oz, superb!) its the first chance I've had to get some pics. Kids eh? lol!

This was done following the amazing blog by a chap called Nicholas Rain Noe....I cannot stress how thorough and clear his blog is and my words below are not intended to tell you how to do it or make out I'm some kinda genius...this is purely here so that should you come across it hopefully it'll point you in the right direction...heres link, have a read and enjoy:

http://vssmb.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/how-to-re-wire-potted-motor-part-1-wire.html

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm a complete newbie with electrics and over the moon that I completed the task...the end result works perfectly and looks great so if anyone is thinking of having a go or finds themselves in a similar position, dont be scared and take the plunge!

Just one thing, if you do try to do this then follow the instructions to the letter and make sure you have everything needed....I very nearly came unstuck at one point right at the end because I couldnt get the 'worm' back in because my pliers were not long enough....I was furious with myself....luckily I remembered I had a longer pair buried in the shed somewhere and dug them out and they afforded me the length and angle required....it's things like this that can throw your whole project out of the window. If the man says he uses long-nose pliers/angled forceps then trust me he uses them for a reason!

I bought this machine on ebay for £10 and though I've since spent quite a bit getting all the stuff mentioned in the blog, it will last me many, many years and serve on numerous other projects....most guys seem to own most of this stuff so wouldn't need to shell out like I did...here are the first pictures....it was a total mess:

here you can see the totally rusted knee lever bar, dull lock plates and scratched needle throat plates:

here you can see the state of the wiring and rusty, chipped compartment lid....the base is damaged too and I replaced it with a spare:

and heres the worst bit...perished grommet and severe oil/grease damage and rotted cables coming from the motor:

first of all I restored the lid and lever:

pretty much sanded:

resulting thumb lol...yup next time I'll use paint stripper:

primed:

resprayed with black enamel and lacquer...the lid now also has a new rubber grommet:

then I re-wired the female socket and fitted new plug (yes yes, I know, no underwriters knot!...don't worry, the motors got one!):

then it was jump in the deep end...motor taken apart and cables exposed...and whilst they're a complete mess, the tubes that hold the brushes were lovely and clean, so it was full steam ahead:

cables stripped back ready for the soldering and shrink-tubing of new wires:

I didnt bother taking hundreds of pics as this is all documented in the blog....motor and knee lever pedal re-wired and everything now connected up into the male socket:

and here she is....:

last thing to do is carefully use some Maas metal polish to get a bit of rust off the serial number plate...I also decided to use an original lid that I picked up rather than the one I restored so that it matches more 'naturally'....I'll use the restored one on another project:

and the best and most satisfying view....ta-da!....no grease, no damage and invisible cabling!...she has had all her shiney bits re- polished and also has better needle plates and so on....and new red felts which I forgot to put on!:

she goes like a dream and thanks to Nicholas Rain Noe for an absolutely outstanding tutorial!

Now to finish off my re-spray/re-decal/re-lacquer project.....dreading it lol...and if you need any help or advice or have any questions, feel free to drop me a line...I'm still very much a newbie at all this, but if I can help, I will:

http://beneaththestars.net/

regards!

Sonni

My Singer 201 Journey & Spiral Into Lunacy

Hi there and welcome to my Singer 201 Sewing Machine Blog! It all started with this, much less than a year ago...a Mark II Aluminium Bodied version from 1954:

My wife (Angela) had mentioned she'd like a sewing machine to do 'arts-and-crafty' type things for us to sell at Xmas shows and general fairs. I, being a leathersmith who stitches everything by hand, knew nothing about this subject and like many people in the market for a sewing machine was loathe to spend a significant amount of money on a modern plastic-constructed electronic thing, but despite being a 'bushcrafter' and lover of all-things old and traditional, was also wary of buying an antique model for fear of necessary repair and maintenance and lack of knowlege.

Now luckily for me I'm a member of www.bushcraftUK.com and I'd seen threads on the forum concerning old machines and knew a few of the guys & girls who make stuff with canvas and so on...though I'd never paid much heed to the article content as this stuff seemed something 'other people did'. After camping with a dude named Southey who showed off his new tarp made by a fellow BCUK'er bilmo-p5 (http://www.bilmo.co.uk/) I began to pay more attention and decided to drop him a line asking for advice. If I remember correctly bilmo uses New Home sewing machines and he told me to contact two members that I was familiar with but hadn't spoken to directly before...Macaroon and Turbogirl. Now I'm someone that likes to do as much as I can by myself and I don't like hounding people un-necessarily so instead I decided to post a thread up asking for help. Sure enough both Mac and Turbo had jumped in immediately to help and around about then I started on the slippery slope of 201 Addiction.

Mac told me in no uncertain terms to not mess about and to buy a 201...'best sewing machine ever made'...'they don't break'...'and even if they did, parts are easily obtained'...and so on. I took this with a pinch of salt...after all, people who can ride bikes say its easy but to a beginner it's terrifying. So I did a bit of googling and it became apparent veeeery quickly that everything he said was indeed true. Every website I came across said the same...''THE ROLLS ROYCE OF SEWING MACHINES''...indeed!...(and don't tell him this 'cos he'll get a big head, but everything he's told me since has been correct too).

Next step was to look on ebay...I did a search for the most expensive ones first as I wanted to make sure I got a good one. There were a few on there at £200 or more and I grabbed the link of the one pictured above and fired it across to Mac for his approval...within minutes a reply came back...''If you've got the money...BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT!'' So I did....thinking, 'OMG what have I done?'

A few days later, off I go with Survival Instructor Chris Caine (http://chriscainesurvival.com/) to Chinnor to collect it from a very pleasant lady with a nice house in a good area etc etc and was feeling better about it by the minute. After getting it home all I did was look at it admiringly for a couple of weeks...every so often I'd plug it in and give the motor a whirl...caress it with a soft cloth...croon to it...but I didn't know what the hell else to do with it...but I was already feelin' the luv lol! This machine was meant to be for my wife but....

So shortly after I bought a Mark I from 1947 for Angela (with a Sew-Tric motor) then in quick succession a 1951 hand-crank Mark I, a 1955 Tan Mark II and a 1951 Mark I (both with original motors and lights).

And at this point I started getting a lot of stick from my so-called friends and, despite the fact that I've squarely laid the blame for it all at the feet of Mac, no-one seems to listen to me....I have no idea why...

I now own 16 (ahem) of these wonderful machines. In my defence (ahem) nearly all of them are different in some way...I have, of course, (who doesn't?????) the Mark I (these are the earlier black, solid steel construction models) in 'hand-crank' (the 201-4), 'external motor' (the 201-3), 'potted' or 'direct drive' (the 201-2) and the Mark II (these are the later aluminium bodied versions and different in shape to early models though identical internally) in all-tan, tan with dark brown attachments and in black. And then I have variations of these in 'knee-lever', Centenary Edition, Red 'S' Edition and so on...I just need a Mark II hand-crank version to complete my set and the only reason I don't own a treadle version (the 201-1) is because I've got so many flippn' sewing machines laying about the place that there's no room. Funnily enough, Angela inherited a treadle Singer (I think its a 15) from her Gran which she has to keep at her Mums house because she's scared that my 201 gang will bully it. And rightly sew. (A-'HEM')

Seriously though...I'm feeling rather chuffed with myself tonight because I fixed two machines that were a complete mess at the time of purchase and both of them had problems I've not encountered before (I'll be covering this stuff very soon in this blog so make sure you bookmark me!). And last week I re-wired my first 201-2 having ZERO electrical knowlege thanks to Nicholas Rain Noe's excellent blog...I'd never even used a soldering iron until then and at the age of 42 I guess most guys would find that a tad un-usual. The reason I've been able to do this is because of the fact that I own so many. If I owned just one machine I'd have no way to compare it, trouble-shoot it, swap bits, etc. That's why I'm now in a position to buy 'spares or repair' 201's cheaply on ebay and why I now feel confident enough to start a blog...something Mac recently suggested I do. Soon I'll be offering the first couple up for sale so that similar minded lunatics are able to get a good machine from someone who cares about them and not risk buying from ebayers that say 'immaculate' (yeah right) and bandy the terms 'industrial' or 'semi-industrial' about in-correctly. I myself have purchased a couple of 'dis-appointments' and have had several machines turn up significantly damaged in the post...ghastly wounds to the enamel (black Japan), cracked bases, smashed cases and so on thanks to our friends in the various postal services who are in-capable of respecting peoples property or reading simple terms such as 'FRAGILE, THIS WAY UP YOU ***************!' Check out the damage to this one...

Ok, ok...deep breath. So...a 'decent' 201 can be easily obtained on ebay for lets say £50...but make sure you look at the sellers feedback, ask a question or two, study the pictures...come on, you know the score. A lot of the time you can get a feel for someone and their sale items with just a bit of care and attention. I've paid quite a lot less than £50 for many of mine, but that is a result of experience and a lot of invested time...though granted I also spend a fair bit on spare parts whenever I see them in great condition so that I can up-grade each of the machines in my collection to be the best they can be. But for £50 you should get yourself a nice 201 that will long out-live you and hopefully be cherished by your relatives and handed down. If, like I was initially, you really are dubious, then do what I did and spend £200 or more...I regret not a penny that I spent and to this day, the first one I bought remains the nicest I own...they all have their own character and 'feel', they smell wonderful and look amazing...incredible feats of engineering all thanks to a rather remarkable man who fathered nearly as many kids as he produced sewing machines! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Singer).

Several things make a 201 special...not least the fact that it was the first machine that works in a totally 'rotary' manner...meaning that nothing goes 'back-and-forth', rather 'round-and-round'...it's therefore smoother and has less wear. The early Mark I machines are made entirely of steel and come in at about 20kg...this weight acts as a dampener and there's very little vibration. They are built to an incredibly high standard, back in a day when manufacturers had pride in their products and despite the fact that they are domestic machines, they sew massively 'above their weight'. You'd have to spend many, many! hundreds of pounds on a modern machine to get the same performance and no doubt it would look horrible and probably last only a few years or develop an electrical fault very quickly...one that you would not have a hope in hell in fixing yourself. Not a chance. I own about 10 Singer motors, each one being about 70 years old, that's 700 years of motor and every one runs beautifully. I own 16 201's, over 1200 years old in combined age, and every one runs perfectly. Hard to get ya head round huh?

There's one point I'd like to make though in the interest of safety, and at the risk of putting you off just slightly, and that concerns electricity. The vast majority of electrified machines I've bought have been in dire need of some kind of attention when it comes to wiring, and that applies to both 'potted' motors, external motors and the foot pedals as well. 201's were made for about 25 years from the mid-1930's so even if you get a later one it's going to be about 55 years old. Many people may have owned any given machine throughout its life and unfortunately it won't have been maintained correctly. Cables are often perished or rotted through because of in-correct oiling and often wires are exposed. A few times I've opened something up only to find that it's been badly tinkered with and/or the wrong materials used...safety standards and materials have changed over the years and a bit of t.l.c. may be needed. A lot of you probably know a sparky who can help you but trust me, it's all stuff you can do yourself as long as you pay it proper respect.

Ok, now to restore your faith...as I mentioned above, I had ZERO electrical knowlege until just this month and have now totally re-wired what's probably the most complex of 201 permutation - a knee-lever operated, direct drive 201-2. I've also now re-wired every single foot pedal, female socket and added new plugs plus neatened up various motors and cable-ends by trimming, adding shrink-tubing and ring terminals. None of this stuff is expensive, it's all easily obtained, and will last you years. Go to a proper electrical shop for advice, not somewhere like B&Q or Homebase where you'll no doubt get served by some depressed student who's only concern in life is 'are my jeans low enough around my ass so that enough of my pants are showing?' And as I also mentioned, if buying 'blind' as on ebay, be prudent, ask questions, study pics and dont rush...whilst 201's are indeed precious and special things, they are not rare, and another will come along for sale very soon. Or just buy a hand-crank version to save yourself any trouble. I'm someone that likes to learn and takes huge satisfaction from achieving a goal so whilst my journey has been daunting at times, at no point have I not gone ahead...more on this stuff later...

Anyway, it's now 4.34am and as usual I'm in sewing-machine-mode when I should be in bed so I'll just say a few thankyou's and be back very soon:

respect of course to Sir Singer and huge thankyou's to Sir Mac and the bushcraftUK krew for starting me off, continued support and new friendship! and to my suffering wife Angela (whom I've yet to inform will have to move outside to live in the shed soon as I need the extra space) my son Oliver (who must be equally sick of me because instead of playing 'Thomas Tank Engines' with him I usually play 'Tinker With A 201' nowadays instead, though he does strip cables for me and loves running the motors at full blast and un-screwing throat plates) and also to ebayer Chris for his immaculate and friendly service.

And just quickly whilst I'm here I'd like to mention a famous blog that I was introduced to by Mac that was founded by a lovely couple known by many, Sid & Elsie...and a few more helpful links that have helped me through my downward spiral into lunacy:

http://oldsingersewingmachineblog.com/category/singer-201-early-and-later-models/
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-sewing-machine-serial-number-database.html
http://www.tfsr.org/publications/technical_information/sewing_machine_manual/
https://www.universalsewing.com/images2/parts_lists/all/jr980ajq.pdf
http://www.sewalot.com/collection_picture_alex_askaroff.htm
http://vssmb.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/how-to-re-wire-potted-motor-part-1-wire.html
http://shop.sew-classic.com/main.sc
http://www.helenhowes-sewingmachines.co.uk/index.html

and check out this guy...amazing...and yes it's my next project!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJBi1z_FohI

and if you need any help or advice or have any questions, feel free to drop me a line...I'm still very much a newbie at all this, but if I can help, I will:

http://beneaththestars.net/

regards!

Sonni

oh go on then...one more pic...apologies for what my son is holding...plastic hammers are disgusting! lolol!