Featherweight Rescue

Update: So, this page has been dead for a while now. I got pulled away from the Featherweight work because I had to chase my primary profession (away from home) on the railroads during the whole Covid calamity. Took me quite a while to recover and return to somewhat normalcy. I have many interests besides Featherweights but at some point in time, I will pick it back up. I do collect them so there is that too. Just thought a page update should be made to explain. Right now Gardening is my major obsession due to our quickly deteriorating food supply in the U.S.

Here is an update on the "Aluminum Rot (rust)" journey. Photo dump of before and after initial treatment. I haven't done any scraping, sanding, or grinding....just cleaning with Vinegar/Water and then a good soaking with this product called ACF-50, Anti-corrosive spray. It's good stuff! They use it on aircraft to fight corrosion on many different metals but especially Aluminum. It will creep into inaccessible areas and stop corrosion in it's tracks. It remains somewhat wet/oily and acts as a continuing barrier to prevent future corrosion from re-occuring also. Another task completed was to free up the rusted bobbin case, which the latch was rusted and inoperative on. I have a couple of small spots along the bottom I'm going to do a second pass of cleaning and preserving on and then it's on to actual functional cleaning, testing, and adjusting. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do about the paint loss on this one. It has a decent finish for the most part with good decals so I can't see an entire repaint being necessary. With the "Made in Canada" stencil on the back of the arm, I'd like to keep that original and just preserve as is. Well, after I get it sewing and more cleanup work, I can figure out the ultimate plan for the paint loss from there...no rush. Stopping the Aluminum corrosion was the immediate concern cause I didn't really know how much actual Aluminum was going to be lost in the process. Overall, I think we caught this one early on before much damage was done. I'll post a picture of the spray I used also. Enjoy your Featherweights!!

This will be a new experience in our Rescue journey. I don't normally jump at machines that have significant corrosion damage but I simply couldn't resist this one. Namely because it's a Scotland manufactured machine (EF serial number), that had final completion in the Canada factory - demonstrated by the "Made in Canada" stencil. This alone makes it unusual and somewhat rare, but along with that...it's a Centennial too!! See photos. First thing I'll be doing is an assessment of the paint condition throughout and a quick surface cleaning. The aluminum rot (corrosion) must be neutralized immediately to prevent further damage in that regard. A few steel parts also have some rust going on and they will get treated as well. This is a 1949 model and the serial number will show it as a 221K, but actually it's more like a 221J for all practical matters with that Canada stencil. It has the original Canadian motor on it. More to follow on this one.

Here is a tip to getting stubborn hook assemblies off the FW machine. When you remove the set screws from the hook, fill those same holes with sewing machine oil and let sit. Give it 15 minutes to work and then use a large screw driver to persuade the hook to move. The photos show where and how you can position the tip to pop it off. You are viewing from the bottom side of the machine.
Be sure to keep the tip up against the thread guard as close to the shaft as possible. Gently strike the driver with a hammer to jar it loose. You can rotate the hook around and give it a couple of blows in multiple spots around the diameter. If it still won't budge, I would allow the oil to work over night and try again the next day. You could apply some heat also if you're comfortable with doing that. Obviously you want to be careful not to bend or crack any part of the hook assembly so tread lightly with the hammering. Also note, the hook assembly has some mass to it and it can fly across the room once it pops loose. You may want to have some rags in place to prevent the piece from going too far. If the hook hits the floor it may cause enough damage to require replacement and they are not an inexpensive component. Don't be nervous about pulling that hook assembly off...Often these machines have many many years worth of debris and thread in and behind there. It can slow the machine down and cause stitch quality issues that can drive a person mad trying to figure out. Remember, a clean FW is a happy FW and you will be happy too!!

Congratulations, Grand Champion, Penny Olive who is truly a very talented Wyoming Quilter!! Such tremendous detail on another award winning quilt.

A wealth of FW information at the Schoolhouse. Nice little search feature also up in the left-hand top area. Please use this valuable resource.

Singer Featherweight 221 & 222 Schoolhouse Singer 221 & 222 dating, history, tutorials, maintenance, attachments, and so much more -- the old-fashioned schoolhouse for Featherweight learning.

This post from April is a real good read. Enjoy!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/845924948802691/posts/4127468103981676

A good read with lots of good photos...American made Featherweights. http://www.ericwilliamsblog.com/left-behind-in-elizabeth-the-singer-manufacturing-company-part-1/

Shopping for Featherweights!! We all love to do it right? Here are some tips to avoid trouble. Look for any signs of malpractice on the maintenance side. If you see outward signs that someone doing work on the FW was just winging it, there are likely deeper problems that may exist. Electrical is a big one as it can cause injury and require a lot of specialized repairs. The "S" plug in the photo has the protruding contacts from the face of it....this happens frequently and indicates the internal contacts are installed backwards. Along with being backwards, likely the connections are of poor quality and/or entirely incorrect. The protruding electrodes present a shock hazard should anyone come into contact while the cord is plugged in. The other thing is look for signs of severe misuse or neglect. The other photo shows a cracked motor housing at the mounting location (top center of photo). This could be maintenance malpractice perhaps, over-tightening or wrong fastener installed, but possibly the machine took a fall or hit. It's an indicator that you may find more damages such as bent or broken components. Aluminum can develop internal cracks if treated too harshly. These little trouble signs must be considered strongly as you don't want to buy a machine that is going to be nothing but trouble. You want to oil and grease and get busy with beautiful projects!! And by all means, if you're shopping online and someone doesn't respond when you ask for additional pictures of this or that, might be good reason to look elsewhere. I hope your creativity takes you to new heights today!!!

And here is the California beauty. I have a theory about all the torn/ripped sticker badges I see out there in online ads. When you adjust the stitch length lever up and down....fingernails tend to catch the edge of the sticker because they do peel away just a little due to the round pillar shape. When this occurs, the thin sticker material will rip or tear. I noticed this when I was sewing the RV cushion covers with my wife's white machine. Once in a while my nail would try and catch, and my fingernails are generally pretty short. Thankfully, NO damage to the sticker on her machine. For a lefty this would probably not be an issue. This one here is an early white FW as the motor DOES have l**e ports on it and a few other indicators (secret info!!). The original owner identified to me the exact Singer store it was purchased from in 1964 (Torrance, CA.). Happy sewing!!

I didn't realize Featherweights could have armpit hair!!! Lol. Latest addition to my small family. I hope you can see what I'm referring to...just to the right of the stitch length lever. I have already replaced the bobbin winder with an original that would be proper for this year model (1935). We had to take in a stray white FW also...poor thing was slumming around Silicon Valley California. She now proudly calls Wyoming home.

Making more progress on the RV cushions!! This patterned fabric was to be used for the bench seat backs. I used disappearing glue in place of stick pins for several different applications....the glue doesn't make holes in my skin and I DO appreciate that very much! This has been a fun project and very educational for me. I was able to see for myself how/why very inexpensive fabric can cause significant challenges during the construction process. I would estimate that I could have been done 45 minutes sooner with a higher quality fabric.