So Old Sew New

So Old Sew New Vintage Sewing Machine Repair, Service, and Maintenance Classes

I had a customer call last week that was having issues replacing the bulb in her Model 221 Featherweight.Upgrading to an...
05/12/2026

I had a customer call last week that was having issues replacing the bulb in her Model 221 Featherweight.

Upgrading to an LED bulb is popular due to the heat from the original filament style bulb.

I asked if this was a white (celery) model and she said yes. I have always had issues replacing bulbs in the white Featherweight, so here is what I found.

"The Singer Featherweights that were made in the UK plant have a deeper socket. If your LED bulb has a fl**ge at the top of the metal sockets, they will not seat deeply enough into the socket to make a connection. We have our bulbs make without the fl**ge so they are universal in the Featherweight Family. "

Kudos to the Featherweight Doctor. Link to order is here.

https://featherweightdoctor.com/product/new-singer-featherweight-led-lightbulb

Just FYI. Happy springtime. Dave

Well, I had a few minutes today and disassembled the 1910 Model 66. It was dry and squeaky, but some judicially applied...
05/12/2026

Well, I had a few minutes today and disassembled the 1910 Model 66. It was dry and squeaky, but some judicially applied heat and WD40 and it's smooth again.

Notice the hand-wheel design. I call these 3 and 3. This changed in 1910-1914 to the 9 spoke design. They used the 9 spoke hand-wheels for the rest of the 66 treadle production. My 1926 has a 9 spoke.

Smoothed out and ready for a dip to clean out all the old grease and oil. Bright parts will go in the ultrasonic. This machine will keep the back clamp foot, which is original for 1910.

PS. Notice the wear on the upper arm. This is not pin-rash, which is common on these old treadles. This is wear from the multitude of times the machine was put back into the cabinet. The touch of loving hands.

Happy spring. Good rain in Texas last night.

David

A bit of a reunion today. The 66-1 head went back into it's original cabinet. This head was made in Elizabethtown NJ, ...
05/05/2026

A bit of a reunion today. The 66-1 head went back into it's original cabinet. This head was made in Elizabethtown NJ, and the cabinets were mainly produced in Ft. Bend, Indiana. At its peak, the Ft. Bend facility produced 10,000 cabinets a day.

What a sweet pair! Sews nicely to be more than a century old.

Time to start learning some of the attachments and getting familiar with the machine. Very pleased with the outcome. A number of hours invested in this one.

Pretty spring day in Texas. David

Another one saved from the bin. I purchased this Singer Model 66-1 back in June of last year. Allocated July 3, 1917.I...
05/04/2026

Another one saved from the bin. I purchased this Singer Model 66-1 back in June of last year. Allocated July 3, 1917.

I was only interested in the #5 cabinet, as the woodwork was in great condition.

After almost a year, the combo is complete. The machine head was very oily and dirty and there were some areas of rust. It cleaned up nicely and the few rusty areas are cosmetic and will not affect the functionality. See the before and after pics.

I did take parts from a donor machine and convert it to standard Singer side clamp foot. This will be a test bed for all the Singer accessories on my path to learning to sew clothing.

Really nice to see this one functional again. Some days it was a struggle.

Happy cool spring in Texas. David

OK; note to self. Stay away from estate sales.This beauty found its way to my shop on Saturday. 50% off. It was dis...
04/27/2026

OK; note to self. Stay away from estate sales.

This beauty found its way to my shop on Saturday. 50% off. It was disassembled for the trip home.

Singer Model 66, allocated October of 1910. This is a #6, seven drawer cabinet. I love these ornate treadle cabinets, and they will actually fit any early full-size Singer. NJ manufactured with the "red-eye" decals.

The drawers were full of attachments, but the attachments are for a standard low shank Singer. This machine is early enough to still have the back clamp foot.

In moderately good condition for the age (116 years). The machine is smooth but dry. It was well loved and used based on the wear in the throat and on the head, but that makes it special to me.

How many dresses, shirts and pants did this make in it's century+ of use? How many loving hands touched it and created something useful and beautiful?

Another one saved....

Dave

Good morning, sewists. I found these photos of a machine that came in the shop in 2025. Excuse the late post.This is a...
04/27/2026

Good morning, sewists. I found these photos of a machine that came in the shop in 2025. Excuse the late post.

This is an early 60s white Featherweight. These were the last production of the Model 221 and were only produced at the Kilbowie factory in Scotland.

To eliminate the expensive tower gear set, they used a toothed rubber belt, which would some become standard technique for all sewing machines.

The user reported a number of issues, and the machine was difficult to turn.

Model 221s are prone for thread behind the bobbin case base (BCB). Once I opened the gib hook; found the issue. Easily resolved and back sewing well.

To prevent this, you should never stitch with top thread installed and the bobbin case removed. It will quickly loop behind the BCB and lock up the machine.

Happy springtime. Cooler weather coming later in the week.

David

SOLD! One of my machines goes to a new home. I purchased this short bed 301 from a local collector. It was manufactur...
04/19/2026

SOLD! One of my machines goes to a new home. I purchased this short bed 301 from a local collector. It was manufactured in Anderson, SC in 1952. First production run of 1952.

He assured me that the machine was serviced and in sewing condition. 2 hours later and 3 new parts and now it sews like new.

If you are buying a classic Singer, test it carefully if you can. There are a lot of small parts that need to work well together.

The above machine had a broken bobbin case latch spring. Almost invisible. See pic with bobbin for size comparison.

I did not plan on servicing this machine, but I wanted the new owner to be pleased.

Happy springtime. Well needed rain in Texas yesterday.

David

The last one for a while. The Singer 15K is finished.What a pleasure to work on something this nice, that has been tak...
04/05/2026

The last one for a while. The Singer 15K is finished.

What a pleasure to work on something this nice, that has been taken care of and cherished by it's owners.

Not some barn find that has been roosted on by chickens and the customer wants it to look new.

Off to the clear rivers of Arkansas. Sorry, I can't work today. My arm is in a cast.

Happy Easter, David

Delivered the Singer 347 and the Singer 15 clone yesterday.The 15 clone resisted all efforts to make it sew. It has a f...
04/04/2026

Delivered the Singer 347 and the Singer 15 clone yesterday.

The 15 clone resisted all efforts to make it sew. It has a fundamental timing issue somewhere, and the 15s are pinned at the factory. Timing can NOT be adjusted. The first failure in a while. Gained some valuable knowledge.

This legitimate Singer 15K came in last week. A real beauty. Allocated in 1950, it is UK produced and has the "RAF" or "Flying bird" decal set, and the original "Bentwood" case.

This came from my friend Judith in the UK.

"During the 1930’s 15K models built in the Kilbowie plant in Scotland were commonly finished with ‘RAF’ decals. These were originally designed by William Hopper of Dumbarton in Scotland who worked at the Singer plant at Kilbowie."

It has been stripped and is ready for polish and reassembly.

Happy Easter. David

One down, two to go.Finished this beauty this afternoon. Conversion from a hand crank to a Singer motor.One adjustment ...
04/02/2026

One down, two to go.

Finished this beauty this afternoon. Conversion from a hand crank to a Singer motor.

One adjustment left to make and then back to the customer.

Sews well like most good vintage Singers.

A Singer 347 and a Singer 15 Japanese clone are still in the shop and waiting on parts.

Soon..... Dave

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