I have a small shop. I don't have a lot of space to put a lot of tools even to store them. So I have a drill press picked up from harbor freight and while using a drill press takes some getting used to for some of the jobs. You can do it. You can turn your drill. Press into a buffer. You can turn your drill press into somewhat of a lathe. They even have attachments out there to turn your drill. Press into a wood lathe there are things you can do with a drill press. You just have to change your orientation of how you do things. I also have a small belt sander to use as a grinder if I need it and it works tools to do multiple things and I set up my shop to do other things before I got into sewing machine referred just happened to be that what I was setting up for worked perfectly for what I ended up using it for
Also I just bought a bulk lot of spoolies, aka eyelash/brow brushes usually used for makeup and man oh man! I LOVE them. They get in tiny places and clean gears and feed dogs perfectly and I can clean them off so I'm not going through near as many cotton swabs as I used to. Just wanted to pass that on.
THANK you so much!! I love the videos!!! Also, thank you for sharing about the rotary tool!!! I got one! It is beefy and good for all the reasons you mentioned. I like it better than my Dremel!! Thank you, Bob.
The majority of Singer domestic machine models use 15X1 needles. Singer calls for a #14 when making adjustments, so I buy those in very large quantities. I used to buy only Schmetz, but in the past couple of years, I've become a big fan of Organ brand.
Shocking how quickly the body of that machine shined up! Will oil adhere to it when the owner goes to clean it herself with oil? Thanks for explaining the “whys” behind deciding to a certain product or cleaning method on the hardware. Great idea to put the cardboard behind the buffer to reduce some of the mess. Thanks for another information-packed video.
Best name ever! So glad I found this! I had forgotten what you had sent me! 😬 I had someone ask me today why did I want to clean everything? said just grease the gears and roll with it. Are there parts I shouldn't clean and keep greased? They said if I remove it all I'll have to build it all up again. I understand I'll have to lubricate the machine, but what's wrong with cleaning 139 years worth of schmooey schmoooo? They were like oh you removed the housing? Well, I want to clean the back plate and shine up the screws, sure! Well why do you want to do that?! 🧐🙄🤯🥺😒
@@alyssapeters6271 There is NOTHING wrong with cleaning nasty schmoo from a machine. My only rule is to leave the main shaft and vertical shaft in place as it's very easy to cause serious, permanent damage in removing them, everything else is fair game on these straight stitch, cast iron babies! A good answer to those who doubt the validity of hyper cleaning is that these machines were built to exacting tolerances using the finest materials available, they deserve to be hyper clean so they can work as designed.
Hi. Really enjoying your channel! A great resource! I wonder if you can point me to a video with content regarding the removal of stubborn screws. I’ve got a new to me Sewmor 404 (a Japan made 66 style) that while looking pretty good and does sew seem to have frozen screws throughout. Mostly trying to get the feed dogs out to clean the bobbin area, new oil wick etc ...cannot get it out.. tri-flow, heat, kerosene will not budge..any advise? Contemplating sitting it right in a tub of kerosene directly.
First rule, don't force anything. Second rule, refer to Rule #1 Third rule, use screwdrivers that fit the fastener properly Try putting a good fitting screwdriver in the screw and giving it a rap with a lightweight hammer. Don't go beating on it, just a good rap. Sometimes that will free up a seized fastener. Also, try a good penetrating oil such as Aero Kroil.
Hi Bob, I have an old 66 that the paint appears splotchy. Decals are intact and in decent shape. I carefully used fine auto compounding paste. Hugh amounts of dirt came off, but some areas still look uneven or even a little yellowed. Waxed with meguires carnauba wax. Do you think scratch x would help?
I'm no expert on painting sewing machines, but... Having repainted other items (such as motorcycles) I would suggest a high quality automotive paint. Honestly, I have a repaint project in the queue that I'm doing the prep work for, but will be giving the parts over to an auto body shop for the painting. They have the proper facilities (booth, drying lamps, etc.) that I neither have nor have the space for. Once they get the color on, I'll do the decals, then hand it back for the multiple layers of clear coat. It's much more cost effective, and my bodywork guy is actually excited about painting something other than cars.
If the shellac is in bad shape, you may want to try French Polishing techniques. There are a few videos on UA-cam that show the process. I live with far too many cats to do that here indoors, so it would be a warm weather project out in the garage for me.
I buy the from the local Sally's Beauty. Not the cheapest way of getting them, I'm sure, but if you buy local rather than online, local stores can stay open...
Thanks for answering. You make the best dang videos regarding antique/vintage singers, and I hope you make a million more. I’ve been building and fixing things since I was a kid (I’m in my early 50’s) and you’ve definitely helped me up my game with sewing machines. Thanks for all of it, but most importantly; thank you for serving our country. Be good.
O.K. so let's say you have a machine and the undercarriage is a rusted cruddy mess and you're not going to take it apart ,how would you go about cleaning it. I'm thing Krud buster a wire brush and a power washer.......whadda ya think?
Well, the power washer is out, though there are times when that would have been tempting. The non-disassembly plan depends a lot on the model of machine. A 201, I get it, taking that gear train apart is intimidating. A 15, 66, or 99... It's really not that hard, especially when you have tech support just an email or phone call away... If I can do it, so can you.
@@BobFowlerWorkshop This is a very old 12k. 15-91's I can take apart and reassemble blind folded, 66 and 99 I can handle no problem. This fiddle back is new territory..........so no power washer...ok
@@terrigelbaum8066 Yeah, those are few and far between. The way I would handle this is to first, take a boat load of pictures, then take parts off one at a time and clean. When you have a subsystem off and clean, then reassemble. Break it down into manageable parts.
This is my standard Clean, Lubricate, Adjust service for a straight stitch Singer. Assuming there are no broken parts, this service currently costs $165. Motor and light rewires are an extra charge. I offer "make it work" services as well, that's billed time and materials. Some say that $165 is too much for a service, but I feel what I do for a service is far beyond what most shops offer. The way I look at it, this level of cleaning will make it so much easier for the owner of the machine to perform 1st echelon maintenance and stave off expensive repairs.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
as always it does not matter what model of singer you are working on i do learn something new e very one of your videos i watch. thank you bob
Thank you for your expertise, your cat is adorable too, you should go out and get a beer with him!
He would drink too much, Roscoe is such a lush... :-)
Thanks Bob! The timing is excellent! I just recently got a Moto tool! Good job!
I recently bought yet another one myself...
Yes! Thank you, Mr. Fowler!
My pleasure!
Another great instruction video...Thanks Bob for all your help....
Thanks for watching!
I have a small shop. I don't have a lot of space to put a lot of tools even to store them. So I have a drill press picked up from harbor freight and while using a drill press takes some getting used to for some of the jobs. You can do it. You can turn your drill. Press into a buffer. You can turn your drill press into somewhat of a lathe. They even have attachments out there to turn your drill. Press into a wood lathe there are things you can do with a drill press. You just have to change your orientation of how you do things. I also have a small belt sander to use as a grinder if I need it and it works tools to do multiple things and I set up my shop to do other things before I got into sewing machine referred just happened to be that what I was setting up for worked perfectly for what I ended up using it for
I loved watching this!
Glad you likes it!
Another wonderful Video!!! Well done!
Thanks, glad you liked it. Roscoe says Hi!
I have to find a chuck to mount on a blue point ( Snap-on) grinder. There are always chowdered screws on every old singer I clean. That's a great tip.
It makes a huge difference!
Also I just bought a bulk lot of spoolies, aka eyelash/brow brushes usually used for makeup and man oh man! I LOVE them. They get in tiny places and clean gears and feed dogs perfectly and I can clean them off so I'm not going through near as many cotton swabs as I used to. Just wanted to pass that on.
Yup! Those are awesome!
THANK you so much!! I love the videos!!! Also, thank you for sharing about the rotary tool!!! I got one! It is beefy and good for all the reasons you mentioned. I like it better than my Dremel!! Thank you, Bob.
Great! I'm glad it helped!
Bob, I've been away for a while but I'm back. I have always wondered what size and brand replacement needles do you put into a #66 or #27? Thanks!
The majority of Singer domestic machine models use 15X1 needles. Singer calls for a #14 when making adjustments, so I buy those in very large quantities. I used to buy only Schmetz, but in the past couple of years, I've become a big fan of Organ brand.
Shocking how quickly the body of that machine shined up! Will oil adhere to it when the owner goes to clean it herself with oil?
Thanks for explaining the “whys” behind deciding to a certain product or cleaning method on the hardware. Great idea to put the cardboard behind the buffer to reduce some of the mess. Thanks for another information-packed video.
Well, I hope that she doesn't slather oil on a nice, waxed machine... :-)
Thank you! Love Rosco! Everyone calls my dog Rosco but his name is Rocco 🤣
My Rosco is actually named Roscoe P. Coltrane (yes, the Dukes of Hazard)
Best name ever! So glad I found this! I had forgotten what you had sent me! 😬 I had someone ask me today why did I want to clean everything? said just grease the gears and roll with it. Are there parts I shouldn't clean and keep greased? They said if I remove it all I'll have to build it all up again. I understand I'll have to lubricate the machine, but what's wrong with cleaning 139 years worth of schmooey schmoooo? They were like oh you removed the housing? Well, I want to clean the back plate and shine up the screws, sure! Well why do you want to do that?! 🧐🙄🤯🥺😒
@@alyssapeters6271 There is NOTHING wrong with cleaning nasty schmoo from a machine. My only rule is to leave the main shaft and vertical shaft in place as it's very easy to cause serious, permanent damage in removing them, everything else is fair game on these straight stitch, cast iron babies! A good answer to those who doubt the validity of hyper cleaning is that these machines were built to exacting tolerances using the finest materials available, they deserve to be hyper clean so they can work as designed.
Great video. A used Shopsmith might be another option. It comes with a Jacob's chuck and can run horizontally.
Oh yes it would, but I don't have the room!
Thank you
:-)
Hi. Really enjoying your channel! A great resource! I wonder if you can point me to a video with content regarding the removal of stubborn screws. I’ve got a new to me Sewmor 404 (a Japan made 66 style) that while looking pretty good and does sew seem to have frozen screws throughout. Mostly trying to get the feed dogs out to clean the bobbin area, new oil wick etc ...cannot get it out.. tri-flow, heat, kerosene will not budge..any advise? Contemplating sitting it right in a tub of kerosene directly.
First rule, don't force anything.
Second rule, refer to Rule #1
Third rule, use screwdrivers that fit the fastener properly
Try putting a good fitting screwdriver in the screw and giving it a rap with a lightweight hammer. Don't go beating on it, just a good rap. Sometimes that will free up a seized fastener. Also, try a good penetrating oil such as Aero Kroil.
Hi Bob,
I have an old 66 that the paint appears splotchy. Decals are intact and in decent shape. I carefully used fine auto compounding paste. Hugh amounts of dirt came off, but some areas still look uneven or even a little yellowed. Waxed with meguires carnauba wax. Do you think scratch x would help?
I have a feeling that the yellowing you're seeing is shellac that is deteriorating. If it's near or over the decals, use extreme caution!
What kind of paint would you recommend if repainting a machine? Thank you.
I'm no expert on painting sewing machines, but... Having repainted other items (such as motorcycles) I would suggest a high quality automotive paint. Honestly, I have a repaint project in the queue that I'm doing the prep work for, but will be giving the parts over to an auto body shop for the painting. They have the proper facilities (booth, drying lamps, etc.) that I neither have nor have the space for. Once they get the color on, I'll do the decals, then hand it back for the multiple layers of clear coat. It's much more cost effective, and my bodywork guy is actually excited about painting something other than cars.
What do you recommend if the shellac has deteriorated?
If the shellac is in bad shape, you may want to try French Polishing techniques. There are a few videos on UA-cam that show the process. I live with far too many cats to do that here indoors, so it would be a warm weather project out in the garage for me.
Where do you grab your nail files from?
I buy the from the local Sally's Beauty. Not the cheapest way of getting them, I'm sure, but if you buy local rather than online, local stores can stay open...
Hey Bob; do you wax it after the scratch x or is that all it takes?
I usually don't haver to wax after Scratch-X. I do sometimes though...
Thanks for answering. You make the best dang videos regarding antique/vintage singers, and I hope you make a million more. I’ve been building and fixing things since I was a kid (I’m in my early 50’s) and you’ve definitely helped me up my game with sewing machines. Thanks for all of it, but most importantly; thank you for serving our country. Be good.
Dremel and a bench vice ($15 ebay) works the same.
True, but there are a lot of options!
O.K. so let's say you have a machine and the undercarriage is a rusted cruddy mess and you're not going to take it apart ,how would you go about cleaning it. I'm thing Krud buster a wire brush and a power washer.......whadda ya think?
Well, the power washer is out, though there are times when that would have been tempting. The non-disassembly plan depends a lot on the model of machine. A 201, I get it, taking that gear train apart is intimidating. A 15, 66, or 99... It's really not that hard, especially when you have tech support just an email or phone call away... If I can do it, so can you.
@@BobFowlerWorkshop This is a very old 12k. 15-91's I can take apart and reassemble blind folded, 66 and 99 I can handle no problem. This fiddle back is new territory..........so no power washer...ok
@@terrigelbaum8066 Yeah, those are few and far between. The way I would handle this is to first, take a boat load of pictures, then take parts off one at a time and clean. When you have a subsystem off and clean, then reassemble. Break it down into manageable parts.
And what are your charges like for a service like this? I'm assuming this is more of a restoration work and above and beyond usual service...
This is my standard Clean, Lubricate, Adjust service for a straight stitch Singer. Assuming there are no broken parts, this service currently costs $165. Motor and light rewires are an extra charge. I offer "make it work" services as well, that's billed time and materials. Some say that $165 is too much for a service, but I feel what I do for a service is far beyond what most shops offer. The way I look at it, this level of cleaning will make it so much easier for the owner of the machine to perform 1st echelon maintenance and stave off expensive repairs.