Surprises

Lately I've been repairing more sewing machines even though I'm still selling. Last week I got a call from Lois who was looking for one of my Singer sewing machines she saw on Craigslist. The white Featherweight? No, she didn't think so as it was black but I didn't have a black Singer listed. After calling her husband into the game it was decided they would come over to see if I could repair her Singer and would look at one of mine if I couldn't fix hers. Even though I asked which model she had I didn't get a definitive answer but that was okay: I would deal with it when they came.

Saturday morning Lois arrived and her husband came in with a cardboard box that was put on the kitchen table. I opened it up to find:

Humble cardboard box

Singer 221

a Singer 221, aka the Featherweight. What? Lois had never heard this nickname for her old sewing machine and looked at her husband when I told her it was a valuable model. They quietly related their story of buying it in the early '60's over at the little Singer store in Apache Plaza, an early enclosed shopping center near Minneapolis. Apache Plaza suffered a memorable tornado in 1984 and closed in 2004, before I moved to Minnesota but I have heard many stories about it. To them it was just the sewing machine she always used for mending and hemming his pants and he noted he was "vertically challenged."

Although it looked okay, the handwheel was not moving a full rotation and was sticking somewhere. I took the needle out and the bobbin case but it was still not moving yet the bobbin case looked odd. It had black crusty marks on it and I asked what had happened but neither of them knew. I figured I could puzzle it out and said I would get it in working order in a week and they could come back to pick it up. No problem since Lois said he still had other pants to wear. As they were walking out the door they mentioned it had a case but it wasn't much and got destroyed in "the flood." Lois looked at him quizzically and he explained about the leak in the plumbing and the the resulting water in the basement. That was clue one.

Damaged bobbin case

As I took it apart, I could see that it had been cared for and was in good shape as far as the gears and motor were concerned, just a bit dull on the finish of the exterior. What caused it to seize up? Rust from long ago that had built up on the shaft of the hook and the hook itself but had turned black over time. Scraping it away reveled the familiar red rust underneath that I could remove by soaking in Evaporust, sanding with emory cloth, and just sheer persistence. Cleaning the exterior of the machine revealed some mottling that was under the dirt on the top, probably more exposure to the moisture than the other parts.The decals were quite good and the bed cleaned up nicely but had really been used with many dings on its surface but it was meant to be used!

Singer 221 ready to sew again

 This just goes to show you one man's utility is another man's treasure. For Lois, this was her trusty little sewing machine that was handy but old and maybe she should think about an upgrade. At that point I could have easily talked her into another sewing machine and taken her's in as a trade. That would be dishonest as this was very repairable and resale would be excellent. If you are a regular reader of Sewing Machine Mavin I hope you know I wouldn't do that! It's going back home with Lois and will enjoy many more years of repairs but she might not drop it off at Goodwill when they downsize but consider selling it or giving it to a beloved grandchild. She does have my business card, just in case.