Attic Fresh or Basement Moldy

This was quite the weekend for sewing machines and did not turn out the way I expected, of course. On Saturday I packed up seven sewing machines and bags of fabric and trims for a sale with the up north quilters group I occasionally attend. It was fun to see everyone and the shopping was fabulous for only a small group of friends, not like the Textile Center Garage Sale and their mega sale every spring but not bad either. I did get some great fabrics and only tallied up about a $20 bill. It was also fun to talk sewing machines with these ladies and to let them try out the variety I brought: an Elna Lotus, two Singer 99's in bentwood cases, Kenmore 158-1020, Elna 5000, a Singer 221, and an Eversewn Sparrow 30. That Sparrow sure did get a lot of looks but no buyers yet and even though I brought them all home with me, all but two got listed on our local Craigslist while I had them out. I did sell some of my fabric to offset my buying but it was still a satisfying day with friends.

On my way home I got a call from a couple who wanted to buy the Kenmore 158-13250 in a table that I just refinished and listed: that was quick! While sitting around on Saturday night (yes, I do sit down and relax once in awhile), I found a Singer 301 listed for sale for a very low price so we arranged to have me come down on Sunday after church to take a look. It was a nice drive to this estate/garage sale and there she was, a 301 that had seen better days. I had never seen one that dirty, possibly no sewing machine that dirty, but it was a Singer 301 so we struck a bargain and she went home with me.

Singer 301 as a dirty bird

It was hard to even know where to start but I kept working at the outside so I could bear to touch it and then look inside. There was some kind of mold or granular junk inside:

Very dirty bird

I think I should have worn a respirator when I cleaned this because that stuff cannot be any good. Surprisingly, most of the rust came off with just a little sewing machine oil and a lot of rubbing. Then I looked at what was under the needle plate:

Feed dogs before cleaning

Now that was disgusting but it was mainly packed link with some rust. It cleaned off pretty easily once removed and just look at her now:

Feed dogs after cleaning

Then there was the whole tension mechanism that didn't have a spring and even though I have it stitching great I'm not happy with how the tension mechanism moves so it needs more work, The cords were brittle so it got a new power cord and a new cord on the old foot control. It came with a nice set of attachments and I have extra bobbins, too, so it's looking much better:

Singer 301 all cleaned up

Of course, it needed oil like crazy and didn't sound good at the beginning but with more oil and keeping it running it now sounds like a 301 should. Cosmetically? She's no beauty but for someone who really wants a 301 for its functionality at a lower price point, this is the one for you. Yup, there's a sewing machine for everyone if you are patient and just a little bit lucky.