First Repair

The bobbin I popped into the 237 had only a few inches of thread wound on it, so the first order of business yesterday was to wind a new bobbin. I thought I'd try a different style bobbin in a continuation of the 'throw things at it and see what works' method of getting to know this machine.

The bobbin wouldn't wind, however, and after considering that perhaps it didn't fit on the winder properly, I took a look at the winding post while the motor was running and realized it wasn't turning, period. The style of bobbin had nothing to do with it. The Googles gave up a couple of videos about repairing this part, so when I took off the top it came as no surprise to me...

Owners of Singer Fashion Mates were apparently encouraged and expected to remove this regularly for oiling and general maintenance--so different from today's machines!

...that the rubber tire/wheel/O-ring was missing from the bottom of the winding mechanism.

A quick pop out to Home Depot netting me exactly nothing--the only O-rings they carried were for plumbing projects. So instead I decided to use some bobbins from my other machines (because the bobbin I was trying to fill was too small for my stand-alone winder that goes with the Viking mid-arm). The Brother bobbins were too big, but the Janome Jem plastic bobbins fit. I'd know soon enough if they actually worked, however.

The first order of sewing business was to establish a quarter-inch seam. The edge of the foot is perfect for that. Although this model can shift the needle to left and right positions, having it at center is easiest for now. The left/right options are probably used mainly for making buttonholes, anyway.

I happily sewed 9-patches for about an hour before leaving for rehearsal. When it came time to shut everything down, I reached behind the machine for some reason and nearly burned my hand on the lamp housing! I hadn't paid much attention to it before, but it's in poor shape (probably from the extreme heat it's had to endure for ~50 years).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I might eventually be able to replace the housing if it becomes necessary (I'm not certain this was the original housing to begin with, based on the pictures in the manual), but the first thing that needs to change is the 15W incandescent bulb!

This morning I took bulb and winder and went to the nearby LQS, which had started business as a small "Sew and Vac" but has grown into an impressive fabric and machine shop over the years. They still repair machines (with a 2 month waiting list) so with hope in my heart I pulled the winder from my pocket and didn't even get the question out before they knew exactly what I needed/wanted. The bulb was a bust (the adjective "5/8 thread" was bandied about, so I'll research that re LED bulbs), but I came home ninety-nine cents poorer and with a functioning bobbin winder.

 

After successfully winding a bobbin, I spent the rest of the morning adjusting both tensions. The bobbin case puts quite a bit more tension on the thread than I'm used to, yet is very forgiving of the kinds of bobbins that it holds. All three of these worked well (somewhere I read this model takes Class 15 bobbins, which is what's in the machine now).

Her serial number is MF554246 and other than the fact that the Fashion Mate was the last all-metal Singer to be made, and was made from 1968-1971, I haven't found anything else about her. I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that this time frame is over 50 years ago!