I watched all 3 videos of your videos. My Dressmaker machine has had the needle stuck in the left position since I got it & makes sewing challenging. I got the screwdriver and oil today and went to work, hey, the needle now lives in the center position where I like it. The person I got it from told me it had been serviced recently, I discovered it had not. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, it’s appreciated very much.
That's great. Good work on your machine. They just usually need a little love and attention to be brought back to life. Thanks for watching our content. We appreciate it :)
Thanks so much for this video! My old girl got some thread bound up in the bobbin case area and I wasn't sure how to really get in there to clean it out (and I didn't want to spend the $$$ taking it in for service). Now she's clean and running awesome again!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback. I am glad you enjoyed them. I really hade fun diving into the machine for the first time. Awesome machine! Thanks for watching and following along!
I love that clacking sound! Thanks for the video, couldn’t get the bottom cover off to clean properly because it was screwed in too tightly. Have to get a guy to help me!
That singer grease tube is for the bearings in the motor, not the gears. Notice the color. Reddish is gear grease. Grayish to black is motor bearing grease. I do not think it will hurt the gears, but im not sure how or if will hold up or for how long. Those are great machines and certainly have way more power than new machines. Thanks for showing
That's great! Thanks for the info. I will have to take a closer look at the grease tube. It came with one of our machines so I thought I would use it, but I would prefer to use it in the right place :) Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
@@NeverTooMany2023 hey not a problem, but it's also possible I'm wrong in the first place, old eyes bad memory and a whole lot of bad attitude. Seriously I think it was motor bearing grease.
@@JamesThomas-gg6il Lol :) Either way, I appreciate the input. There is too much information in the world for anyone to retain it all. This is why teamwork and community are so important. Thanks again!
@@JamesThomas-gg6il I worked for Singer. We used the grey grease for the gears. I never saw any red grease. Maybe the reserved for the regional repair centers. (There was one in Paramont CA - Near Long Beach.)
It took a lot of oil, WD40 & patience to free up my cam selector posts so the metal cam selectors moved freely up and down their respective posts. Parts that are stuck in some fashion lub them up and then walk away for a day. Repeat as needed.
Thank you so much! If you run across one of these machines I would definitely pick it up. They are wonderful and so fun to use. Lol, ya they are more fun to collect than to sell. "never too many". Thanks for watching!
I really enjoyed your video. Have the same machine (and others) and I always wondered how hard it would be to disassemble the hand wheel. I know over the years it can get junked up and fired out. You made are it look easy! Thanks for the good advise about keeping things in order and not moving the hand wheel when it's apart. Very helpful!
Thank you so much for the feedback! I am glad you enjoyed it. I had fun making it as well. Lol...Ya the hand wheel can be a bit weird. I have put more together incorrectly than I would like to admit. I guess that's how we learn :) Thanks for watching!
How do you get the handwheel off when it's been reassembled wrongly? My handwheel moves fine but the stop nut is completely jammed and I think that the washer the wrong way round might be the problem.
Great video. There is also a thread cutter on the back of the needle bar for when the snips aren’t close by. The handle on the stitch length selector screws in to save your choice, so when you reverse, you go back to the exact original length.
They are awesome machines, but I find the Kenmore 158-1941 to be probably the most useful home sewing machine. It's free arm, and has about 12 built in stitches, including automatic reverse stitches. Extremely well designed and built. If you don't already have one in your collection, you might want to look for one.
That's great. Thanks for the info! I will keep an eye out for that. The kenmores that we have currently are a little older i think. Thanks for watching!
Nice videos, the only two problems I have with this machine is the wide feed dogs, made for 5/8 seam allowance and it is a noisy machine. Still my everyday sewer.
Thank you so much! I had not noticed the wider feed dogs before. I tend to like a wider seam allowance anyway so that might be why. That is very interesting. Thanks for the info!
Wow! That is neat. The 401a seems to have the strongest fanbase. What a great machine, especially for its vintage. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for watching and following along!
Thank you so much! Sorry about your spring problem. I am not sure exactly what you are referring to. You can email me at nevertoomanyinfo@gmaillcom with a couple pics and I will try to assist you, if possible.
Very nice and good explanation I love it i have same machine but thread tention problem i clean all parts I follow your video but still stich is too loose please help me
Thank you so much! Tension problems can occur if your upper tension assembly is not installed properly or your take-up spring is worn out. Also, make sure the lower tension setting on the bobbin is adjusted properly. The upper tension works in conjunction with the lower bobbin tension. If you can't get your tension to change or improve with the upper tension dial, then your bobbin tension screw may need adjusted as well. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
If the stitches are loose on the bottom but OK on the top, you may have the needle in backwards The rule of thumb is that the flat side goes opposite the last thread guide. Discarding the old needle and replacing it with a new one solves many problems.
I was given a 401A recently. Knowing it hadn’t been used in years I oiled it and began sewing. The bobbin ran out so following instructions, I filled the bobbin and inserted it into the bobbin case. I tightened the wheel and now the needle mechanism won’t go up and down. I’ve put the wheel in different spots and the needle won’t move. As I press the pressure foot I manually turn the wheel and still the needle won’t move. Your thoughts. Thank you.
Thanks for the question. It sounds like your clutch wheel is not secured enough. If it was working fine and then you filled the bobbin as per the instructions, then you probably loosened the clutch wheel so that the needle would not move up and down while filling the bobbin. Sometimes the little set screw on the clutch wheel can be fussy. Try removing the little set screw on the clutch wheel and tightening the clutch wheel all the way. Once tight, your needle should move up and down. If this works, you know that your clutch wheel/set screw alignment is not correct. It is easy to install the clutch wheel 180 degrees out in the wrong position. If this is the case, your clutch wheel will not really work right. Hope this helps :) Thanks for watching and following along!
I watched all 3 videos of your videos. My Dressmaker machine has had the needle stuck in the left position since I got it & makes sewing challenging. I got the screwdriver and oil today and went to work, hey, the needle now lives in the center position where I like it. The person I got it from told me it had been serviced recently, I discovered it had not. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, it’s appreciated very much.
That's great. Good work on your machine. They just usually need a little love and attention to be brought back to life. Thanks for watching our content. We appreciate it :)
Thanks so much for this video! My old girl got some thread bound up in the bobbin case area and I wasn't sure how to really get in there to clean it out (and I didn't want to spend the $$$ taking it in for service). Now she's clean and running awesome again!
Oh that's wonderful! Great job :) Glad to have helped out, if at all. Thanks for watching!
Really enjoyed watching both parts about this machine. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback. I am glad you enjoyed them. I really hade fun diving into the machine for the first time. Awesome machine! Thanks for watching and following along!
Great video on my all time favorite machine!
Thank you so much! It seems to be so many people's favorite machine :) Thanks for watching
I love that clacking sound! Thanks for the video, couldn’t get the bottom cover off to clean properly because it was screwed in too tightly. Have to get a guy to help me!
Thank you so much! Ya, they can get pretty stuck on after a bit. Good luck with your repairs and maintenance. Thanks for watching and following along!
That singer grease tube is for the bearings in the motor, not the gears. Notice the color. Reddish is gear grease. Grayish to black is motor bearing grease. I do not think it will hurt the gears, but im not sure how or if will hold up or for how long. Those are great machines and certainly have way more power than new machines. Thanks for showing
That's great! Thanks for the info. I will have to take a closer look at the grease tube. It came with one of our machines so I thought I would use it, but I would prefer to use it in the right place :) Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
@@NeverTooMany2023 hey not a problem, but it's also possible I'm wrong in the first place, old eyes bad memory and a whole lot of bad attitude. Seriously I think it was motor bearing grease.
@@JamesThomas-gg6il Lol :) Either way, I appreciate the input. There is too much information in the world for anyone to retain it all. This is why teamwork and community are so important. Thanks again!
@@JamesThomas-gg6il I worked for Singer. We used the grey grease for the gears. I never saw any red grease. Maybe the reserved for the regional repair centers. (There was one in Paramont CA - Near Long Beach.)
It took a lot of oil, WD40 & patience to free up my cam selector posts so the metal cam selectors moved freely up and down their respective posts. Parts that are stuck in some fashion lub them up and then walk away for a day. Repeat as needed.
Lol. Ya, that would do it :) Great advice! Thanks
Loved it I’m thinking of that for my next machine. I have two Kenmore 148.19411. Indeed to sell one first.
Thank you so much! If you run across one of these machines I would definitely pick it up. They are wonderful and so fun to use. Lol, ya they are more fun to collect than to sell. "never too many". Thanks for watching!
@NeverTooMany2023 My wife sure doesn't understand that!
Thank you Stevie
:)
I really enjoyed your video. Have the same machine (and others) and I always wondered how hard it would be to disassemble the hand wheel. I know over the years it can get junked up and fired out. You made are it look easy! Thanks for the good advise about keeping things in order and not moving the hand wheel when it's apart. Very helpful!
Thank you so much for the feedback! I am glad you enjoyed it. I had fun making it as well. Lol...Ya the hand wheel can be a bit weird. I have put more together incorrectly than I would like to admit. I guess that's how we learn :) Thanks for watching!
How do you get the handwheel off when it's been reassembled wrongly? My handwheel moves fine but the stop nut is completely jammed and I think that the washer the wrong way round might be the problem.
Great video. There is also a thread cutter on the back of the needle bar for when the snips aren’t close by.
The handle on the stitch length selector screws in to save your choice, so when you reverse, you go back to the exact original length.
Thank you so much!
They are awesome machines, but I find the Kenmore 158-1941 to be probably the most useful home sewing machine. It's free arm, and has about 12 built in stitches, including automatic reverse stitches. Extremely well designed and built. If you don't already have one in your collection, you might want to look for one.
That's great. Thanks for the info! I will keep an eye out for that. The kenmores that we have currently are a little older i think. Thanks for watching!
Traduire en français
Nice videos, the only two problems I have with this machine is the wide feed dogs, made for 5/8 seam allowance and it is a noisy machine. Still my everyday sewer.
Thank you so much! I had not noticed the wider feed dogs before. I tend to like a wider seam allowance anyway so that might be why. That is very interesting. Thanks for the info!
Merci pour vos infos, c'est clair et précis.
Thank you so much! Thank you for watching!
I have four 401As. It is the best sewing machine.
Wow! That is neat. The 401a seems to have the strongest fanbase. What a great machine, especially for its vintage. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for watching and following along!
Very nice! Do you know where the long spring connects? When cleaning I knocked it off😢
Thank you so much! Sorry about your spring problem. I am not sure exactly what you are referring to. You can email me at nevertoomanyinfo@gmaillcom with a couple pics and I will try to assist you, if possible.
for the hand wheel, could I just clean it under water, let it dry and then, put back some grease?
I don't see why that would be a problem. Water won't hurt the hand wheel. Just dry really well and lube before you reinstall.
Very nice and good explanation I love it i have same machine but thread tention problem i clean all parts I follow your video but still stich is too loose please help me
Thank you so much! Tension problems can occur if your upper tension assembly is not installed properly or your take-up spring is worn out. Also, make sure the lower tension setting on the bobbin is adjusted properly. The upper tension works in conjunction with the lower bobbin tension. If you can't get your tension to change or improve with the upper tension dial, then your bobbin tension screw may need adjusted as well. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
If the stitches are loose on the bottom but OK on the top, you may have the needle in backwards
The rule of thumb is that the flat side goes opposite the last thread guide.
Discarding the old needle and replacing it with a new one solves many problems.
@@allanfifield8256, ahem, I actually put the needle in backwards and wondered if my 401A needed servicing! So embarrassing. 🤣
@@sewingintrifocals-alisonde7778 My bill is in the mail.
I was given a 401A recently. Knowing it hadn’t been used in years I oiled it and began sewing. The bobbin ran out so following instructions, I filled the bobbin and inserted it into the bobbin case. I tightened the wheel and now the needle mechanism won’t go up and down. I’ve put the wheel in different spots and the needle won’t move. As I press the pressure foot I manually turn the wheel and still the needle won’t move. Your thoughts. Thank you.
Thanks for the question. It sounds like your clutch wheel is not secured enough. If it was working fine and then you filled the bobbin as per the instructions, then you probably loosened the clutch wheel so that the needle would not move up and down while filling the bobbin. Sometimes the little set screw on the clutch wheel can be fussy. Try removing the little set screw on the clutch wheel and tightening the clutch wheel all the way. Once tight, your needle should move up and down. If this works, you know that your clutch wheel/set screw alignment is not correct. It is easy to install the clutch wheel 180 degrees out in the wrong position. If this is the case, your clutch wheel will not really work right. Hope this helps :) Thanks for watching and following along!
Thank you for responding so quickly. I will follow your instructions and hopefully this will resolve the issue.
@@NeverTooMany2023where do I find the part one to watch on this 401a machine 50:34
@@kayrusso8269 You can find all of my videos on my channel, but here is a link to Part 1: th-cam.com/video/i0G_4Uspy-8/w-d-xo.html