Whether you are an antique enthusiast or a home sewer, you are undoubtedly familiar with the sterling reputation of vintage Singer sewing machines. Singer has made hundreds of different models over the years, though, so
Three things you should have for any sewing machine model including the 401A: Maintenance/cleaning schedule; Oiling schedule; A checklist of trouble spots
Who remembers when these vintage 1950s Singer sewing machines were new? One big seller was the Swing-Needle SINGER Automatic, available in black or beige.
Download the Free Singer 401 Stitch Book with all stitch variations possible on the Singer 401. Includes tips for perfect stitching and stitched samples.
My new toy: a 50-year-old Singer Sewing machine. I found it on a shelf of a vac-n-sew. (Best name for a Vac-n-Sew is Belmont, New Hampshire’s Vacman and Bobbin.) The vac ‘n’ sew t…
Right-click to download: Singer 401 Service Manual Note: If you are an eBay parasite who downloads free manuals and then sells $10 “electronic copies” of a file (that you neither scann…
The 401/403/404 tension assemblies are a bit different from the 201/221/301. The thumb nut on the 201 merely screws on to the tension stud. On the 401 etc there are extra pieces. Who knows why the engineers changed the design. Boredom, maybe. The 401 and 403 accept twin needles. Twin needles require two spools of thread feeding through the tension assembly and thus, into each needle. Hence, an additional disc is required for the added thread. I don't know if the 404 can take a twin needle. If not, Singer just used the same tension assembly as a cost effective measure. (Maybe?) Start by locating the set screw inside the face plate on the machine. Loosen this. It is not necessary to remove it. Once the set screw is loosened, the tension assembly should pull out. If it doesn't, try twisting it as you pull. It may be stuck with ages old dried oil. Identify the small set screw in the knob Loosen it. Don't remove it. You might lose it and it is a teeny, weeny screw that might not be replaceable. The inner collar can now be removed And the knob will screw off ( Did I really type that?) The numbered dial comes off next. It is important to note the tab on the inside of the numbered dial. Next remove the threaded nut. It should just twist off. The stop washer will likely fall off. That's ok. Don't lose it. Take note of the position of the tension spring as you remove it. The first coil should wind around the bottom prong of the stub The indicator cup comes off next. I take the TRP (tension release pin ) out now too. Otherwise it will fall out and is at risk of getting lost. (AMHIK) I mark the tension stud where the tail of the check spring sits. This prevents me from having to adjust it afterward if, and only if, the original setting was good. Usually it is. Pull the check spring and the discs off of the tension stud. I don't know why there was a washer in there as well. It certainly is not OEM. Now you can clean your parts and reassemble them. Remember the tab on the inside of the numbered dial? That must sit on the right side of the stop washer when you put it back on. Replace the chrome collar and tighten the set screw and you are now ready to put the assembly back into the machine. When you place the assembly into the machine be sure that the check spring sits above the notch on the thread guard. Orient the -/+ as shown and tighten the set screw. Finis Oh, not quite. When you test stitch your machine you may want to set the numbered dial so that your balanced stitch on test fabric (I use light weight cotton that has been starched a little) with white thread is at about 3 or 4. To do so, loosen the set screw on the knob and turn it to the desired setting. Tighten set screw. June 10, 2014 Addendum In the photo below: 1 points to the end of the tension release pin. When the presser foot is raised, the lever pushes on the end of the TRP and releases the tension on the tension discs.
Part 2 of the timing series. How to check your sewing machine’s hook timing. This is a simple check that I have heard of shops charging money for. Once you’ve done it a couple of tim…
My husband went to the feed store to buy chicken feed, and when he got home he showed me a couple of little things he picked up at a thrift store on the way back. Then he said, “Come out and …
SINGER 401 and 401A Instruction manual PDF slant o matic download + sewing machine wiring diagrams Package included: - singer-401A-singer-slant-o-matic-sewing-machine.pdf (2 files) MODEL: SINGER 401A Number of pages: 117 pages Language: English - singer-401-slant-o-matic-sewing-machine.pdf MODEL: SINGER 401 Number of pages: 96 pages Language: English - sewing-machine-wiring-diagrams.pdf Can be played on any computer ,mobile and tablet. If you don't have your original manual or bought a item without one this is a wonderful replacement. You are not purchasing a physical product and will not receive anything in the mail. Your download will be available immediately through your Etsy receipt. The digital files will be sent to your Etsy account for download within 15-20 minutes of your purchase. You can download the files by going to "Your Account" > "Purchases" scroll down and look for your purchase, and download from the blue button(Files ready to download). • If you do not receive your order, please contact us. • Files only for personal use and small commercial use. • Do not share or sell these files. If you do not receive your order, please contact us. Thank you so much for visiting our store, if you have any questions send us a message.
Today I dug out a Singer 403 that I haven't used in a long time (maybe never). I'm not sure I ever serviced this machine when I got it because there's some tape residue on the vertical pillar that I would've cleaned off if I had ever cleaned and oiled The machine. As I was sewing on my project, I noticed suddenly I was getting loops on the underside of the fabric. It had me stumped for a minute until I saw that my upper tension dial was at zero. The tension knob was so loose that just the slightest bump moved it from its desired setting. As I was getting ready to correct that situation, it occurred to me that maybe some others would like to know how that's done so I got the camera out and took some pictures of the process. There are many styles of tension assemblies, this is the one used on the Singer 400 series. Once you get the external knob off, you find that all upper tension assemblies are very similar inside. Here is a clip from the service manual telling how to disassemble the 401/403 tension assembly. To merely tighten the knob, you only need to perform these two steps. After the thumb nut L5 is removed and the split stud is exposed, insert the blade of a flat screwdriver in between the two halves of the split stud Q2 and spread the two halves slightly apart. That will tighten up the thumb nut L5 when you screw it back on. If you get the stud halves spread too far apart and the thumb nut L5 will not go back on, squeeze the stud halves back together a bit with pliers and try again until you get it where you want it. I had previously noticed that the +|- indicator was skewed off to one side so while I had the tension assembly open, I thought I would fix that also. There is a set screw inside the nose door that holds the entire upper tension assembly in the machine. Loosen that set screw and you can turn the assembly to any position you desire. When you have it where you want it, tighten that setscrew and you're ready to reassemble. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. After the tension assembly is reassembled, you want to adjust the tension so that you have a good balanced stitch with no regard to the numbered dial. Once you have a good stitch, push in the numbered disc D5 and rotate so that the number 4 appears at the top of the dial at the +|- indicator. Release the numbered disc and make sure the pin C5 is seated in one of the holes in D5 and you're done. Ed
Hi everyone, I know, long time no talk. I recently got to meet Elizabeth from My Sewing Machine Obsession and that was pretty cool. S...
My husband went to the feed store to buy chicken feed, and when he got home he showed me a couple of little things he picked up at a thrift store on the way back. Then he said, “Come out and …
Ladies' Home Journal, December 1960
I am not claiming this to be "The best machine ever built" like singer did 50 plus years ago. But after purchasing one of them I can certainly tell you is is a heck of a good machine and it is built like a tank, not just to last a year or two (if you are lucky) but to last a life time. The way things used to be built in the United States way back then, when the rest of the world craved and admired american made products. There was not only craftsmanship built into these machines but pride as well. My story starts when my wife decided she wanted a new sewing machine (first time) Growing up, my mother was a seamstress for as long as I can remeber. She started with a Singer 316g that my grandpa bought her when she was a teenager. When I was about 8 years old, she was already sewing stuff for us kids and for other people in town that she knew and not long before I was nine she had purchased a used industrial straight stitch pfaff machine and later a brand new llamato overlock machine and very soon a bunch of customers that would come to our house for her to make all sorts of garments for them. She used the dining room table to cut the patterns and a small room to sew where she was able to arrange to fit all three machines, shelves for threads and piles of "Burda" (a german magazine like with the newest fashions and patterns) Any-who, back to my wife and the machine she wanted, Singer has been a symbol of quality for decades, but in my opinion the new machines are just not in any way shape or form comparable to the old ones as far as quality and durability. Ease of use maybe but that's just about it. After a few discussions she finally agreed to let me look for an older metal machine so I started searching for one. One night a few months back, arranging things for a garage sale at our church, she noticed a funky looking box that was laying under a table and she looked at me and say "did you see that? is a singer sewing machine" (the bos had a logo on it. It looked like a suitcase from a James Bond movie. She grabbed it and opened it and out came this brand new looking all metal singer sewing machine that was heavy as it was sturdy. How much? I asked the lady in charge and she looked at it and said Is twenty dollars ok? and we looked at each other and said "sold" It came with no attachments or foot controller, just the machine and the case but my wife -the same wife that felt insulted every time I brought up the subject about buying a nice older sewing machine instead of a new one- was happy as a six year old on Christmas eve. Brought it home and started looking for accessories on e bay and craigs list and the more we looked at it the more amazed we were with the condition of it. It looked in an out as though someone had bought it in the fifties, used it once or twice and then put it in the attic until 2009. That's when I was bit by the bug. As I looked for information on the 403, I found out about the 401A and what it did and I was just bedazzled by it's looks and the feed back I read from it. So I made it my personal project to find a nice 401 in decent shape and cheap, because I did not feel like spending a $300 to $400 for a sewing machine I didn't need. So I finally got a 401A for $65, the owner originally wanted $120 but I was able to get her to sell it for $65 because the built in stitch dials were frozen and it was in very poor mechanic and cosmetic condition... or so I thought. As it sat there it could only do straight stitch and had no attachments, only the original baquelite button foot controller. I drove 45 miles back and forth and got nothing much but a sour look from my wife and a feeling in my gut that I had been taking. The next day I got up and put the machine on the dinning room table, gathered some tools, rags and my always faithful friend WD40 and got to work. First of I removed the top and side door to expose the truth about the gears and shafts. To my surprise, aside from the amount of grime, dried up oil film and lint (there was enough to make myself a nice fleece for the winter) all gears and everything else seemed to be fine. So I went on and removed the front badges and thread guides as well as the light cover and socket so I could degrease, clean and make everything look as good as I could, unfortunately I was not thoughtful enough to take a picture before starting to dismantle and clean it. This is after the first round with wd40 Cleaned and vacuum every hole where there was any lint and dust and then cleaned with wd40 and a rag to remove as much grime and oil film from the enamel Disassembled the knobs and dials to clean and free up. The built in stitch badge and white dial stayed since I was able to free up the stitch patter mechanism by cleaning, oiling and adjusting . HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE BEFORE AND THE AFTER AFTER SPRAYING AND CLEANING PULLED WIRE OUT, CLEANED CHECKED AND PUT BACK ON TOOK MY TIME AND CLEANED EVERY CORNER UNTIL IT LOOKED NEW AGAIN THIS KNOB WAS CLEAND IN PLACE SO I DID NOT HAVE TO TAKE THE SHAFT APPART, BUT I WAS STILL ABLE TO CLEAN BOTH KNOBS AND POLISH THEM PAYED ATTENTION TO EVERY DETAIL... EVEN THE SCREWS AND BOLTS WERE CLEANED MY WIFE CLEANED THE CASE BEFORE I COULD TAKE A PICTURE OF THE "BEFORE" BUT I ASSURE YOU IT WAS SO DIRTY AND STAINED I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO THROW IT OUT ONCE THOROUGHLY CLEANED I PROCEEDED TO OIL IT I did the same thing underneath, but didn't want to bore you with the same . Once cleaned and oiled inside, I polished all the badges and the enamel on the core to the last corner. Then Put it back together and waxed it. LOOK AT THE ENAMEL SHINE. THE COAT IS ALMOST A SIXTEENTH OF AN INCH THICK BACK TOGETHER, MOST OF THE LITTLE SCRATCHES AND WHAT I TOUGHT WERE PERMANENT STAINS OR NICKS ARE GONE!!! IT TRULLY LOOKS LIKE A NEW MACHINE AND IT WORKS BETTER THAN A NEW PLASTIC ONE, IN EVERY STICH PATTERN AND SIZE AND HERE THE ARE BOTH TOGETHER, OUR 401A AND OUR 403, BOTH LOOK AND WORK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE THEM IN FOR SERVICE. I TRULLY HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BLOG AND PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE WITH US REGARDING ANY OF THESE TWO MODELS DO SO. THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY AND GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS
Hi everyone, I know, long time no talk. I recently got to meet Elizabeth from My Sewing Machine Obsession and that was pretty cool. S...
Readers, I was this close to buying a vintage Singer 401A sewing machine at the flea market yesterday. The dealer was asking $80, but I'm...
1951 Singer 401A I had to do it. How could I not? This machine was 55 miles away. It came with an adorable blond desk cabinet. Steven's granddaughter learned how to sew on a 401A and every time she visits from California she mentions that. I get the hint. She wants one. This one is for her. It is quite clean for a 62 year old machine. The cabinet is in nice shape as well. That will not get shipped. I will sneak that up into the guest apartment this weekend while Steven is away in the Virgin Islands. (He deserves a nice vacation. He has been tending the canines while I work....) True to 401A reputation, the stitch selector knobs were stuck. The A-J knob freed up with a little Tri-Flow applied to the camstack follower. Look at the brown fluid on top of the follower to the left in the photo. ICK..The K-Special knob took a bit more persuading. They both move freely now as does the plunger for the needle bar left to right swing. I cannot wait for Friday when I will have time to get this machine all cleaned up. (I apologize for leaving the top hat cam in place for the photo).
Hi everyone, I know, long time no talk. I recently got to meet Elizabeth from My Sewing Machine Obsession and that was pretty cool. S...
Who remembers when these vintage 1950s Singer sewing machines were new? One big seller was the Swing-Needle SINGER Automatic, available in black or beige.
Whether you are an antique enthusiast or a home sewer, you are undoubtedly familiar with the sterling reputation of vintage Singer sewing machines. Singer has made hundreds of different models over the years, though, so
Singer 401A Sewing Machine Instruction Manual (Model 401A) - 116 Pages. Lost your sewing machine's manual? We've got you covered! This instruction manual is the ultimate guide to unlock the full potential of your Singer 401A. No more confusion or frustration—just clear, concise instructions right at your fingertips. What's inside? Everything you need to know from setting up to mastering your sewing machine and all its features. The physical copy of the instruction manual is a soft-cover printed photocopy.
Today I dug out a Singer 403 that I haven't used in a long time (maybe never). I'm not sure I ever serviced this machine when I got it because there's some tape residue on the vertical pillar that I would've cleaned off if I had ever cleaned and oiled The machine. As I was sewing on my project, I noticed suddenly I was getting loops on the underside of the fabric. It had me stumped for a minute until I saw that my upper tension dial was at zero. The tension knob was so loose that just the slightest bump moved it from its desired setting. As I was getting ready to correct that situation, it occurred to me that maybe some others would like to know how that's done so I got the camera out and took some pictures of the process. There are many styles of tension assemblies, this is the one used on the Singer 400 series. Once you get the external knob off, you find that all upper tension assemblies are very similar inside. Here is a clip from the service manual telling how to disassemble the 401/403 tension assembly. To merely tighten the knob, you only need to perform these two steps. After the thumb nut L5 is removed and the split stud is exposed, insert the blade of a flat screwdriver in between the two halves of the split stud Q2 and spread the two halves slightly apart. That will tighten up the thumb nut L5 when you screw it back on. If you get the stud halves spread too far apart and the thumb nut L5 will not go back on, squeeze the stud halves back together a bit with pliers and try again until you get it where you want it. I had previously noticed that the +|- indicator was skewed off to one side so while I had the tension assembly open, I thought I would fix that also. There is a set screw inside the nose door that holds the entire upper tension assembly in the machine. Loosen that set screw and you can turn the assembly to any position you desire. When you have it where you want it, tighten that setscrew and you're ready to reassemble. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. After the tension assembly is reassembled, you want to adjust the tension so that you have a good balanced stitch with no regard to the numbered dial. Once you have a good stitch, push in the numbered disc D5 and rotate so that the number 4 appears at the top of the dial at the +|- indicator. Release the numbered disc and make sure the pin C5 is seated in one of the holes in D5 and you're done. Ed
The 401 A was not in production for a very long period. It lasted maybe 4 to 5 years before it was replaced by another model. The low range is roughly...
