Featherweight Maintenance Class

On this past Saturday I took a class to learn how to maintain my little Featherweight sewing machine.

I learned SO much at this class.  

There were quite a few people in the class.  

Several, like me, had not even taken the machine out of the case! 

 We even had one lady that was an original owner.  

She has a white FW and her folks bought it for her for her high school graduation.  

(I'm looking for a white one if you know anyone selling one)

We had to take ours apart and the instructor, Jean Dalton, taught us how to clean, and oil/grease all the guts of the machine.  

We learned some history too.  

The first place we needed to get at was the top by the spool pin.  

Son and of gun, wouldn't you know that my screw wound NOT un-screw!  

What was that about??  

She never had one that she couldn't open. 

 HUH. 

 So we put some oil on it and waited while we proceeded. 

 Isn't Jean so adorable in her apron?  

You can find her on her blog over at jdquilts123 .  

She was an amazing instructor!

This is a photo of my Featherweight.  

She was born December 9, 1948 and her name is Ella.

Ella was my grandma's name.

She was a quilter too, but I never got to know her.

She died when I was only 2.

 Well, I ended up cleaning her up and getting her purring like a kitten. 

 I had to send her home with Jean and the screw did finally un-screw, so she cleaned up the top.  

I will be picking her up at the Featherweight club meeting in February.  I am so excited!

One lady had a thing to use with your foot pedal to make it work more like a modern pedal.  

The vintage machines have the weird knob off to one side 

so your foot has to kind of rock side to side.  

The modern pedals rock more heel to toe.  

Jean sells a similar one on her website that her son makes.

This is what it looks like opened up. 

 You then insert your foot pedal into the holes you see on the right side. 

Then you flip up the other part and when you depress that it presses the little knob down.

It functions by the heel to toe motion.

I thought it was pretty slick!

I am so thrilled to know what oil/grease to use and how to upkeep my little machine.  

It has emboldened me to try to oil and grease some of my other vintage machines 

and get them into top top shape.

Do any of you do maintenance on your vintage machines?  If so do you have any good tips?

~XOP~