So, you can see the after and before pics here. I got this wonderful machine from a lovely lady, complete with all the original fiddly bits and stuff. The cabinet, as she put it, came with "Free dust and cat hair included! No extra charge!" and as you can see it cleaned up quite nicely :)

Cabinet restoration guide

http://domart.home.comcast.net/~domart/refinish.htm

So I decided to write a guide to cabinet restoration...
It will be finished somewhat soonish!
or not!
:D

This is the plug on back of the older Singers, doesnt matter which model, they all pretty much look exactly the same.
Inside is the wiring. Before running any antique machine, you want to make sure that this stuff is in decent condition. Otherwise you are risking shocking and or electrocuting yourself.
Which is never a good idea!

Motor motoring!

So the newly wired motor is much improved.
Yay!
This <-- is a Singer model 15.
It's gear driven like the 201, but with a few differences.
1. the bobbin hook is vertical
2. the needle thread tension sort of sticks out of the face of the machine, rather than sticking out towards the person running the machine.
3. the light is rear mounted and not integrated into the design of the machine.

The practical effects of all of this?

Well, having a vertical hook means the thread travels a shorter distance for each stitch, which supposedly make it better for free motion quilting. I don't free motion quilt, so I can't comment as to that.
The needle tension not facing you means you have to reach around the machine to adjust it, not the easiest/safest thing to do in the midst of sewing. Though really, you'd have to be an idiot to hurt yourself that way anyway.
The light is the one thing that I don't like for real.
It's behind the machine which means the head casts a shadow. as does the frame of the machine in general. also, turning the light on and off is slightly more dangerous, it's a tiny switch right next to a glowing hot bulb, both located in a place you can't see clearly..
The 201's integrated light with front mounted switch... much much better.

Crazzyyyy Train

So, after the power cords, I decided 'heck I might as well check out the wiring to the motor...
well, on one of the machines the wire's insulation was brittle and crumbling, so I decided to rewire the motor itself...
this should be an experience..

Rewiring

The power supply cords for a few of my machines were a bit wonky...so I just rewired them all :D

It was surprisingly fun!

Effects

My experiences with Victoria left me aware of this type pf machine and curious abut the quality of others like her.
So I started scanning Craigslist and watching thrift stores for machines of that stripe.

The next one I found was a model 15, the same model that the user's manual was from (in the button holer)

When I got her she was not running. 20 minutes later, she was purring along.
Unlike the 201s, however, the 15s do have a more mechanical sound. It might be due to the vertical rather than horizontal bobbin. I'm not really sure, all I know is there's a difference in tone and I prefer the hum of the 201s.
These machines are also gear driven and belt free.