I’ve re-wired countless Singer sewing machine motors to ensure they’re safe and working their best. I’d like to extend my reach to those who don’t live locally by offering a mail-in service. Ship your motor to me and I’ll ship it back completely cleaned, re-wired and greased ready for years and years of loyal service!
I offer services on all the common old-black Singer machines both belt-driven motors (66-16, 221, 99, etc) as well as gear-driven motors (15-91, 201-2). I also highly recommend having your foot pedal re-wired to a double-lead cord which I’d be happy to do for an additional cost.
For belt-driven motors: $130 (includes return shipping)
-The motor housing is cleaned inside and outside.
-Carbon brushes inspected and cleaned
-Motor armature cleaned
-Motor re-wired – solder joints covered with heat-shrink tubing
-Rubber grommet on housing replaced
-Motor housing shined on exterior
For potted/gear-driven motors: $150 (includes return shipping)
-Old grease removed from worm gear and pots
-The motor housing is cleaned inside and outside
-Carbon brushes inspected and cleaned
-Motor armature cleaned
-Motor re-wired – solder joints covered with heat-shrink tubing
-Rubber grommet on housing replaced
-New felt wicks replaced
-New grease added to pots and worm gear area
-Motor housing shined on exterior
-Bobbin tire replaced
Foot pedal/power cords replaced: $35 (includes return shipping WITH a motor – an additional $8 shipping charge without motor)
In many cases this is what the wires look like behind the 3-prong terminal:
This is what the wires look like after the motor has been re-wired and old foot pedal cords removed* from behind the terminal:
*original foot pedal cords are hard-wired into the terminal (the new wires I use aren’t hard-wired making your cords more manageable and easier to store).
A lady brought me a few machines to re-wire and I could tell the original wires had already been replaced with what looked like a lamp cord (a big no-no). I was shocked to look inside and see the motor wires exposed (very dangerous) and a wad of electrical tape wrapped around the soldering joints:
This is what was underneath the electrical tape:
The motor commutator and armature were also very dirty:
Inside the motor housing was full of carbon dust and grime:
Here I’ve cleaned the motor housing and commutator/armature:
Here’s the new wires soldered and all exposed wires covered with heat-shrink:
Here are some pictures of original foot pedal and power cord wires that I’ve seen:
This is what new replacement cords look like:
The double-lead replacement cords I recommend and install make it easy to use and store your machine. The pedal is not hard-wired onto your machine like the original cords-but instead-part of the power cord as well. You can plug and un-plug both cords and store them together.
From my experience opening up these machines I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff. Exposed wires are so dangerous and in most cases the person using the machine isn’t aware of any problems. More than 90% of machines I’ve seen in the 1920-1960 era have serious issues with the wiring.
I wouldn’t trust anyone to do wiring on any of my machines because I’ve seen the ‘handy’ work of other people and I just have to shake my head at the low-quality of care.
If you are interested in my mail-in services for your motor and/or pedal cords please e-mail me at twirlybirdbaby@gmail.com and we’ll set up payment through Paypal.
You can see instructions on removing and re-attaching your motor under the “Mail-in Motor Repair” tab
I will happily send you pictures of the insides of your motor as I work on it so you can be rest assured you are getting what you pay for!