Well That's Out of the Way - 301

I have been looking for a rotating vertical hook for over a year now.  I was always thinking I would end up with a 115 or a 95.  I never really considered a 301.  Personally I found the pricing on 301s to be approaching the ridiculousness of 221s.  Also they are getting to be "too new" for my taste.  I have the 401 and 403 mainly because they were all but given to me and to have a zig-zag capability.  The 301 doesn't have zig-zag so that was another reason not to chase one.

Well yesterday this popped up on Craigslist.

A 1952 301 with cabinet.  The price was quite reasonable, but the big selling point was the cabinet it was in, a Standard Desk Model 65 that was in really good shape, including the storage stool.

I bought it from the original owner's daughter.  Her mother had kept a treasure trove of documentation as well, that I'll get scanned and posted.  One interesting tidbit is she kept all the price quotes for all configurations.  For the 301 in the 65 cabinet she paid 345 dollars in 1953 (it's a 1952 serial number but she had a 1953 owner's manual), or about 3100 in today's dollars. 

It was a very well maintained machine for the most part.  The photos are after cleaning, which took about ten minutes.  There were some felt tufts in the feed dogs and it looks like someone had messed up the tension so that spool thread was not pulling back up and had wrapped around the hook a few times.  Giving the tension knob an addition 360 degree turn before letting the number dial engage cleared up that issue immediately.

The biggest problem with the machine was the presser bar.  It appeared someone had put grease on the presser bar, rather than oil for lubrication.  Since the machine hadn't been used in years the grease had pretty much solidified in the presser bar guide tube and bound the presser bar pretty solid.  It took a bit of elbow grease, soaking overnight with BlasterPB and a lot of Singer oil to get it to break free.  But it's moving freely now.  I'll keep oiling it for the foreseeable future to make sure it doesn't bind back up.

If you know 301s then in the above photo you can probably see that I have the wrong presser foot attachment screw in it.  I had to use an awl through the screw hole when I was trying to break the presser bar free.  I ended up smashing the threads.  The 301 screw, nor any other machine's screw would thread in it.  Except for the 401A's screw, it went right in without problem.  The 301's screw works fine in the 401A so I swapped them.  I'll re-tap the 301 presser bar at some point to get the correct screw working again.

Once the presser bar and tension issues were resolved I began my test stitches.  The Singer ads don't lie.  This thing is blazing crazy fast.  I'm sure the 1500 spm Singer advertised is not an idle boast.  It's quiet too.  About the same lack of noise level as the 201.  It makes a good solid stitch.  I didn't take any pictures but if someone wants to see them I can post them.  The stitch is, again, on par with the 201.

What surprised me, given the vertical hook, is that the stitch is not as good as a 15's.  I guess it's because the 15 oscillating hook makes a loop that is pulled straight up.  The full rotary motion of the 301 means the thread still has a bit of side to side movement as its pulled.  Most people probably would be fine with the stitch if they don't have a 15 sitting right there they can compare the stitch too.  I mean the difference is only noticeable one when you have the two stitches beside.  But since Wicked Queen demands to know if she's the fairest in all the land I had to check.  And yep, she still is.

Speaking of Wicked Queen.  Since she is still my primary machine for electric sewing I moved her into the 65 cabinet.  Here she is in her new home.

I was planning on putting the 301 into the Model 40 Library Table that Wicked Queen had been living in but realized there was a problem.  The older machines have 1/2" from the edge of the bed to the pedestal, on the newer machines this lip is only 1/4".  The Model 40 was designed for older machines, so the 301 does not fit.

Space is really becoming an issue in the apartment now.  Hehe.  I'm still waiting to hear back an empty but complete treadle cabinet that I had asked about.  Plus I have 3 Davis treadle irons that I'm going to be building tops for.

To paint a visual picture for you:  In the dining room, in addition to the dining room furniture itself, there are four cabinets.  Two treadles, the 401 and the 403.  In the living room there are three cabinets.  The Improved Family treadle, Wicked Queen in the 65 and the 15-87 in the Model 40 that used to house Wicked Queen.  Additionally there are nine heads laying around on the floors of the dining and living rooms waiting to be properly displayed.

I had always told my wife I refuse to buy a house in Connecticut.  This past weekend I partially caved and we walked around our neighborhood looking at houses for sale.  Besides sewing machines we need more office space for the wife, plus space for her plants and having a teenage boy flinging his belongs onto every flat surface really adds to the cramped-ness.