Oiling and maintaining a Singer 191 - Simple how-to

[@clementihammock7572]

Enjoy classic vintage, and happy weekend Erik.

[@erikneek]

Thank you so much! U2 - Enjoy your weekend!!! Cheers, Erik

[@miouno]

Bravo bravo bravo

[@mcjose100]

How to use the tension regulator of Singer 191J? Your videos on 191s inspired me to buy my vintage singer 191J a month ago. The tension regulator got stuck the and been sewing gathering the fabric. I found a way to move the dial but it still sews gathering the fabric. Whichever way I turn the dial nothing changes in the sewing. Thank you very much in advance if you answer me. Iam from the Philuppines.

[@erikneek]

Hi! Thank you for your message and greetings from The Netherlands (Europe). All tension regulators work the same on nearly every vintage Singer. Some have a modern design and some are very basic in how they look. To be honest, I don't understand your question completely but I try to answer as good as I can. There are many videos on how the tension assambly work, but sometimes it gets dirty. Have you tried cleaning it? Disassable it and clean it. Sometimes they are worn out, so you MIGHT need to replace it. Does this help? Good luck!

[@mcjose100]

@@erikneek the seam is puckering and as i sew the fabric is gathering at the back of the presser foot. My fabric is flannel, the needle is number 14.

[@erikneek]

@@mcjose100 I'm sorry, I don't know the answer you are looking for. Seems like a tension issue, so you can release some pressure on the upper tension. And maybe adjust the presser foot too! I'm sorry I don't have a solution to your issue. Good luck!

[@mcjose100]

@@erikneek Its all right. I was able to fix it, the tension was so tight. I push the ring with the numbers written on it so that enabled me to turn the tension screw to the desired number.

[@crbennet]

Great video - thanks! I am going to look at a 191 for sale tomorrow and the only concern I have about these machines compared to the model 15s is that I see a hinging plastic cover plate holding the shuttle race. Is this plastic plate prone to failure do you know or does it appear fairly robust? I could not find any replacement part online for it. Thanks for your time and all the enjoyable videos.

[@erikneek]

Hi. Thank you so much for watching. I like the singer 191 a lot. Yes, it has a plastic plate on the race section. But the function of that plate is to hold the bobbin case in place. There is not a lot of force pushing or pulling. So I think it will last a long time. The 191 is not a common machine. On the plus side: The machines from that era are over engineered and put together very very well. On the down side: since it is not very common… if it breaks spare parts are much more difficult to find compared to a common class 15. As long as it works and not too expensive I would say Go for it! Good luck tomorrow. (Test the machine and take your time for an inspection.)

[@crbennet]

Thank you for the advice! Good point about parts availability. I had assumed the internals were the same as a 15 with perhaps the exception of the feed dog mechanism.

[@erikneek]

@@crbennet I have that assumption too. But I’m not certain about it (=disclaimer)

[@crbennet]

Hello again, Eric. I did buy that machine I mentioned above and am in the middle of using it to sew boat cushions. It works very well! One thing I learned that I thought I would share is that my machine had a slight binding moment on each stroke, which sometimes caused the motor to bog down when starting. I eventually traced this to the one plastic part in the mechanism - that race cover plate I mentioned in my first comment. The plastic cover when tightened by two metal clasps was causing too much friction on the shuttle and hook mechanism. I backed off the clasps to reduce this pressure and the machine runs smoothly now. Later I added a small stainless washer as a spacer behind each metal clasp so that I can now tighten the screws securing the clasps completely and the plastic race plate will not be pressed too tightly. I can only guess that the plastic may have swelled up with age and possibly exposure to oil?

[@erikneek]

Hi Chris@@crbennet Congratulations on your 191! Thank you for sharing your experience and the solution to your problem. Regering the last thing you wrote... Yeah, I think you might be right. Plastic gets brittle over time and perhaps it soaks up oil too. Not impossible... Good luck with your machine!!!

[@cedar0girl]

Hi Erik, do you have any idea how to fix that feed dog knob? it's jammed and i'm trying to avoid taking out and cleaning the bottom shaft(s)

[@erikneek]

Hi. Thanks for your message. Most often some sewing machine oil will help to free a seized machine. Tilt the machine on its side and oil every connection of that knob. Let it sit for a day and do it again until it works again. Good luck!

[@Monkeytail]

Hoe noem je het pipetje/pompje waarmee je de olie druppelt, en kun je dat kopen bij een doe het zelf zaak? En.. doe je op de tandwielen lagervet?

[@erikneek]

Goedemorgen, Dat zijn een paar vragen. Ik hoop ze voor je te kunnen beantwoorden. Het kleine oliespuitje is een oliestift of oliepen van het merk Prym. In tegenstelling tot SMO van Kroon is die stift NIET bij de doe-het-zelver te koop. Wel te vinden bij de meeste naaimachinewinkels en uiteraard online. In mijn Nederlandstalige video over oliën van naaimachines heb ik in de beschrijving meerdere linkjes geplaatst naar die oliestift. Dus mocht je er niet uitkomen: Zoek ff op KZbin naar Neek Singer Olie en dan kom je er wel. Vraag 2: De tandwielen van de 191 hoeven GEEN lagervet te hebben. ALLEEN naaimachineolie! Zo staat het in de handleiding en zo kan je het beste doen. Nadeel van vet is dat het dikker is én dat er stof en vuiligheid in kan blijven hangen. Dit zorgt voor meer wrijving (als ik het goed heb begrepen...). Er zijn slechts een paar machines waar je 1 of 2 tandwielen vet moet geven, zoals de Singer 401 en 328. Dus bij de 191 alleen olie gebruiken! Hopelijk heb ik je vragen hiermee beantwoord. Succes en groeten, Erik

[@Monkeytail]

@@erikneek Bedankt voor je reactie! Ik ga eens kijken bij de lokale stoffenzaak voor het spuitje. (Hoe kan ik je contacten via een andere weg dan KZbin?)

[@erikneek]

@@Monkeytail Stoffenwinkels hebben niet altijd deze spuit, zo is mijn ervaring. Mocht je een naaimachinewinkel in de buurt hebben, dan zou ik dat eerst proberen. Via KZbin kan je me altijd bereiken. Maar je kan me ook op Facebook (en Messenger) vinden (Erik Neek).

[@guaynabicha]

I just inherited a black 191K1. It is much the same as yours but has a table with a foot pedal.

[@erikneek]

My condolences for your loss. As many know I love the Singer 201, but the 191 is right next to it. Very capable machine, and good looking too. When watching my videos be aware I'm working with a 191-B. The French 191 has the needle inserted differently to a British 191K, and the thread goes other way around. I've posted some notes in the main video. Enjoy your machine! Erik

[@guaynabicha]

@@erikneek Thank you! I just oiled it. Your video helped a lot. Next week I will be trying to run it with a belt instead of the motor.

[@erikneek]

@@guaynabicha Glad I could help. Good luck with running it with a belt! If you need help, let me know. Have a great weekend

[@soumibaghdadli]

Je laisse une nuit avec lhuile puis je coudre ou non

[@erikneek]

Hi, is your machine frozen/stuck? If so: Sewing machine oil will often loosen a frozen machine. It can take one or multiple days. If it fails you can try it with kerosine. Good luck!