Singer 101 Gear Spring Fabrication (and Singer Handwheel Gear Springs in General...)

I explore the springs that exist in the handwheels of Singer machines that have direct gear drive motors: their purpose, importance, and sources of replacement.
These springs take the brunt of the motor’s impulse and communicate it to the arm shaft via the handwheel. It’s fascinating to me to contemplate how much work they do - reducing wear on the gears, and transmitting the power of the motor on through to the needle, to do the work of sewing.
I was lucky to find just the right tools and materials to replicate the gear spring of the Singer 101, which is sometimes found broken in unrestored models. It’s my pleasure to share that now, no one who loves these machines like I do will have to cannibalize another machine for this part, and can readily obtain them from me.
If you have a Singer 101 and are in need of a new gear spring, feel free to contact me at:
[e-mail]
Links:
The Entire Handwheel System of Singer Model 15-91 on AndyTube:
• The Entire Handwheel S...
Music credit: TeknoAXE: Bubble G-Funk sans melody

[@Js2060]

Very informative. I’m glad to see you saving these vintage machines. I repair watches so they live on and have more stories to tell. Great work.

[@r.duroucher225]

Fabulous video. Thank you for posting it;

[@andytubesewing1953]

I've never worked on a 101 so this was fascinating to me. Yes, what a wimpy spring for what it does! I found 15 other springs on the 101 parts list, but not the one you made. It's like they were embarrassed to even list it, haha. You have a tone and presentation like my Grandfather and the video reminds me of the time I watched him make a new part for the fuel pump on his 1950 Chevy truck. Your production values are still the best, and when I grow up I want to make videos as well as you. Thanks for sharing.

[@thevmc]

Hahah well, I learned it all from you Andy:) Thanks! It is funny how wimpy the spring is, but I wonder also if there's any other way to make it -- the gear it has to fit in is so much smaller than the other handwheel springs. At least I can make them pretty quickly and am already getting them to those who need them!

[@andytubesewing1953]

@@thevmc Well, you are a good fabricator that's for sure, and who am I to criticize the Singer Engineers who made these grease machines? I love that you make the springs and are keeping more machines in service.

[@sauces_official]

This is a fantastic video, and makes a point I never considered about the springs bearing the torque!

[@thevmc]

Thanks! Yeah it's pretty amazing to think about how much work they do, and the wear they save in allowing the gears to spin up just a little slower than instantly.

[@sauces_official]

@@thevmc your display of the fantastic machining on the 101 caused me to be unable to refrain from obtaining one. bless you.

[@thevmc]

@@sauces_official Haha! They're good for you and will make you happy!

[@sauces_official]

@@thevmc About the throat plate clamp adjusting screw on 400-500s, do you think it's possible to file down the edges of a penny and thread it in to replace one? I've had to destroy a couple damaged nylon ones and wondering about the downside of using a coin with a couple free-floating spacers in lieu of a slotted top.

[@thevmc]

@@sauces_official Yeppp, you're gonna make me feel like manufacturing that part next, haha! It's technically a short bolt with channels cut into it. I have been lucky to obtain as spare parts some earlier versions -- the ones for the 301 were made of metal! Those will never go bad. I do fault Singer for sliding to plastic even as early as the 400/500 series on that part. If you look, it has an "X" in it, two channels along which the throat plate adjusting lever could run, so I suppose if one wore down you could turn it a quarter turn and then have another channel to wear down some. That said, it would take a lot of use to wear even the plastic ones down. I don't think a coin would be thick enough to work, because unless you have those channels cut into the depth of it, there's nothing to hold it in place from unscrewing and turning back out. It's kind of a genius piece of engineering, adjustable and retained by the mechanism it supports. I'm certain it would be possible to find a substitute starting material and craft it. Starting on that immediately.

[@ronalddevine9587]

What great engineering. The 101 is really over engineered. My favorite Singer is the 201-2. I've brought several of them back to life. To listen to the motor and gears humming away is very satisfying. Do you happen to know what country designed and engineered the 201-2? I know that they were made in USA, Great Britain, and Germany.

[@thevmc]

I suspect like most of them that they were designed in the US; there are some that may have been designed in the UK. But Singers in general were manufactured or assembled in so many other places as well including the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany...