Posted 3 years ago
ales1306iram
(1 item)
Great sewing machine the brand is singer.
With the original sewing machine wood desk.
Singer Sewing machine antique | ||
| Singer Sewing Machines94 of 715 |  |  |
Singer Sewing machine antique | ||
| Singer Sewing Machines94 of 715 | | |
Posted 3 years ago
ales1306iram
(1 item)
Great sewing machine the brand is singer.
With the original sewing machine wood desk.
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Hi, ales1306iram. :-)
Cool. A Singer 401A.
About the model 401 (the "A" suffix means that it was made at Singer's Anderson factory):
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer-class-401-sewing-machine.html
A manual:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/singer-401-slant-o-matic-sewing-machine.pdf
About the Anderson factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/anderson
It was probably made some time between 1956 and 1961, but to pin it down to a year, you'll need to locate the serial number, which should be on the underside of the machine on the left hand side, e.g:
https://growyourownclothes.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/singer-401a-under-side.jpg
The serial number should be six digits with a two alpha character prefix of "NA," "NB," or "NC":
http://www.singer301.com/dating/default.html
I can't quite tell which cabinet you have, but a short bed Singer 401 will probably fit in the same cabinets that a short bed Singer model 301 does:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer_sewing_machine_cabinets.html#301
Interesting:
*snip*
Inside the 401A, the needle bar, cam-stack, cam followers, hook, and driving gears are nearly all steel parts.
Nearly...
The exception is the large gear that sits just inside the handwheel and engages the upper machinery to the vertical motor drive shaft. This particular gear is 1/2 inch thick and made of an extremely durable plastic composite.
It may not be steel, but whatever the stuff is, it stands the test of time, because you never hear of this gear stripping, breaking, or cracking. Unlike the plastic and nylon gears that Singer used on later models, this substance just quietly does its job year after year after year.
The material in question is most likely Textolite, which consisted of woven fibers infused with bakelite. If you examine these gears closely you can see the cross-hatch of woven fibers, and the service manual for Singer 201 refers to a similar gear as a "textolite gear." Textolite was a brand-name patentend by GE in 1936 and heavily promoted through the 1950's for everything from laminate counter-tops to tile floors.
So now you know the 401A's dirty little secret. It's not "all steel" and it isn't even "all metal." But it is still unquestionably one of the finest Singer sewing machines ever built.
*snip*
https://www.oldsewingear.com/blog/category/401
I probably should have linked this collection of Singer 301 short bed-compatible cabinets earlier (I was unfortunately pressed for time yesterday):
http://www.singer301.com/cabinet/default.html
*snip*
Textolite was registered on Tuesday, April 28, 1936 and is currently owned by General Electric Company under the registration number 334320 . This mark is dead with a status of Cancelled - Section 8. The last case file activity for this mark occured 34 years ago on Friday, March 20, 1987, according to the United State Patent & Trademark Office
*snip*
https://trademarks.corporationwiki.com/marks/textolite/71372357/
*snip*
Textolite was registered on Tuesday, May 12, 1936 and is currently owned by General Electric Company under the registration number 334738 . This mark is dead with a status of Cancelled - Section 8. The last case file activity for this mark occured 34 years ago on Friday, March 20, 1987, according to the United State Patent & Trademark Office
*snip*
https://trademarks.corporationwiki.com/marks/textolite/71372358/