Some time ago, I was gifted a Singer 201. It came from a friend of my mother’s by way of a conversation in which she learned that I take in strays and love them like my own. She passed this machine on to Mom to give to me on my next visit home.
Unfortunately, this poor little lady sat in my basement for a bit collecting dust (I was crocheting more than sewing for a while there) until I finally found the time and inclination to get her cleaned up and back in service.
I started a new quilting project and have been piecing away on a newly acquired Singer 66 Red Eye treadle machine. Now that I am assembling the larger blocks, the treadle is struggling through the thicker seams. I decided the power of an electric machine might be called for. Of course, the first machine I thought of was this 201 that I’d not yet had the opportunity to test drive. Very little cleaning was needed, but after getting all the lint and cobwebs swept away and a quick oiling, I discovered the wiring for the foot control was cracked, taped, and generally in poor condition.
So, here we go, the topic of this post and the star of the show...
Compatible cords for this class of Singer sewing machine can be easily purchased online. However, I want to keep the original socket plug, seen to the left of the foot controller in the photo above, just to keep things as original as possible (and because it’s better looking and still in good shape).
First things first, we need to gather supplies for this project. After measuring the damaged cord lengths from the foot controller and wall plug, I went to Home Depot yesterday and picked up thirteen feet of 18 gauge black lamp wire. I also purchased a new wall plug in case the old one couldn’t be salvaged, and a ten pack of spade terminals in the appropriate size. You will also need: wire cutters, wire stripper/crimper, needle nosed pliers, flathead screwdriver. Optional: shrink tube in black and white, solder, soldering iron.
Unplug the foot controller from the electrical outlet, and from the machine. Using the old cords as a guide, cut two lengths of lamp wire; one for the wall plug, and one for the foot controller. The cord for the wall plug will be significantly longer than the cord for the foot controller. The existing wire on this particular 201 was approximately 100 inches long for the wall plug, and 46 inches long for the foot controller. You will want to cut the new wiring a little longer to account for stripping the ends and making connections inside the socket plug, foot controller, and wall plug.
Open the socket plug by removing the screws on the underside. There are two small nuts on the other side; make sure not to lose them.
The wiring inside should look like this. If it doesn't, maybe someone else has already fiddled with it. The goal is to install the new wiring in the same configuration seen here, so that when you press down on the foot controller it actually runs the machine instead of, say, turning on the machine light. If the latter happens, you know you've done something wrong.
You may notice that the right two wires are tied together in a knot. This is called an underwriter's knot, and is made to ensure that the wiring can't be pulled from the socket plug, and to reduce strain on the connections inside the socket. To make sure that I could install the new lamp wiring correctly, I took the above picture. I also drafted myself a simple diagram (seen below) with the wires clearly labeled, and jotted down notes on which terminal to connect each wire to. In the old wiring the neutral wires are white, and the hot wires are black. In the lamp wire, neutral is the ridged side of the wire, and hot is the smooth (printed) side. Since the lamp wire is all black on both sides, the diagram and notes were very helpful with not getting mixed up when making the connections.
Remove the three connections by lifting them out of the socket plug housing and unscrewing the nuts securing the wire to each connection.
Untie the underwriters knot, and remove the old wiring from the socket plug. Notice that the wires for terminal 1 (seen in the drawing above) have been soldered together. This is where the optional soldering iron comes in. If you have one available to you, you may wish to tin these wires after they haven been twisted together. My soldering iron was not working, so I won't be showing that step.
You may wish to straighten the old wire ends and measure them, as I did, to determine how far back you need to strip the new wire to fit around the terminal connections. As you can see from the photograph below, you will need to strip the new wire back about 1 1/8th inches.
Take both lengths of lamp wire that you pre-cut earlier, and separate the neutral (ridged) and hot (smooth) wires by pulling them apart for about 2.5 inches. You can use your wire clippers or a box cutter to start the separation and make the wires easier to pull apart.
Next, you will need to tie the underwriters knot. Again, do not strip the wires yet at this point. The wire will be much easier to work with if it is still covered. You won't be stripping the wire until you're ready to start making the terminal connections. Follow along with the photos and written steps below to replicate the knot that was untied when you removed the old wiring.
First, position the plug and wires as seen below, making sure again that the wall plug wire sits on the bottom with the foot controller wire laying atop, flat sides together and hot wires in the correct spots as outlined above. (Remember, the ribbed side of the new lamp wire is the neutral side).
I bought spade terminals, just in case, before I started this project. You can buy the loop type if you like. Either will work just fine, and the foot controller cord will be plenty secure when it's all put back together.
You only need to strip a small amount of insulation off the ends, just enough to fit inside the part of the spade terminal that will be crimped.
Just as seen below, you want to see the copper just barely peaking out.
Use the crimping part of your wire stripper to crimp the spade terminal onto the bare copper. After crimping, give the wire a firm tug to make sure it's nice and secure and won't pull loose.
Below you can see where I crimped the spade terminals. No need to overdo it. I broke the red insulation on one of the spade terminals and had to do it over again. You can also see that I left the bottom wire longer so the cord could be positioned over the part of the foot controller housing that will clamp down on the cord and hold it firmly in place when both halves of the housing are screwed back together.
It's a little easier to put the button back in place as seen below....
....and then fit the top of the foot controller over it when putting it all back together.
When the four corner screws are tightened on the back of the foot controller, the cord will be pressed between the two halves here to secure it.
You'll have to take care that the rubber feet at the corners stay put as you tighten the screws.
I started a new quilting project and have been piecing away on a newly acquired Singer 66 Red Eye treadle machine. Now that I am assembling the larger blocks, the treadle is struggling through the thicker seams. I decided the power of an electric machine might be called for. Of course, the first machine I thought of was this 201 that I’d not yet had the opportunity to test drive. Very little cleaning was needed, but after getting all the lint and cobwebs swept away and a quick oiling, I discovered the wiring for the foot control was cracked, taped, and generally in poor condition.
So, here we go, the topic of this post and the star of the show...
Compatible cords for this class of Singer sewing machine can be easily purchased online. However, I want to keep the original socket plug, seen to the left of the foot controller in the photo above, just to keep things as original as possible (and because it’s better looking and still in good shape).
First things first, we need to gather supplies for this project. After measuring the damaged cord lengths from the foot controller and wall plug, I went to Home Depot yesterday and picked up thirteen feet of 18 gauge black lamp wire. I also purchased a new wall plug in case the old one couldn’t be salvaged, and a ten pack of spade terminals in the appropriate size. You will also need: wire cutters, wire stripper/crimper, needle nosed pliers, flathead screwdriver. Optional: shrink tube in black and white, solder, soldering iron.
Unplug the foot controller from the electrical outlet, and from the machine. Using the old cords as a guide, cut two lengths of lamp wire; one for the wall plug, and one for the foot controller. The cord for the wall plug will be significantly longer than the cord for the foot controller. The existing wire on this particular 201 was approximately 100 inches long for the wall plug, and 46 inches long for the foot controller. You will want to cut the new wiring a little longer to account for stripping the ends and making connections inside the socket plug, foot controller, and wall plug.
Open the socket plug by removing the screws on the underside. There are two small nuts on the other side; make sure not to lose them.
The wiring inside should look like this. If it doesn't, maybe someone else has already fiddled with it. The goal is to install the new wiring in the same configuration seen here, so that when you press down on the foot controller it actually runs the machine instead of, say, turning on the machine light. If the latter happens, you know you've done something wrong.
You may notice that the right two wires are tied together in a knot. This is called an underwriter's knot, and is made to ensure that the wiring can't be pulled from the socket plug, and to reduce strain on the connections inside the socket. To make sure that I could install the new lamp wiring correctly, I took the above picture. I also drafted myself a simple diagram (seen below) with the wires clearly labeled, and jotted down notes on which terminal to connect each wire to. In the old wiring the neutral wires are white, and the hot wires are black. In the lamp wire, neutral is the ridged side of the wire, and hot is the smooth (printed) side. Since the lamp wire is all black on both sides, the diagram and notes were very helpful with not getting mixed up when making the connections.
Remove the three connections by lifting them out of the socket plug housing and unscrewing the nuts securing the wire to each connection.
You may notice as you are unscrewing each connection that the terminal sockets have a groove on the underside. This is a channel for the wiring to sit in to make everything fit better and sit as it should, and should be facing down when you reassemble the socket plug. Make a mental note of this for later.
Take both lengths of lamp wire that you pre-cut earlier, and separate the neutral (ridged) and hot (smooth) wires by pulling them apart for about 2.5 inches. You can use your wire clippers or a box cutter to start the separation and make the wires easier to pull apart.
Before stripping back any insulation from the new wires, feed them through the hole in the socket plug. The longer cord for the wall plug should be positioned at the bottom of the hole with the shorter foot pedal cord on top. You will also want to be sure that the hot wire of the plug cord is to the left, and the hot wire of the foot pedal cord is on the right. Positioning the wires this way will ensure that they fit inside the socket plug nicely when they've been reconnected, and that you don't have trouble screwing the two halves of the plug together at the end. Remember, you can always refer back to the drawing above for a visual of what I've written here. Side note: while it is important that the foot controller and plug cords get connected to the right terminals for proper functionality, I'm not entirely certain whether the hot/neutral wire positions matter as the original plug is not polarized. However, I feel it's best to put everything back the way it was, just to be on the safe side.
First, position the plug and wires as seen below, making sure again that the wall plug wire sits on the bottom with the foot controller wire laying atop, flat sides together and hot wires in the correct spots as outlined above. (Remember, the ribbed side of the new lamp wire is the neutral side).
1. Loop the hot wire of the foot controller cord around the neutral wire of the wall plug cord from front to back as shown.
2. Holding the first loop in place, cross the neutral wire of the wall plug cord around the back of the foot controller hot wire from left to right.
3. Then, bring the end of the neutral wall plug wire through the hot foot controller loop you made in step one, from back to front.
4. Tighten the underwriter's knot as close to the split in the wires as possible.
5. And fit it back into the socket plug housing as seen below. That's it!
Now is the time to strip back some of the insulation and start making some connections. It is necessary to strip back enough insulation so that the terminals can lay properly in the socket plug housing. You can mark how far back to strip the insulation by laying each new wire in the channel that corresponds to the terminal it will be connected to, and then making a mark on the insulation by making an impression with your fingernail, or marking with a pencil.
Work on the connections for terminal 2 and 3 first. Leave the wires for terminal 1 alone for now. The neutral wall plug wire (on the right) will be connected to terminal 3, and the hot foot controller wire (center) will be connected to terminal 2. Refer back to the drawn diagram above. Cut the insulation at the marks you made, and twist while pulling off to make sure the copper strands on each wire are twisted together nice and tight.
The old wire for terminal 3 had a small tube of brown insulation around it where it sat under terminal 3. I'm not sure why it was there and not on the other wires, but I saved it and put it back on the new wire.
I then put white shrink tube around it, and black around the hot foot controller wire for terminal 2 (just to help myself identify both wires more easily)...
...and shrunk them down with some heat. Bend the exposed copper around a small screwdriver, making sure the strands stay wound together, in the shape of a candy cane in the direction shown below. Bending in this direction (the same direction you will be turning the terminal nuts) will ensure that the shape is maintained when you tightening the nuts on the terminal connections.
The photo below shows the wires from the opposite side. Place the copper loop of the neutral wall plug wire around the threads of terminal 3, making sure that the copper nearest the insulation lines up with the groove on the underside of the terminal. Doing so will ensure that the wire is in the correct position to lay in the groove when the terminal is fitted back into the socket plug. Tighten in place with the terminal nut, and repeat these steps with the hot foot control wire and terminal 2.
You can now mark and cut away the insulation of the neutral foot controller wire and the hot wall plug wire. This time DO NOT twist as you pull the insulation off. Instead, pull it straight off, keeping the copper strands straight so that the copper of both wires can be twisted tightly together as shown below.
Repeat the process as outlined above to secure these connected wires to terminal 1. Then fit the terminals back in the socket plug housing, groove side down and in their proper places, as shown below. If the terminals won't seem to lay properly, make sure the wire of each terminal is laying in the groove on the underside. Fit the other half of the socket plug housing into place over the terminals, making sure to fit the terminals in the channels, and reassemble with the screws and nuts you removed at the beginning.
Everything should go back together easily, even before the screws are tightened. If you feel you are having to force the halves of the socket plug housing together, something may not be sitting right. Take the plug apart again, press the underwriter's knot into the space provided a bit more, make sure the terminals are sitting right in each channel, and try again. If you try to tighten the screws by force while something is still not fitting right, you may crack the plug, and we wouldn't want that.
Wiring the socket plug is the most complicated part of this project. The rest of it is a breeze. On to the wall plug, and foot controller.
Depending on what kind of wall plug came with your machine, its condition, and the tools that you have at your disposal, you may be able to reuse the plug. Mine was in good condition, but my soldering iron was not, so I was unable to reuse the original wall plug as it required the wires to be soldered to the blades of the plug, which I discovered after pulling them out from the center.
That's okay. I got a new one from the hardware store, and the connections were made inside with screws.
Remove the blades and feed the wires inside the new plug. Then strip the ends.
Loop the wires clockwise around the screws and tighten.
Reassemble.
And that was it for the wall plug. The foot controller is almost just as easy. Turn the foot controller over, and remove each corner screw, four total. Leave the screw in the middle alone. When you remove the top the the foot controller, the button will probably fall out. That's okay. We'll put it back later.
Here's what it looks like inside with the top removed.
And here are the wires removed. The terminal screws go through these loops.
I bought spade terminals, just in case, before I started this project. You can buy the loop type if you like. Either will work just fine, and the foot controller cord will be plenty secure when it's all put back together.
You only need to strip a small amount of insulation off the ends, just enough to fit inside the part of the spade terminal that will be crimped.
Just as seen below, you want to see the copper just barely peaking out.
Use the crimping part of your wire stripper to crimp the spade terminal onto the bare copper. After crimping, give the wire a firm tug to make sure it's nice and secure and won't pull loose.
Below you can see where I crimped the spade terminals. No need to overdo it. I broke the red insulation on one of the spade terminals and had to do it over again. You can also see that I left the bottom wire longer so the cord could be positioned over the part of the foot controller housing that will clamp down on the cord and hold it firmly in place when both halves of the housing are screwed back together.
Here's another angle showing how the cord should be placed.
It's a little easier to put the button back in place as seen below....
You'll have to take care that the rubber feet at the corners stay put as you tighten the screws.
That's it! If you've done everything correctly, the machine should run only when you press down on the foot pedal. If it runs on its own when you plug it in, or pressing the foot pedal illuminates the light but doesn't run the machine, something went amiss. I'm happy to say this repair worked well for me and I'm still using my free Singer 201 years later.
