Huge numbers of sewing machines have been manufactured over the years. The older vintage machines are virtually indestructible, indeed one highly skilled and experienced seamstress told me that she still uses a 1929 treadle machine as her daily workhorse. Newer machines, especially the very cheap ones, have many more plastic parts and a much shorter life. Nevertheless, the life and effectiveness of any machine can be extended with simple maintenance, and my aim here is to show you how.
Many sewing machine repairs can be made at home, and most repairs can be completely avoided through routine sewing machine maintenance. This tutorial shows you how to carefully disassemble your machine to give it a round of maintenance. You will need a screwdriver - make sure not to lose any of the screws!
For demonstration purposes in this Instructable I will use a vintage machine probably dating from the 1950's or 60's because it's easier to show the mechanism, however, all machines work in the same way. If you can get hold of such a machine, so long as it's complete, you should be able to keep it running indefinitely and certainly much longer than a modern machine.
You can find an expanded version of this Instructable, including a description of sewing machine principles and common problems and their solutions in the Sewing Machines page on the Restart Project wiki.
Many spare parts, particularly for older machines, are readily available on eBay and probably elsewhere.
We recommend SingerĀ® oil only in our machines.
Good question! If your machine manual does not include instructions on oiling, your machine has been pre-lubricated at the factory and will not need additional lubricating. However, you can put 2 to 3 small drops of sewing machine oil in the bobbin case area and on the needle bar as this will not harm the machine. You may also put a few drops on the handwheel where it meets the side of the machine.
If your manual does call for you to oil the machine, and you use your machine every day, we suggest that you lubricate once a week. If you use your machine once a week, lubricate once a month. If you only use your sewing machine once a month, lubricate once every three months.
We also recommend that you have your machine tuned-up by a qualified SingerĀ® technician every 3 to 4 years to keep it in good running order.
PRO TIP: If the machine has not been used for several years, we recommend a tune-up, just like you would do if you had not used your car for a long period of time. Lack of activity or movement will cause the lubricant to dry out and using the machine at that time can cause parts to break.