And hey, it's a treadle! A totally mechanical workhorse - not even any electrical wires to give concern! It's hard to find an unfixable surprise with one of these beauties :) Here are the tools of the trade that I use: Start with an old towel or cloth as your work surface. She really wasn't too bad - lots of dust, a little rust, a few scratches & some grimey areas, hand wheel was sticky, but I saw no serious issues, and the decals were really in very good shape.
![singer red eye 66 bobbin singer red eye 66 bobbin](http://zombiesew.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_1915-1.jpg)
Well, actually, this is after I removed her from her treadle cabinet, which needs way more refurbishing than she did, but that's another story. She's the 1926 66 as she looked when she came in the door. :-) Here's Gabrielle - the machines belonged to a French woman, so they all got French names. Folks do have their own favorite products & methods what follows works for me. Some of those experiments were not so successful - like rubbing your machine down with Gojo = epic fail, or dunking an entire machine in a tub of kerosene = epic waste of time, energy and $$$ (yes, people actually DO recommend those techniques!). My techniques have been gleaned from research at places like the Yahoo Vintage Singers group, David McCallum's Featherweight DVDs & books, various posters at Pattern Review, and lots of experimentation on the old machines that have found their way to my house. I posted about the 3 vintage Singers that followed me home a couple of weeks ago now I thought I'd give a step-by-step of how I do a basic clean up on one of the full-size ladies. Vintage Singer Love - How I Clean 'em Up (The Basics) It belongs inside, but I wanted you to see it. Note the tension release pin protruding from the left of the assembly. No damage was done to the threaded part despite my threatening it with a screw driver. It is no wonder that this assembly was so stuck. The tension assembly is merely placed in this opening and the set screw holds it in place. The tension assembly was pretty stuck and just a bit of extra torque helped me loosen it enough to remove it. I took this photo to show the individual parts of the tension assembly Tension Washer Tension Spring Tension Discs This activity may be verboten, but I was very gentle and I did not force anything. Next, I loosened the thumb nut and removed it.
![singer red eye 66 bobbin singer red eye 66 bobbin](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/giEAAOSwjVRgBwTn/s-l300.jpg)
Imagine trying to find that tiny thing on the floor of my shop. I did take it out to clean but I put it right back before I lost it. I even took extra care to determine EXACTLY which bit fit perfectly in that screw. I squirted some LW in there and let it sit for a long time before I even attempted to loosen it. You definitely do not want to bugger this one up.
![singer red eye 66 bobbin singer red eye 66 bobbin](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/gJkAAOSw4TVeUCt4/s-l400.jpg)
TENSION ASSEMBLY That gooey looking hole just to the right of the tension assembly is a set screw, believe it or not. I found great instructions on the Yahoo groups. I have cleaned and disassembled many numbered straight stitch Singer tension assemblies. I have not taken the tension apart on the 401A nor any of my 301s. I like getting these parts really clean and I don’t find it all that difficult. Taking the tension assembly a part is often unnecessary.
![singer red eye 66 bobbin singer red eye 66 bobbin](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0261/5846/5060/products/Singer-66-Red-Eye-Sewing-Machine-Face-Side-Plate-Simanco-32667-2_1200x1200.jpg)
I will use the 66 for short seams in patchwork, I love being able to stop midstitch with a handsewing machine.How to service and clean a Singer 66.tension assembly The Singer 99 is teh 3/4 size same model as the Singer 66. The lock does not fit, so I unscrewed that, I have still to wax the cap. Luckier still, I had seen a wooden Singer cap for about 3 dollars at another thriftstore that same day, so I went back and bought that too. I just cleaned and oiled it and it sews like new and hums very quietly. The Singer 99 cost me the grand sum of the equivalent of 20 US dollars, how lucky can one be. So, although I own an electrical Bernina, a Lotus Elna and a Brother (el.) I did not hesitate in buying on the twelth of this month a really "as new" Singer 66 handsewer, the wooden cap was missing, but that is allright, you can not carry them by the cap, it is just to keep dust away. Maybe I have the oldest Singer handsewing machine, it is from 1879,with the violinshaped bottomplate! I inherited it from my mother, who bought it secondhand.It still sews nicely, but I want to cuddle her and not overdo things.