I was determined to get the 401 stitching and she wanted me to look at the motor on her Signature. The motor was sparking. I told her a little sparking is normal. This was not a little sparking. It was A LOT of sparking. And we found out why. That is bare wire, there. Yes sir, it is.
When I first looked at this, I said " Nope, buy a new motor." Clearly someone else had been inside that motor. That electrical tape was not factory installed.
The pretty blue motor casing is just too sweet. We did not want to give up. So she set about taking that tape off and I went to work on the 401.
I had determined that the 401 needed a new bobbin case. We had one from a 500 that I knocked over when I fell off of a broken chair a few weeks ago at Betsy's. I put it in the 401 and it stopped breaking thread but the tension was all wrong on the zz.
As we worked, we would "supervise" each other's projects. I kept giving her "tips" on the electrical and she would peer over my shoulder as I adjusted the bobbin tension. Finally, we switched. I took over the soldering and she took over the 401.
I got the thing soldered and she fixed the 401. As it turns out, I was having so much trouble because I did not have the presser foot presser firm enough. Go Figure.
We still were unable to get the motor back together correctly. It runs, like a champ. But somehow the mounting holes don't line up unless we twist the housing in such a way that the motor leads will rub on the commutator.
We learned. And this wonderful machine will become a treadle
