Remove bobbin plate, needle, foot, and feed dog cover plate.
Turn machine over to work on removal of the feed dog screw underneath the bobbin area of machine.
After removal of screw, pull out the feed dogs from top side of machine.
Now work from top side in bobbin area. Take note of red piece of material which is the oil wick inside the wick screw (located right side of ejector button). To get to this wick screw, numerous other items must be removed first.
Start by removing the pin that holds the ejector mechanism bar which is located right of wick screw on top of bar.
Grab hold of case and ejector bar; twist them to loosen from race, then pull them up and out of race.
Clean all items. I used rubbing alcohol.
Now it is time to remove wick screw from ejector bar. Using small long nose pliers to hold screw, gently turn screw counter clockwise to remove wick.
Removal of wick may take some time and require soaking in alcohol to loosen the red wick from the wire screw. Be patient, it will come out with time.
Now that all is clean up, it is time to cut new wick from thick red felt spool pin holder.
Leave some wick out long enough so that it will be able to touch the race (that is the purpose of the wick).
Insert back into hole that you removed it from by turning it in clockwise.
Now drop a little bit of oil in the case groove before putting case and ejector bar back in place.
This is how the wick should look resting against race.
Put feed dogs back along with all other cleaned up parts and screws that were removed.
Simple as that!! Have fun sewing!!!
P.S. There are some very old Singer 66-1 that do not have a race wick screw. One of my machines is this way. Here is a photo of that ejector bar without the wick screw.
Simple....for you! I got lost after the 3rd picture. Nice decorative artwork on the machine though.
ReplyDeleteI have another Singer 66-1 just for you my deary!!;)
ReplyDeleteI need to do that, but, I never think of it when I have the time. I still have so much to learn about these machines.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I too have so much to learn about all of my machines. I just went to clean and replace the wick on my other Singer 66-1, only to find out that it doesn't have a race wick screw. It's my oldest of the 66s.
ReplyDeleteWithout a race wick, should you regularly apply oil to somewhere in the race?
DeleteI have one also that doesn't have the screw. It has a groove in it to put felt. I've been told only use wool felt or I might be replacing it quite often. My machine is a treadle made in 1910. Any pics of how to do it on older 66's?
DeleteYou did a great job of cleaning with the alcohol. I usually soak my parts in kerosene, wipe dry and then follow with evaporust.
ReplyDeleteYou did a fine job on the photos, too.
Nice tutorial! I just did this to my newly-acquired Singer 66-1 Lotus too! Cleaning all the gunk out of the bobbin race made a HUGE difference.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this tutorial! This is just what I was looking for as my Singer 66 (Lotus decals too) does not even have the felt anymore. Hopefully I'll be able to replace everything correctly once I've taken it apart!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. I recently picked up a sad, neglected, 100 year old 66-1 and just last night started cleaning it up. I knew it was supposed to have an oil wick somewhere in the bobbin area but it was completely missing on my machine so I had no idea where it was supposed to go or what I might use as a replacement. This post was extremely helpful. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of help! Enjoy your Singer 66-1.
DeleteMonica, I am following your directions. I have a 66-1 machine and needed to know how to take all that section apart, so somebody from artisanssquare led me to you. Anyway, I have been trying to detach the feed dog, but the screw doesn't want to come off. I put some WD-40 last night and let it there overnight and it still doesn't. At this point, I am wondering if I really need to do this, and I read in your comments that some of these machines do not have the wick. What do you recommend me to do? Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I just noticed your post. Nice to see that someone directed you here from artisanssquare. I hope you were able to remove the feeddogs so that you can clean up the bobbin area well. I can't help you with what will work to remove the screw. Sometimes it requires soaking with oil for a long period of time. Good luck!
DeleteJust found your blog and it is answering lots of my questions. But I still have one....when I found my 66 the slide plate was missing. I found another one on Ebay and it fits, but will NOT stay in place. WHY? The spring thingy is there, but what holds the slide plate in place? Thanks, hope you are still blogging.
ReplyDeleteAnna I hope you have found your answer by now, but for anyone else wondering the same thing, the slide plate needs to be put on from the opposite side - so you place it on top of the feed dogs and then slide it to the left, making sure the grooves catch the curved metal part.
DeleteHope that helps! :)
I've been having occasional thread issues with my Model 66 that my grandma gave me a year ago. I had cleaned out all the old dust and lint that gathered, oiled everything according to the tiny pocket manual, replaced most of the electrical wiring, and I had a heck of a time with a tweezers yanking all this "red lint" that was stuck inside a spring jutting from the bobbin case. Well a year later I finally realized it wasn't lint, and that that it's necessary for oiling the shuttle, which probably explains some of my threading issues of late! Thank you for this tutorial, I hope replacing the felt solves my problems now!
ReplyDeleteDoes the felt need to be wool or can we use modern craft felt?
ReplyDeleteI just used the felt spool pin holders. You can try the modern craft felt since it most likely is the same stuff used to make the felt spool pin holders. If it doesn't work then you just switch it out with the felt spool pin one.
DeleteI have just acquired a Singer 66-1 Treadle and have followed your clear instructions.
DeleteI did not need to replace the wick but the machine was not taking up the bobbin thread. I dismantled it as shown and cleaned thoroughly and replaced the parts in accordance with your photos however the needle is not linking to the bobbin before sewing. All seems to be in place but this is the second evening of hours of trying. Do I need to adjust anything? I have put the needle in with the flat side to the right as in the instruction book for the 66 and threaded from left to right. Does the foot pressure need to change as the screw is very stiff? I hope you have some suggestions. I put a new 70/130 needle in. Although I have printed off the instruction book there is not a trouble shooting page as in more modern machine manuals. Look forward to hearing from you. I must congratulate you on your very clearly photographed tutorial. Regards Esther
Didn't have any problems; it didn't affect the timing at all.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the help!
ReplyDeleteJust purchase a belt for a 66-1 that I received several years ago.
In the process of oiling, cleaning (very dirty & stiff) low and behold, no red felt! Great pictures and information.
Thank you again!
Happy to hear the post is helpful!
DeleteExcellent directions with clear pictures. Amazingly helpful. Thanks. Mind if I follow you around the vintage world to learn from you....you are my new hero...lol
ReplyDeleteExcellent directions with clear pictures. Amazingly helpful. Thanks. Mind if I follow you around the vintage world to learn from you....you are my new hero...lol
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful direction! There is one question you might be able to still assist me with. I have managed to ruin the pin/screw holding the ejector mechanism in place (bad me using wrong the screwdrivers...) Although I have the meas of getting the ruined pin out I'm loathe to use them as I do not know the specs of the pin I need to replace the destroyed one. Do you know where I could find a replacement pin or the specs for the pin (threading, size etc.)?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't know where to find a replacement pin.
DeleteI am in the process of converting a 66 into a hand-crank, found out it does not have that felt in the spring, so this is the info I need, now to be brave enough to actually replace it, THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteMQuilter, you are awesome!!!!! My sweet husband and I found a very poor neglected 1912 Singer 66 covered in dust and all froze up. My hubby insisted that he could get her moving again. I didn't really want to spend (read waste) the $8 it took to purchase her. But I relented, and he did. Yesterday I finally had the time to see what she'd do. I was so disappointed. Big big bird's nest. This little beauty has this old style bobbin case and I was unable to figure out how to remove everything to clean it up. This is where you came in! In about 2 hours I had her bobbin area taken apart, cleaned, oiled, rethreaded, tension adjusted, and sewing beautifully! I've never treadled before, so this was such a thrill to see this sweet old lady red-eye sewing like she was meant to sew. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteBarbara Kolacek-Cox
Glad to be of help!
DeleteEvery online post Ive ever read said NOT to ever remove the screw holding the ejector lever. I've resisted replacing this piece of felt for that reason. Why break something that isnt broken.
ReplyDeleteThese are simple machines. You do what you feel comfortable in removing parts to clean the machine. If you feel like it's not a good idea then don't do it. I had someone who is extremely knowledgeable on working with vintage sewing machines show me how to do this. That person suggested making a tutorial on cleaning and replacing the wick to share with others since they don't have a blog. I thank that person dearly for their knowledge, kindness, and help!
DeleteI have read that removing the screw mentioned above has an affect on the tension, not the timing.
ReplyDeleteI removed the bar and when I went to replaced realized that there is an issue with the thread clearing the spring on the bar. Any info on how to adjust this gap would be helpful, or and you lead me in the direction of additional information. Thank you Lamona
Thank you so much! I successfully replaced the wick on my new 1920 66. I am new to all of this, and before today had never heard of a race wick. I've had my machine less than 2 weeks and it's all still new to me. Thank you again!
ReplyDeleteHi! I am trying to clean up my first vintage machine and I got to th point where I want to remove the bobbin case. In every manual I have red there is a big warning about unscrewing or looseng up the oin of the ejector mechanism, because it will supposedly screw up the timing of the mahcine... but I can’t see another way of removing the bobbin case. You seem to have pulled the entire thng spart without worrying too much about it. What do you suggest?
ReplyDeleteI just yesterday picked up a 1920 66 and realized that the latch did not lift up as it does on my 1930 model 99. The wick is black on the 66, and I will definitely replace it. This information is very helpful. By the way,when I first got my 99, I didn't look up how to correctly remove the bobbin cover plate,and broke the spring. I didn't know at the time that the latch lifts up and to the side, so...I removed the latch. Only later, did I read that you should never loosen the screw. Well, when I put everything back together, I tightened the screw gently, and have had no trouble at all, and it stitches beautifully. I rarely need to adjust the upper tension, and haven't adjusted the bobbin tension since I got the machine going. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteVery clear pics and instructions easy to follow. People who are worried about “the screw that shall not be moved” have a later model. Their screw is in the middle, whereas ours is on the side. And their mechanism can be slid out. I did as instructed and had success but I found it quite hard to get the screw back in. I was afraid it would break but luckily it didn’t. I suppose one can’t get the old felt out without removing the screw but couldn’t one just stuff a bit of new felt in without removing the screw? The machine is turning beautifully now and so clean. What a pleasure!
ReplyDelete