The Remington: The New Motor

I got the Remington a new motor. Besides wanting to convert it from a three-way wiring to a traditional wiring with the cords for the power and foot pedal both coming out of the motor, the cover on the old wire was all cracking away, exposing the bare wire underneath. And with these all-metal machines, I've heard that bad wiring can be especially dangerous. So, for under $50, I was able to order a new motor kit for it which included the motor and power cord/foot pedal.

It's white! Yes, that was my first reaction when I opened the box. White! I was able to get in touch with the company, and they were very easy to work with, but they didn't have any more of these in black - I could get double the voltage in black, though.

I was a little unsure at first about ordering this motor the voltage and Amps are a little lower than the old motor, but as soon as I ran it, I knew for sure this was power enough. It takes off like a jet engine with the slightest pressure on the pedal, and with all the appropriate sounds too. :) I'm assuming those will just wear off with time - after all, this is a machine that hasn't been run for 30+ years, and was finally cleaned, oiled, given a new motor, and run again. I like how I inadvertently photographed the reflection of the end of the lens and my hand in the face of the shiny stop-motion knob. :)

See the old wiring. The insulation is all chipping away above the duct tape and underneath the duct tape is bare wire. The wiring goes directly into the motor and I couldn't even find a way to get the motor open.

Yesterday afternoon, I removed the remains of the old machine from the inside of the table. This one's a little dark, but you can see the power outlet in the top left and the knee-operated pedal in the foreground. A cord from the motor plugs into the outlet, which powers the pedal, and another cord from the outlet plugs into the wall - a more complicated arrangement than it has to be.

I simply unscrewed the outlet and the pedal from the side of the table. They're so old, and they have a certain charm to them. :)

Isn't he beautiful? I've decided the Remington is a 'he'. :) For under $2, I was able to get him set up with a new drive belt and bobbin winder belt from Sew and Vac. For now, it's sitting on top of it's table until I decide what to do with it table-wise. The one it came in is in awful condition and this is way too beautiful a machine to put back in. Maybe finding an old singer treadle table on Craigslist for it would be in order. :)

Now, he just needs the timing fixed. It stitched for a few inches, but pulled the top thread down and wound it around the bobbin case until it jammed. I've seen that before. It's nasty, but it's just a simple timing job. :)