Setting Up

I spent an evening getting to know my Singer 15.  It didn't come with a user manual, but I found one online.  I cleaned out the lint and oiled the gears.  Then I read that the motor needed lubrication as well.  It was obvious that hadn't been done in a long time.  What I scraped out was all black and somewhat tacky.  It may explain why the needle doesn't entirely disengage when running the bobbin winder.  I re-lubricated, but it may take some time to spread around.

The goal is to use this sewing machine in my existing cabinet for piecing and freemotion quilting.  It looks promising.  The hinges fit.  The Singer 15 is the same depth as Graduate, although the edges are a little more rounded.  I was a little nervous - the machine stood correctly, but the bottom only made contact on the left side of the cabinet ledge.  It's a lot heavier than the Graduate, and I worried I would damage the sewing machine and the cabinet if it slipped off the edge.  So I widened the ledge on the right side:  half a craft stick screwed into the side of the ledge.  It's enough to assuage my fears.

The Singer 15 is not quite as wide as the Graduate 714.  That's a good thing - it allows space for the electrical cord and foot petal to drop through the table, not hanging over the edge.  I'll have to be careful, though, of the gaping hole.  I imagine I will lose my fair share of pins rolling over that edge and onto the floor.

I haven't had a chance to sew more than test seam or two.  After close inspection, I'm realizing my little Singer 99 was in better shape than this machine.  But I suspect this one will shape up with some love and attention.  I'm hoping to work on some projects this week to see how well it really works.