Vintage Singer 404 Sewing Machine 301 401 500 Series FULLY RECONDITIONED

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Vintage Singer 404 Sewing Machine 301 401 500 Series FULLY RECONDITIONED:
$127.50

Vintage 1958 Singer 404 Straight Stitch Sewing Machine 300 401 500 Series All Metal Drive

Here is a fully reconditioned and equally well-polished Singer 404- Straight Stitch Sewing Machine with Serial Number AM843828 produced in 1958 in Elizabeth, N.J. according to my dating sheet taken off the Singer website.

I have been reconditioning, servicing, collecting and re-selling vintage steel gear sewing machines for about the last 25 years.

I pull all necessary external mechanisms and plates off the machine, pull the motor, inspect it (clean if necessary, but that’s rarely needed-Singer motors are well-protected from oiling overspills and are built to last generations), spray and clean the gearing and drive mechanisms and then clean, readjust and test all stitch, width/length, tension and timing mechanisms and replace parts as needed, which in the case of this machine was absolutely nothing other than adding a couple of vintage Singer felt pads for the thread to sit on, four new rubber feet and a new rewind donut because the rubber parts were too dried out to withstand any normal use in the future. This machine needed nothing but cleaning and minor adjustments along the way, but it needed an intense amount of cleaning because the original owner had the habit of oiling the machine instead of finding out what adjustments the machine actually needed to run properly again. And then everything gets gunked up and it’s into storage for the next 30 years or so until someone reconditions it again. This is about as polished and shiny as this machine could possibly be, but it’s far from cosmetically perfect—see pictures—there are small paint nicks in several locations but the bed is in such nice condition I doubt if this machine has ever had much serious sewing done on it—the surface of the bed is exceptionally clean considering the age of this machine.

I also want to mention that I normally include a photo or two of my machines completely disassembled, but I started this machine several months ago and now can’t find the pics of it taken apart, so all you get is a normal set of photos for this machine because I\'m not about to disassemble this thing again like I did when I first strarted it.

The foot pedal and electric cords are in excellent condition and appear original, which tells me it never sat for extended periods in the sunlight, otherwise the paint would be faded and the cords would be sun dried and cracking.

The only other cosmetic issue worth mentioning is that because the owner had a tendency to over oil this machine, a Singer repair shop in Milwaukee called Jiffy Sewing punched little tangs into the bottom plate to keep the oil pad attached. This is about the 10th or 15th machine I’ve sold that was serviced by Jiffy and they did that to all over oiled drip pads because all the oil keeps the glue from keeping the pad attached (see pics). But I like getting machines serviced by Jiffy because they did a great job servicing these old Singers back in the day.

Stitches are tight, straight, and even. The 404- has a fully metal gear-driven drive assembly (this is basically a 301A without the snazzy black portable body styling), and so is an incredibly strong straight-stitch sewer—capable of doing many multiple layers of jean material and light leather applications with the proper needles attached. But if you’re looking to do real leather repairs, then this is also not the machine for you—I sell my machines for normal home sewing purposes—this machine was not designed for commercial leather applications of any kind.

As can be seen in the photos, the internal drive and mechanisms in this machine are now extremely clean and near factory fresh.

My only caveat to this sale is that if you are not familiar with this machine and its capabilities, think twice about offerding or else get a printed manual or download a manual and study it first. This is a totally manually adjusted machine, no electronic sensors for fabric thickness, thread thickness or tension adjustments, and while it is recognized as a great sewer, you had better know or be willing to learn the principles of manual adjustment sewing before working with one of the older Singer 300, 400 or 500 series machines—all adjustments work together to create the perfect stitch.

This machine is adjusted for standard all purpose cotton/poly blend thread sewing. Any other style/thickness of thread will require manual adjustment. These old Singers are probably not the best choice for inexperienced sewers.

This would make a very nice primary machine for an accomplished sewer who needs the strength of a direct drive machine for sewing multiple layers of normal household fabric. Normal high-end drapery fabrics would be no problem for a machine like this for an experienced craft sewer.

What you see in the pictures is what you get. A 404 box with a couple of nice alternative straight stitch feet and some fancier do-dads that I never use and in this case don’t even know what those thingies are for—but they are all marked Simanco so they are Singer accessories, a set of Simanco screwdrivers, some bobbins and a nice set of unused vintage Singer needles. And of course a nice clean original copy of the Owner’s Manual.

Please pay attention to the weight and shipping cost of this unit so you know what to expect for a total. That\'s about it. Please ask questions before offerding. I back my items to be in described condition only--so if more detail is needed, don\'t hesitate to ask.

Shipping is by UPS only and is based on 25 lbs from zip code 53227. I have access to high quality boxes and used/recycle foam, bubble wrap, etc. and so some of that weight is based on the shipping materials I use to pack my machines in and with.

Also, please do not ask me for a \"Buy-It-Now\" price--I like the sale format and always allow my listings to run to the end--if you\'re interested in the item, as Nancy Reagan would say, \"Just offer on it!”