Singer 66 - Pretty Stitches/Evil Wiring

I’ve read through the Singer 66 manual and following the oiling diagrams, have placed a drop of Tri-Flow lubricant into each of the places indicated.

The bobbin winding verbiage in the manual is needlessly complicated so I skipped it and instead looked at the pictures for guidance.  That worked just fine.

While the thread was filling the bobbin, I kept hearing noises - like a hissing and popping iron, only there wasn’t an iron around.  I thought it might be the dog as he occasionally snores while sleeping.  No, it wasn’t the dog.  He was awake and peacefully watching me from a few feet away.  I tuned the noises out as I focused on getting the machine to sew.

The filled bobbin went easily into the bobbin case.  I inserted a new needle and threaded the machine.  Next, I grabbed a fabric scrap and using the knee lever, started sewing.  The machine made stitches.  Lovely stitches!

As I continued to sew, I realized the sounds were coming from inside the cabinet.  The only thing in the cabinet is the motor controller.  It was very hot and I quickly unplugged the cord from the wall.  The hissing and popping stopped.  The problem has been isolated.

I won’t be sewing with this machine again until this has been fixed. Is it as simple as finding a replacement cord and controller?  Looks like I’ve got more reading to do……

In the meantime, I guess I can get it cleaned up and polished and begin to pull together the items needed to refinish the cabinet.  Still, I must tell you that I am charmed by this old machine.  It just has to work!