If you’ve gotten your hands on an antique Brother sewing machine and it works, that’s fantastic! Do not sew on it, have it serviced right away or do the cleaning yourself to keep it in tiptop shape for its age. Many times a machine still works, but with no oil and a lot of dust, you can tear the working machine all to pieces by attempting to run it before it has been serviced. If, on the other hand, you’ve located an antique Brother machine which seems to have problems, all is not lost. Small problems can seem like insurmountable problems when you’re talking about sewing machines, since each and every step of the threading process must be completed exactly before the machine will lay a nice stitch.
Some of the most common problems with an antique machine are that it has gotten dust or debris down inside the machine, the oil in the machine has dried out, or the machine simply isn’t threaded correctly. To begin with, dust machine off, including the underneath of the machine and table, if there it has one. If you have a compressor or vacuum that blows air, blow out the inside of the machine as well as possible, particularly around the motor. There are several spots on the machine that are usually indicated by a tiny hole, where oil should be applied. If a machine has been unoiled for many years, oil it, leave it alone for 24 hours, and oil it again. After the first oiling, don’t attempt to run the machine, instead, spin the handwheel slowly one way, then the other way, without the machine being threaded. Some areas which need oiling do not have an indicated hole for which to apply the oil, such as the bobbin case. Remove the bobbin from the case, place a tiny drop of oil down into the case and replace the bobbin.
After assuring yourself that the machine is clean and in functioning order, look at the hardware on the machine. First of all, you should have a new needle and new thread to begin. Follow your thread from the top of the machine to the first thread guide - if there is one present. If the thread guide is missing, it will be necessary to replace this, and any other rusty or missing threading guides, which usually look a small, coiled, metal piece. Continue following your thread, now looking at the tension apparatus. Usually your tension will be two flat, metal plates, which are pressed closer to each other, or pushed farther apart by a button you twist in front. Make sure when you twist this button, you can see the plates go closer together, or pull your thread through them to see if the thread is getting harder to pull. In addition to the tension plates, there is usually a small, thin wire attached beside or atop the plates. This wire is necessary to keep the tension taut. Check that this wire is not bent, rusted or missing. Without it, your machine will give you a wadded up mess of thread to contend with.
When troubleshooting what’s keeping the machine from running, there are a couple of things that you can do to find out what’s wrong. If the machine seems like it just doesn’t want to take off, check the belt to make sure it isn’t dry-rotted or loose. If the machine runs, but the needle doesn’t move, check to make sure the machine isn’t in the “bobbin-winding” position. When it comes to missing or broken parts, these will have to either be located online or through an area Brother sewing machine shop, who might be able to order them for you. If you provide them with the machine's serial number they can give you with the machine's model number and it's date of manufacture which might assist you in finding the exact part you’re needing, if they don’t have what a particular replacement part. For other problems, such as rust, you can purchase refinishing items at a local hardware or home improvement store. If your machine is set in a table, you can refinish the table by sanding, staining and adding lacquer to the finish. If there are scratches or missing corners to the machine, use wood putty to rebuild the corner or fill in the gouges. Although most antique sewing machine restoration problems can be done at home, on occasion you might need a professional for any interior issues the machine may have.
