hello today's job is cleaning and lubricating an old singer 28k as you can see the machine isn't in too bad condition it isn't rusty however the metalwork is dull it needs serious polishing and also it needs lubricating if you listen when i turn the handle there is a bit of a squeak and it's quite difficult to turn next i'll introduce you to the equipment that we're going to use so in no particular order here are the items that i'm going to use wooden cocktail sticks very useful for poking out bits of fluff and dust and getting into awkward corners i use wood never metal because it doesn't scratch a little rubber puffer ideal for blowing out bits of fluff that are caught in corners you don't have to use a puffer you could use an empty plastic bottle next a set of tweezers these are flat ended tweezers pointed end tweezers are ideal but i can't find them so these will have to do today next a screwdriver this is a special sewing machine screwdriver from a tin of attachments it's the ideal size for all screws on the machine however you may need a larger screwdriver when it comes to taking off the handle the tube of metal polish cotton wool buds a soft cotton cloth for doing the metal polishing cotton wool for applying oil when we get around to cleaning the japanese parts of the machine this isn't refined cotton wool this is coarse cotton wool from an old mattress but it is 100 cotton the lubricant a non-silicon lubricant if there are any sticking mechanisms cotton crochet yarn ideal for using for metal polishing around the needle bar and other parts that are difficult to get to with a cloth an incidental toothbrush for getting into little corners an old toothbrush if we need to clean on the inside if there are any sticking mechanisms and sewing machine oil always use sewing machine oil do not use any other lubricant because they are too coarse and can cause sticking after a period of time what i haven't mentioned before we start work on any machine is that very often the feet underneath the case are very often done for so it's always a good idea to do that first or to make sure that you work with a thick covering of paper on your table otherwise you'll end up scratching your table ideal for new feet are little rubber seat stoppers which you can get from your local hardware shop which are designed for lavatory seats they will need to be put on with a screw and a little rubber a little metal washer in the center so that if you move the machine from one side the rubber doesn't drag off the screw another important piece of equipment is a pile of books of the right height here i have three books which i'm placing behind the machine here so that when i want to open it and look at the underneath i can tip it back it rests on the box and provided the books are exactly the right height you have no risk of the base snapping shut onto the machine the first job is to get rid of excess dust first of all give the machine a wipe over with a soft cotton cloth and then you need to remove all the dust from inside and underneath i've already removed the dust from this machine the easiest way to get it is is to remove both slide plates and remove the dust from underneath where the shuttle goes another important job is to get rid of the dust that has accumulates around the feed dogs the best way to do this is to remove the foot remove the needle clamp so that you have easy access to this plate here now this particular machine i can't actually undo that screw but it doesn't matter because by poking cocktail sticks down there behind the teeth and then by lifting the machine tipping it back and getting to the teeth from underneath i've been able to remove a large amount of dust and just to demonstrate i'll get this last bit out now it's important to remove the dust first because if you don't and then you oil it all you're going to do is oil the old compressed dust into place and then it's even more difficult to get out once you're satisfied that you've removed all the dust from underneath around the shuttle and around the feed dog teeth then you can start polishing now i have already polished the needle clamp and the foot and i've already polished the slide plates however the presser bar at the back and the needle bar also i haven't polished yet and you will find that not only can you remove the needle clamp and the presser foot but you can also remove this last hook here which will come off quite easily it's already being loosened with the screwdriver it's quite a long screw but it does come off always have a dish ready to put in the screws and the components that you remove so you don't lose them easily done some of these screws are tiny and you don't want to lose them on the floor once you've got the polishing of the plates done which is easy then you have to polish the presser bar and the needle bar this is where the crochet cotton comes in useful i've doubled it up a couple of times and if you wrap it round and do that motion you can use the metal polish and get a good shine onto the steel there are also quite a few screw screw holes and that's where the incidental toothbrush will come in handy for getting any rubbish out of the holes and also applying the metal polish to every little nook and cranny this is a view of the face plate i've already polished it and it's important to take the face plate off and to see inside so you can see the condition of the needle bar and the presser bar now that the face plate is removed we can see the condition inside i've already removed some fluff but you can see there's still some here on the thread take-up lever that can be got off quite easily with the cocktail stick but also more important is you can see there's a dried residue of oil here on the needle bar now the way to get rid of that is with the metal polish if you get a piece of crochet cotton around it and using metal polish go up and down time and time again and eventually you will get a nice clean needle bar you will need to do the same at this point here and make sure that you move the needle bar so that you can get to all parts as for the presser bar bring the clamp up and down so that you get to this part here but don't interfere with this spring here don't get metal polish on there because it doesn't need it and then you will have to do these top parts here and also clean around the top as best you can with the metal polish using the cotton buds the interdental toothbrush and the cloth you will also need to clean the tension discs and to do so you will have to take them off completely undo the adjustment screw take off the spring it's a beehive shape take off the thumb presser tab and now you have the two tension discs which will come off they're not too bad in good condition and finally make sure you don't damage the thread take up spring here but you can if the screw will let you take this last piece of metal off and clean that off the machine looking now at the bobbin winder you'll see that there is plenty of metal to be polished you can if you want to remove the bobbin winder there is a screw here that can be undone however i've always managed to clean machines without actually taking the bobbin binder off the advantage is if the machine is really filthy it's probably easier to take the bobbin winder off and also you would have better access to the badge when you want to polish that up you will also need to polish up this screw here which the is the stitch length adjustment screw for the wheel of the bobbin winder it's probably easier if you take off the rubber tyre so it won't get in the way when you're polishing with the metal polish then you will need to polish around the stop motion screw and the only way to get at it easily is by removing the handle the screw that attaches the handle to the body of the machine is here underneath and it should be quite easy to take off you