Yahoo Groups -
Vintage Singers: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintagesingers/ "This is a forum for collectors of antique and vintage SINGER sewing machines to get together to discuss recent finds, ask questions, and share resources."
wefixit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wefixit/ "If you like fixing sewing machines as much as you do collecting them, or if you want to swap tips, tricks,and maybe parts, this is the group for you."Adjuster's Manual for Singer Machines Model 201 and 1200 - this can be found on the wefixit Yahoo group website in the Files section. This is a repair and maintenance manual for the Singer Model 201 and includes step-by-step directions on how to troubleshoot and disassemble many of the components of the sewing machine.
Rewiring a 201/15-91 Motor - by "Rain" Motor Rewiring.pdf - To Do & Not To Do Thoughts, on Rewiring a Singer 201/15-91 Motor. She provides very good, easy to understand information based on first hand experience.
Singer website -By knowing the serial number of your sewing machine you can use their reference guides to find out the model number or look up the date your pre-1960 Singer sewing machine was made (http://www.singerco.com/support/machine-serial-numbers)
SewingShop.com also has information to date your machine (http://www.sewingshop.com/dateyourmachine.aspx)
ICMACS - http://www.ismacs.net/home.html
This site has a wealth of information on antique and vintage sewing machines and cabinets. Wonder how I knew I had a Singer No. 40 cabinet? It was listed on this website complete with a picture! (http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/40_cab.html)
Sew-Classic Blog - This blog by Jenny at Sew Classic and she has great information on restoration of old machines.
Here is a general review of the Singer 201 sewing machine and includes a link to a 201 users manual. http://blog.sew-classic.com/2008/11/11/classic-singer-2012-vintage-sewing-machine-review.aspx
Advice on inspecting electrical wiring http://blog.sew-classic.com/2009/01/12/inspecting-electrical-wires-on-a-classic-vintage-sewing-machine.aspx
Description of what it means to refurbish a sewing machine http://blog.sew-classic.com/2009/02/07/refurbishing-whats-that.aspx. You will notice the following quote on this page of her blog: "I don't remove every single component from the machine. That would be, simply put, stupid. A good mechanic doesn't attempt to fix what ain't broke." Apparently that means that I am stupid (quite possibly true) since that is exactly what I am planning on doing with Ms. Rusty. However, Ms. Rusty doesn't work so perhaps the above quote doesn't apply? I can always hope (lol)!Other Miscellaneous Sites:
http://www.treadleon.net/sewingmachineshop/cleaningmachines/cleaningmachines.html. This site has several recommendations on how to clean a machine head. From my personal experience, I would recommend cleaning with simple soap/water and use sewing machine oil to polish and refurbish the finish. While kerosene can be quite effective on small parts, it can also remove the clear-coat on a Japanned finish and make a situation worse than it started out. I found this out the hard way on my Singer 15-91 head.
Wheeler & Wilson Information: both of these sites have general information about the history of the company and some pictures of older sewing machines -http://www.oocities.org/heartland/plains/3081/w_w.html and http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/Wheeler%20and%20Wilson.htm
