Rewiring Anne: A 1953 Necchi Nova. Part 1

Rewiring Anne Step One: Gathering tools

I don't know what conditions occur for wiring insulation on older sewing machines to deteriorate to the point where they must be rewired, but twice now I've managed to find an old Necchi that needed new wire all the way into the motor leads. Maybe I'm just lucky that way? Or maybe... they found me?

My first experience doing a vintage machine rewire was with a 1927 Singer 101 and as I searched the web for information I found "The Vintage singer sewing Machine Blog" where Nicolas Rain Noe explained in amazing detail the supplies, skills and parts needed to rewire a potted 201 motor. Although the 201 and 101 are certainly different, much of his advice is applicable to rewiring many vintage sewing machine motors.

Any attempt I make to explain my process for rewiring the Necchi exterior mounted motor... it will be significantly influenced by Noe's work. Fortunately for vintage Necchi owners, motor wires are much easier to access than those on a potted Singer!

I should also point out that I am not an expert, nor a certified sewing machine repair person, or an electrician. I am a novice and this is the third time within a year that I've attempted to rewire a sewing machine motor. I should probably say that I'm only documenting this experience for my own reference and perhaps entertainment. This is not a tutorial, it’s just how I did it. If you choose to follow any of the things I do here, you are liable for the outcome

A tip of my hat should also go to my favorite sewing machine guru. She told me once that: You can't break any more than it is... so why not give it a try? And she was right. It wasn't that hard to do, and I've benefited greatly from taking the chance. The last time I sat down to solder anything before last year was in junior high school shop class some 40 years ago.

My Tool List:

As with the Noe's first step, I'm laying out the tools I use to rewire, starting at the very beginning.

An assortment of flat bladed screwdrivers.
Wire
Wire Strippers/Cutters
A Soldering Iron
Solder & Flux
A “Helping Hands” Tool
Heat Shrink Insulation
A Heat Gun or cigarette lighter

Flat bladed screwdrivers:

In the case of the Nova, the very first tool I will use is either a large bladed flat screwdriver, or an 11 millimeter wrench, or an adjustable wrench (often called "Crescent") to loosen, and then ultimately remove the two bolts holding the motor bracket onto the side of the machine. These are the same two bolts I would loosen to adjust belt tension or to replace the belt.

I will also need a small flat bladed screwdriver to remove the 1950's style electrical plug on the end of the bad wiring.  Commonly the screws are hiding underneath a piece of cardboard. I'll also need another size of screwdriver for both the brushes and the motor body screws, but that's getting a few pages ahead!

Wire

Wire comes in many different sizes and materials, but if I run out tomorrow to purchase new wire I would buy single strands of 'stranded' (not solid) AWG 18 gauge copper wire to replace the wiring on my Nova. I've heard that other people have 'recycled' an electrical cord with a plug end from some defunct household devise. My Father, a certified electrician, had the habit of buying an inexpensive extension cord... and then cutting off the end he didn't need. -Ahem- I digress.

I'm using new wire. AWG 18 gauge. Stranded copper, in two different insulation colors. Since I'm still fairly new at this, I like to purchase more than enough wire so that I can cut some short pieces and practice my soldering before hand. It doesn't take much, several four inch pieces, but it's a great help to get some practice.

Wire Strippers/Cutters

Usually a pair of wire strippers has a cutter built in.  There are many available from all sorts of manufacturers: Klein, Irwin, Craftsman and etc. The one thing that I did appreciate being taught form my Dad was that if I needed a tool, then go out and buy a quality tool. Once I actually have it and have used it, chances are I'll use it again, and again. He was right. My set of stripper/cutters were made by Elco and look very similar to the Klein set below.

 

Soldering Iron

A plain simple soldering iron will do. I have a choice on the work bench and often rely on my Dad's ancient gun, but with any soldering iron or gun  there's a note of caution. The metal end of these get extremely hot. They must have a safe (read nonflammable or melt-able) place to be propped or set down without the hot end touching anything, or even almost touching.I really do have to plan ahead. There has to be a specific place for my iron to rest where the end won't be near anything, and so that the cable isn't in the way at all, and yet handy enough to be comfortable when needed.

Solder & flux. 

I'm using Archer's Rosin Core Solder... which is antique... and Nokorode Soldering Paste because I have it, and it's worked very well for me. Since I'm joining copper wire, I want the rosin based flux. I suppose it may be slightly redundant to have both the rosin core and the rosin flux, but again, it's worked well for me.

Noe included in his soldering tools list three things that I've failed to mention. The first is a damp sponge. This is extremely useful when cleaning off the dirty end of a soldering iron. Having a clean tip makes the process a lot easier. The second thing he mentioned was a respirator and I have to agree that if I was  going to be doing a lot of soldering... it would be mandatory. The fumes are gaseous lead and known to be toxic. I think that all tolled, I may have spent fifteen minutes total over the course of  the last year doing any soldering at all, and all of that time was spent in a very well ventilated area about as close as I could get to being outdoors.

Lastly, he mentions eye protection and it's not something I think of regularly. Being one of those people that has been wearing eyeglasses since age 5... I often forget that my glasses, as good as they are, are not enough.  Safety glasses should always be worn when soldering.


The “Helping Hands” Tool

At first I thought this little gizmo wasn't needed. I could hobble something together to hold two wires somewhat taunt, but I hadn't read ahead. The helping hand isn't just for holding the wires together. Its other and perhaps far more important function comes when you're soldering new wires to the motor leads. In this case the helping hand serves as a heat sink as well, and it's this second function that may be far more important than it's wire holding capability. When it performs as a heat sink, it draws heat away from the electrical motor winding, saving them from heat stress. Not having a heat sink of some sort during that process could seriously damage a motor. I also found that a set of Helping Hands were a lot less expensive than I imagined.

Heat shrink tubes

Inexpensive little tubes that shrink in size when you heat them? They're brilliant. The only real problem is deciding how many of what size, because like with so many other things I have to decide how often I might need this stuff. If it wasn't for having to rewire several sewing machine motors here lately... I don't know where else I'd use it. I'm sure it has other applications... but for my needs, right here, right now, I bought a variety pack because it looked like the best choice for my money. I'm sure online offers might be better, but they don't include the fun of visiting Bosetti's - our neighborhood's family-owned hardware store.

The recommended size of shrink wrap tubes for 18 gauge wire is 3mm (1/8th inch) tubing which has a .118 inch diameter and a 2:1 shrink ratio. The reason I bought a variety pack is so that I have larger sizes if I find that I need to hold together two already insulated or wrapped wires.

A Heat Gun or cigarette lighter.

For me, in this application, a heat gun is overkill. They're a tad difficult to maneuver into such a small space, and again, I worry about getting things near the shrink tubes too warm. When possible I'll just use a disposable lighter and save the heat gun for larger work.

Other thoughts:

This is the end of my 'official' tool list. I should mention that I use a well-lit work surface. It has access to an electrical plug for the soldering iron, and the other thing I always have with me when it comes to vintage sewing machines is a fused power strip. None of the vintage sewing machines in our house are left plugged in unless they are on a fused strip and, as I've already mentioned, I plan ahead for the safe place to set down an extremely hot soldering gun tip.

What's next?

I'll go over the skill set required - not that I have any of them - but I'll go over them anyways.