Category: Machine or accessory?

This was the first Singer 321 that I refurbished and cleaned. But having already gained experience in servicing and refurbishing Singer/Studio machines, I did not hesitate to start working on it.

A little bit of history: Singer/Studio 321 machines were introduced in 1972 and were the second earliest model capable of patterning with 24-stitch punch cards. It is a standard (4.5 mm) gauge machine with 200 needles. So, this machine is 50 years old!!

I inserted a brand new sponge bar and sponge bar (purchased it from the Knitting Closet). It was specifically advertised for Studio/Singer machines. It fit right in but the white plastic end sticks out only on one side. So, make sure you don’t push the bar too far otherwise it will be hard to get it out to replace the needles and to replace the sponge.

I removed all removable rust from the inside of the machine and covered some rusty spots inside the case with an anti-rust coating.

To remove the carriage from the needles in working positions (for example, to unravel a row or if the carriage is stuck), the sinker plate needs to be removed from the carriage first. It is a bit not as convenient as other, newer models, but not the end of the world, in my opinion. The dial on the carriage is in Spanish but it is intuitive to use, especially if you have an English copy of the manual in front of you. If you are a Spanish speaker, then it is an extra bonus for you!!!

The manual is very well written. This machine could be accompanied by Spanish or English versions. This particular machine has words in Spanish )on the carriage) and an accompanying manual in Spanish. Please, let me know which copy you prefer. I liked very much that this machine have pegs to attach a row counter on both sides of the bed. I knitted a shawl and was glad that I did not have to transfer carriage all the way to the opposite end just t count my rows. The machine comes with all accessories mentioned in the manual, all of which fit nicely into a special box. It includes a set of punch cards but only 18 – cards 14 and 16 are missing.

I tested all the knobs, levers and card readers extensively. I knitted patterns using tuck-stitch, slip-stitch and fair isle on partial and full bed.

[videopress jSZLTGgc w=”540″ at=”5″]

The sinker plate and the tension mast fit inside the case lid when not in use.

Now about the imperfections. Maybe because this machine is 50 years old, or maybe because the previous owners did not love her as much, there are some cosmetic imperfections and cracks on the case. None of these affect the machine performance. See the pictures below with brief description.

Side racks are missing. They are rubber pieces that go on the ends of the bed to prevent the carriage from mis-patterning if knitting on a full bed. However, with careful knitting and by not going too fast, it can be avoided. As I demonstrated in my video, it did not affect me tuck-stitch knitting on a full bed.

The body of the machine has a spot that I could not remove.

The case cover has several dents. The one below is especially visible.

Some spots and discoloration on the outside of the case, including the handle

These are where the holding clamps attach at the bottom of the machine. They are rusty but are very strong and held a machine for me without problems/.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this machine. It is simple yet strong and will serve its new owners long years if serviced and take care of correctly. Check my video blog, showing this machine in action.

This machine was in decent shape when I got it. Even now, look how it shines even though there is some age-related discoloration on the plastic. It still needed a new sponge bar. A typical problem when the old sponge bars are not replaced in time is that it corrodes all needles. So, yes, some of the needles needed to be polished.

It was dusty so I also cleaned the bed and all the mechanisms. Patterning drums and the carriage needed some Kroil-oil treatment to get levers unstuck.

The machine works really well. I tested it on a full bed with stockinette stitch (to make sure all needles perform as they are supposed to). Check out my youtube video recorded specifically on this machine, which shows all these tests. (The only thing I did not test is the knit leader. I just do all my calculations myself and as of now don’t see a need in a kinit leader for my projects. The drum rotates though.

I tested fair isle, touch and slip stitch patterning. I also did a full bed fair isle testing.

See what cam out of these experiments on this machine:

• A double-sided reversible scarf/neck warmer
• And cozy, soft and very comfortable leg warmers

Some minor accessories are missing (but it will not prevent you from knitting even sophisticated things):

1. No lace carriage: lace carriages are typically sold for Memo Matic Singer 360K separately.
2. The machine came with only one set of punch card clamps, one set of yarn separators, one set of point cams and one silky thread/cord. Please, refer to the diagram below to know what these are. Point cams and yarn separators are only needed for single motif fair isle knitting. When you know how to do that, that means you are already very advance and by that time you will know whether you need an additional set and where to get it. Punch-card clips don’t break often but if they do, it is easy to get them on Aliexpress or Amazon.
3. The machine also did not come with an auxiliary feeding cam (number 22 on the diagram below). This cam is needed when knitters knit garments with the help of knit-leader (also often called a knit radar or knit contour). I consider myself an intermediate knitter but I yet to use a knit leader. I do all my calculations myself.

Now about several imperfections on this machine.

1. The tension dial on the carriage has slight dents (see below right under the handle). It absolutely did not affect my knitting, tension setup or stitch pick-up.
2. Side racks (also often called as rail ends) are missing. Typically, these are plastic pieces with ribbing that are attached on each end of the bed. They can be ordered online as well. The machine actually came with them but they were so crumpled that fell off the bed instantly. So, I had to throw them away. Why I do not find them to be the critical components? An average knitter would rarely use a full bed to knit. These rail ends are needed so if your carriage to maintain the patterning of the drums when you are close to the end of the metal bed. Sometimes the carriage accidentally comes of the bed and the patterning can be messed up. However, even without these side racks, I was able to demonstrate a full-bed knitting with punch cards: I just slowed down the arrange movements towards the end-sides of the bed to make sure that the patterning drum remains on the tracks.
3. I feel that on this machine, the carriage runs back and forth a bit louder than other machines even after a thorough oiling. I did not find any issues with the knitting though.
4. The lid of the whole case has some chipping. The most critical is on one side (see the two pictures below).

The case, however, is still structurally intact. I simply recommend when the machine is in storage, to put it n a dry environment maybe just wrapped with a large plastic bed on the side where you see this hole.

Two other minor cracks/broken pieces are on the other side of the case lid and inside the lid where the tension mast attaches. These are not critical.

Overall pros and cons of Singer 360K:

Pros:

• The patterning drums make it very easy to move the machine. They engage with the punch card mechanism very nicely without much noise.
• The manual is very well-written and I was able to follow the instructions with ease and to learn all the techniques.
• The other optional brochures included with the setup up contain information on the settings for punch cards to achieve certain pattern as well as how to knit garments of various shapes. I know these are available online, but when one knits, it is always nice to have a hard, high-quality, copy handy. All brochures could be found online.
• Easy-to find replacement needles since these models are relatively “newer” ones. I get mine on Aliexpress.
• The tools are pretty standard and are pretty interchangible with other models. All tools fit into a built-in box on the left-hand side of the machine.
• Some might find having the built-in knit-leaders very handy: there is no need to have a separate long setup laying around – in this setup all fits into one carrier box
• Includes an optional lace carriage
• I found that putting this machine to storage and opening and closing is much easier than multiple brother machines I had a chance to struggle with. There is a very clear schematic on the cover with the order of how placing the parts together. I found this extremely helpful as putting these machines away is often a big frustrating struggle.

  

  

   

• The carriage has a release lever (earlier Studio/Singer models do not), which is very convenient when a carriage needs to be removed from the bed in the middle of knitting if it gets stuck. In earlier models without this lever, one needs to unscrew the sinker plate and then lift the top cover of the carriage to remove the carriage from the bed.
• Built-in row counter.

The cons are:

• no timing belt, which might make the carriage movements somewhat hard depending on your tension and knitting pattern and technique. It was not a problem for me at all but after 200 rows of knitting my garment my hands and arms were a bit soar. Well, I guess this is how I can substitute my work out now.
• The most significant flow in my mind is that the patterning drums often get stuck if not oiled regularly, especially when not used for a very long time or put into storage (I restored already two OTHER machines where the drums were simply shut… They needed soak in an oil bath and some heavy-duty disassembling). To avoid this problem, put some light oil regularly on the patterning drums.
• Unlike Brother punch card machines, lace carriage is in a separate box. So, just one more thing to keep track off.
• The row counter dial is at the end of the bed. Not too inconvenient but I personally prefer the row count to be right in front of me – not at the end of the bed.

The machine is currently for sale in my Etsy store.

When I got this machine, it was in excellent shape. Previously I restored and cleaned Singer 210 MemoMatic and Studio 360K so I was familiar with Singer’s knitting machines designs.

Singer 700 is very similar to Studio 360: the most obvious differences are positions of punch card reader, knit leader and a row counter. Another prominent difference is that the row counter dial in Singer 700 is in the middle of the bed (versus at the very end of the bed on Singer 360). Singer 700 is also a later-released model. But maybe the reason for a later release is simply a rebranding – the name changed from Studio to Singer (or vice versa). Since all of this not critical, let’s get to the actual machine.

Singer 700 is a 24-hole punch card reading machine capable of slip- and tuck- stitch patterning and fair isle knitting. In fact, I learned fair isle knitting on this machine for the first time. I will post in a several blog article my thoughts about fair isle, common mistakes and problems and how to trouble shoot mis-patterning issues.

The machine came to me with all accessories, including all transfer tools, knit leader sheets, weights, etc. The gauge guides did not come with this machine (see number 8 below). The punch cards that came with this machine are mostly the same with some exception. (For example, intarsia card is not as shown in the manual). Some other cards are different as well. I tested the tuck and slip stitch cards and they worked fine.

The machine has its own original box and hard cover, both of which are in excellent shape.

The set of manuals that came with this machine includes only Operation manual (http://machineknittingetc.com/knitmaster-600-700-operation-knitting-machine-instruction-manual.html).

The knitting manual (which explains how to use the knit radar) is available here: http://machineknittingetc.com/knitmaster-600-700-knitting-machine-instruction-manual.html

The pattern book for this model is available here: http://machineknittingetc.com/knitmaster-600-700-pattern-manual.html

The accessories fit nicely into a storage box on the side of the machine. I used it also as a stand to keep my handy tools (stitch transfer and needle selector) during the actual knitting – otherwise they are constantly getting lost!

In this machine, I replaced a sponge but the bar is original. (the metal sort of “railing” that holds the sponge). Unfortunately, the machine came to me with a slightly chipped sponge bar end – the plastic piece that we grab to remove the sponge bar. However, it absolutely does not affect the function of the sponge bar and, especially, of the machine. I could still easily move the bar in and out.

As needles often rust due to the old sponge bar not being replaced in time, I remove all of them to make sure they did not rust. All needles were in excellent shape. I examined every single needle.

I tested this machine extensively with the exception of the knit leader (I don’t use knit leader as I do all my calculations myself). I am simply not used to knit leaders – it’s just the way I was first taught how to knit). Since this machine is very similar to Studio 360K and I already knew how to do simply tuck- and slip-stitch patterning, with this machine I mostly focused on learning how to knit fair isle.

I knitted fair isle on a full bed and then on only middle 90 needles to make leg warmers. I made several pairs and one of them are shown below. (I used a card I had for my other machine).

The machine has similar pros and cons to the 360K with one exception: the carriage on Singer 700 Mod moves much easier than on Studio 360K even though it does not have a timing belt!!!

Pros:

• The patterning drums make it very easy to move the machine. They engage with the punch card mechanism very nicely without much noise.
• The manual is very well-written and I was able to follow the instructions with ease and to learn all the techniques.
• All manuals and brochures are available online.
• All tools fit nicely into a built-in storage box, the cover of which actually shows how to arrange them.

• Easy-to find replacement needles since these models are relatively “newer” ones.
• The carriage has a release lever (earlier Studio/Singer models do not), which comes handy when the carriage gets stuck and needs to be removed from the bed in the idle of knitting.
• The tools are pretty standard and are pretty interchangible with other models.

  
  

• The carriage moves very easily – I currently have a shoulder injury but still move it without any pain.
• Some might find having the built-in knit-leaders very handy: there is no need to have a separate long setup laying around – in this setup all fits into one carrier box
• I found that putting this machine to storage and opening and closing is much easier than multiple brother machines I had a chance to struggle with. There is a very clear schematic on the cover with the order of how placing the parts together. I found this extremely helpful as putting these machines away is often a big frustrating struggle.
• Built-in row counter: knitters should not worry that a detachable row counter would be lost (like for Brother machines).
• All parts fit into a case. The schematics on the case lid shows how to put away the machine and it is very easy to follow (much easier than on Brother).

  
  

• Easy-to-learn patterning. The knobs on the carriage are straightforward – just follow the steps in the manual.

  
  
  

  The cons are:
  

• The most significant flow in my mind is that the patterning drums often get stuck if not oiled regularly, especially when not used for a very long time or put into storage (I restored already two OTHER machines where the drums were simply shut… They needed soak in an oil bath and some heavy-duty disassembling). To avoid this problem, put some light oil regularly on the patterning drums. Lucky for me, this machine had the drums in excellent shape.
• I personally wish the setup included cast-on bars but it might also be my personal preference. However, cast on bars can be easily purchased.

  Take a look again at this beautiful setup and check it out on my Etsy page.