Singer 431G Slant-O-Matic throat plate pin problem

The 431Gs are considered by many to be the epitome of Singers 'Engineered' (as opposed to injection moulded plastic) machines.

The last of the best?

This one is immaculate & has undamaged throat plate pins....
Be aware of this if you ever consider buying one.

Many users assumed that the throat plate pins are cross head screws & try to use a screwdriver to remove them. DON'T!! They are 'snap fasteners' & easily damaged.

The 'Screws' get broken thus & you will see many 431s in this sad condition. The pins are not available new & like 'hens teeth' second hand.

The other important consideration as a buyer is the chain stitch throat plate & correct bobbin case. Make sure these original parts come with it if you want the machine to chain. Often sold seperately by knowing sellers because they fetch good prices on their own....

Be wary.

If you do find a good one treasure it: ) They are fine machines & already 50+ years old. These machines were made to last, and really do!

This is the 431throat plate problem in reality.

One segment of 4 left on each side.... Could hardly be worse!? It still works thus, but it's a little concerning! I've done high speed twin needle zig zags with this one. Just to see. Never broke a needle: ) Not recommended.

This is a little better:

A good pin on the left. I rotated the right pin 180 degrees & it works OK.
IE It holds the needle plate in place well enough to work without worrying too much about it!


This below is the minimal working setting & I use it quite successfully on my spares machine. (But I do not recommend its use to others really!) The 2 pins here only have one of four segments left! But I rotated the pins so that the existing segment was at 9 o'clock & 3 o'clock. I've also used a thin layer of Bluetack under the plate & that helps a little.

Couldn't use the machine else. I use it regularly like this. It's got poor cosmetics but it runs very well.



These throat plate pins are really hard to find. Manufacture ceased in the mid/late 60s I believe & they are not easy to reproduce. They require precision engineering (Turning/grinding) to close tolerances. Maybe some one-offs have been produced, but that doesn't help much here.

My solution has been to buy up Spares/Repairs machines for the vital parts.

Maybe other 431G owners have a fix for this problem?
I've thought of using magnets, for example.

Finally the solution may well be here:
https://archaicarcane.com/needleplates-and-pins-replacing-the-throat-plate-and-spool-pins-on-singer-slants/

Not tried it myself yet, but looks very promising: ) Lots of other useful Slant info from Tammi on the blog, & more extended, practical videos on Youtube. Well worth a good look. I learnt lots after I got my first Slant, right there.


I've seen examples where the faulty pins have been removed & screws/self tappers used instead, but this is a crude solution I don't want to consider yet. You need to be able to change the throatplates easily.

I've even seen one on Ebay with sellotape holding the thoatplate in place...

But, on the other hand you cannot use these 431s without securing the needle plate.

I'm sure there is an elegant solution, but it's still eluding me: )

 

July 28 2021

A belated update here & Covid is not to blame...

It is a good, sensible solution IMO.

Essentially, the later cylindrical (as opposed to split/sprung) pins work very well. 

They locate the throat plate laterally. It ain't moving laterally at all, under foot pressure, in use.

Vertically the foot pressure also limits movement. So it is safe to use in my opinion. In use I don't even think about it now: ) I could be criticised for being over-cautious, but better Safe than Sorry?

With just one pin of four each side, previously, I did consider it in use... Close to the Edge that one in retrospect? Take a Walk on the Wild Side, now & again, is my answer to that one. And it worked anyway: )

The later machines do have weak magnets to 'hold' the plate down. I don't think the magnets do much & in use they can be practically ignored.

My idea always is to keep these very cool machines working for as long as possible: )

Original or not.