Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Janome Jem 639 and My New Favorite Cleaning Aid

  On my weekly stroll through the local thrift shop, I spotted a sweet little Janome Jem just waiting for me to take it home.  It appeared to be in good condition, the foot control, presser foot, and bobbin case were present so I picked it up in hopes that one of the local quilters would be willing to give me a little more than I paid for a lightweight machine to carry to sew-ins and classes.


  When I got it home, I found it was not just in good condition, it looks like it has never been used!  The sticker on top showing how to wind a bobbin was not even smudged.


  It needed no repairs or adjustments, it sews like right out of the box! The package of three needles that came with the machine is unopened.  The only attachment that came with it was a buttonhole foot, there probably should have been a zipper foot, at least.

  The one detracting feature was the price - written in magic marker on the plastic case.  In the past, I have used headlight lens restorer to remove magic marker from plastic but the headlight lens restorer was downstairs and I was upstairs, so I grabbed something else to try, a magic eraser.


  I had never used one of these but picked one up at the Dollar Store to clean our fiberglass shower stall.  It worked fine there, so I have been trying it out on other surfaces - tile grout, vinyl flooring, metal sewing machines - all with excellent results.  I was hesitant to use it on this shiny plastic machine, fearing it might leave scratches or leave a shadow of the Sharpie price mark.  It cleaned off the mark completely and left nary a scratch in the plastic.


 Now a word about Janome Customer Service. I emailed them asking for a copy of the 639 instruction manual.  Within 6 hours, I had a return email with a pdf attachment titled "639.pdf" but when I opened the file, it was for a 693, not a 639.  I emailed them again and within 6 hours had another return email with the proper instruction manual.  Thank you, Janome Customer Service.

12 comments:

Jonathan said...

What a great thrift store find! Looks like a great machine for a beginner. And it's a Janome! I LOVE all metal vintage machines but they're heavy. Having a light weight machine like this for classes is always a good idea.

Carolyn said...

I am adding a Magic Eraser to my cleaning/repair kit the next time I see one- thanks for the tip! Just purchased a 500 from e(vil)Bay and although it didn't appear to have any magic marker on it, who knows? A Magic Eraser could come in handy on other types of spots (which most of my vintage machines have...)

Anonymous said...

I've found that plain old rubbing alcohol can remove magic marker from most surfaces as well, although I don't know how it would do on metal or plastic.

Unknown said...

Hi,

Just curious, do you still have the Janome 693 manual that they sent you incorrectly? I can not get it from the Janome site. The form does not recognise my phone number although I put country as Australia, where I live.

Thanks you, I enjoyed reading your blog. It is good to see old machines given another life.

Nicole

Unknown said...

Nicole,

I still have the manual, it's a digital version in pdf format. Email me at oldsewingmachines at gmail and we'll figure out how to transfer a copy to you. -Ed

Heather said...

I am also trying to find a manual for the jem 639 but unable to get one

Unknown said...

Heather, email me at my gmail address OldSewingMachines. -Ed

Unknown said...

Hi. I just pulled my machine out of the garage. Not sure where the feet or manual are. Can someone point me in the right direction to get these ? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Is your machine a Janome Jem 639 (the subject of this thread)?

If so, I can email you a copy of the manual. Send me an email at my gmail address OldSewingMachines so I have your address. I can also order you a set of attachments if you can't find yours. -Ed

Anonymous said...

Hi, Lyle C here, can you email the Janome Jem 639 manual

Unknown said...

I could if I had an inkling of your email address. Should I just send to GeneralDelivery@gmail.com?

Anonymous said...

Hi my Jem 639 keeps missing a stitch every so often when Im using cotton material with 5% elastane. I've tried all different stitches and tensions can any1 help solve my problem please? Many thanks in advance Eve x