Vintage Sewing Machines

Alternate Power Featherweight

2011-10-23T12:44:00.002-04:00

I got several comments on my last posting saying how bad I was to sell my wife's Featherweight. It wasn't really all THAT bad because we still had another one. Unfortunately, my daughter needed a science fair project and decided on Alternate Energy.

She took the other Featherweight and converted it to water power.

My wife tried using this one at a couple of sew-ins but other women complained about all the water on the floor around their electric machines so she had to switch to a 301.

Cleaning plastic Machines

2011-10-22T18:35:00.000-04:00

This post isn’t about a vintage sewing machine, but rather about a technique I discovered that can be used on vintage sewing machines. I picked up a New Home NH 609 this week. As far as I can tell, it’s the New Home version of the Janome Jem. It looked like it had been transported in a truck full of old tires because it had black marks all over it.

I tried vinyl and rubber cleaner to remove the marks but that had little or no effect. I remembered the graphing calculator I got at a thrift shop that the extremely intelligent manager had written the price in permanent marker on the display lens. I tried baby oil, kerosene, and several other non-abrasive methods to remove that marker but nothing worked. Last resort was some Headlight Lens Restorer I had used on our old Dodge Intrepid headlights.

I figured if it could clean up plastic headlight lenses, it might also clean up a calculator lens. Sure enough, that mark disappeared like something David Copperfield would have envied. Out to the garage to get the Headlight Lens Restorer to try on the black marks on this plastic sewing machine.

Shazam! Those black marks just melted away and the Headlight Lens Restorer polished the plastic so it looks like new.

All I need now is a spool pin and maybe my wife will get off my back about my selling her Featherweight while she was out shopping.

Viking 64 40

2011-10-02T14:59:00.000-04:00

In Fredericksburg, Virginia for a business meeting a few weeks ago, I noticed a Goodwill Store across the street from the hotel where the meeting was being held. Never one to pass up a chance to paw through junk, I headed across the street at the first opportunity. There was only one sewing machine, from a distance, I thought it was a modern plastic Singer and nothing I would be interested in. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a Husqvarna Viking 6440, manufactured in the '75 - '77 timeframe, in good cosmetic condition but frozen solid. Vikings are not common in my area, this was only the third one I have ever seen but it was complete, in good condition, with foot control and some extras and the price was right so it came home with me.

A few years back, I owned a 5000 series and a 6000 series ex-school Vikings and they were pure junk. I couldn’t see why anyone would ever buy a Viking, much less rave about it.

What I did like, however, was their foot controls.

Instead of a wiper arm sliding across a rheostat, the Vikings of that era use a wheel rolling across a rheostat. This makes for much smoother operation and less chance of the foot control sticking.

They also have a safety feature that completely disconnects power when there is no pressure on the pedal. I still have one of my original foot controls but have been hoarding it until I could find a machine worthy of it.

When I saw that this Viking had the foot control, I figured that alone was worth the $12.95 sticker price, so I picked it up.

When I got this one home and opened up, I found that even though the exterior was spic & span, the spider webs inside indicated it hadn't been used in some time and had been stored in less than ideal conditions. It took lots of exercising to free up the mechanisms but in about an hour, it started sewing and gets continually better.

It has the slide-on accessory tray that probably wasn’t meant to sew on, but I do anyway, since the table extension was not included. In the tray were some bobbins and a couple of accessories, but by no means a full bag.

I wasn’t expecting much, considering my history with Vikings, but when I started sewing a small project, I was in for a shock! The machine is smooth, quiet, and produces an excellent stitch. Now, I can see why Viking owners are proud of their machines, they probably bought them new and performed all the required maintenance, unlike the school system that produced my first two Vikings.

It only has the “A” cam, so I only have four stitches in addition to straight stitch and zig zag but 99% of my sewing is straight stitch, 0.9% zig zag, and only 0.1% decorative stitch, so I can live without all the fancy stitches. Guess I’ll keep it until it needs some kind of repair, and then I’ll put the foot control on a Necchi Supernova and sell the Viking for parts.

Pfaff 330

2011-09-25T12:51:00.001-04:00

I haven’t done much playing with sewing machines lately because I was involved in a larger project, recovering a chaise lounge we purchased at a thrift shop. I did get to use my Singer 20U that hasn’t been exercised since we moved over a year ago, but that’s another post.

This Pfaff 330 was an ebay purchase from several years ago. I decided I had to dig it out of the garage and get it running or get rid of it.

I liked the machine because it is an early example of a zig zag machine and the bed extension is built in. It just swivels up into place when the operator needs a flat bed.

It came to me with a box of accessories, carrying case, instruction book dated September 1952 and a sales receipt dated 4 June 1953. Not many of my machines have such a provenance!

Those who are familiar with the Pfaff 330 will notice that the bed is unusual. The paint was cracked and falling off. Assuming I would never find a suitable paint match, I stripped all the paint off the bed and polished the aluminum.

After cleaning and oiling, I used it on a small project to test it. The needle thread kept breaking, so I looked for a burr on the hook that might be the culprit and found the two screws on the outside of the hook burred. This is not a good photo, I took it with my cell phone but you can get an idea what area I am talking about.

I smoothed them down somewhat and reduced the amount of thread breakage, but still need to do more work in that area.

I had to stop working on the thread breakage issue because on my second project, the motor became intermittent. I would step on the foot control and nothing would happen – no hum, no smoke, no rotation – just nothing. If I turned the balance wheel by hand, the motor would then drive the machine for a while, then nothing again. I popped the motor out of the machine and found the surface of the motor covered with corrosion. Another poor cell phone photo, but you can see the corrosion all over the surface of the motor.

Apparently, the machine has either been in a flood or subjected to very high humidity for a long time. The motor commutator was quite dirty and the motor brushes are quite short. I cleaned off all the corrosion I could get to, cleaned the commutator oiled the bushings and cleaned out the brush tubes so the brushes can slide easily. Reassembled, it appears to be working; I’ll have to use it for a while to determine whether I have made a permanent fix. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for a new pair of brushes.

Auction Finds

2011-09-03T12:13:00.001-04:00

Went to a local auction this morning and there were more sewing machines there than I have ever seen at an auction. I counted eleven and might have missed a few. There was one modern machine, a Kenmore 17000 series that appeared to be well cared-for.

An electric Brother in a well-worn carrying case was tempting because the machine inside was pristine. That case had done its job protecting the cargo inside.

Many of the rest of the machines were Singers, mostly 66s in average used condition but there were New Homes, Domestics, a Paveway, and some other badges I don’t remember.

How many did I end up with? None! This Singer 15 was the only one I thought twice about because the cosmetic condition was nearly perfect – all the paint and decals were just like they should be with minimal wear.

But I just don’t want to sacrifice any more space to another treadle machine, so I left it for one of the many Amish who were at the auction.

Not ANOTHER Necchi!

2011-08-11T17:47:00.001-04:00

On vacation last week, I was crawling through thrift stores in Fredericksburg, Virginia looking for treasures. On the back wall of a Goodwill store, I spotted a plain gray sewing machine carrying case with no name on it. The metal on the clasps and carrying handle was rusty, an indication that the machine was stored in an area of high humidity. Thinking it was probably a rusty Japanese clone, I reluctantly lifted the lid and found a Necchi Lydia 3 – one of the last of the Italian-made Necchis.

It was dirty and missing the foot control but there was no rust on the inside, it had the extension table (not shown in the above photo), a full complement of accessories, the paint was in good condition and the balance wheel turned smoothly so I gave the cashier the $9.95 on the price tag and tossed it in the back of the van. I had to go all week knowing that machine was in there and I couldn’t play with it because we were staying in hotels and I had no tools or foot control with me. Today, I pulled it out and cleaned it up and oiled it. I had a spare Necchi foot control that could easily be modified to work on the Lydia and didn’t need to replace any other parts.

I did have a few problems, when I took off the pieces covering the needlebar and presser bar, a plastic piece fell out and it took a while to figure out that it controlled the presser foot pressure and how to get that piece reinstalled properly. After I finally got the machine all back together, I couldn’t figure out how to thread it and had to get on the internet and look up a threading diagram; then there were tension issues. Cleaning the tension disks seems to have solved that one.

The reason I have no Lydias in my Necchi collection is because that model has a fatal flaw – a plastic camshaft. The camshaft controls all the decorative and utility stitches and the camshafts made of plastic crack after a period of years and have to be replaced for a King’s ransom. In the store, I set the stitch selector on a decorative stitch and carefully felt for bumps as I slowly turned the balance wheel. If the camshaft is severely cracked, you can feel the imperfection as the cam follower rides over the crack. The decorative stitches will all have a visible flaw because the crack acts as a low spot on the cam and allows the needle to move in a direction that was not intended.

Opening the end cover, my fears were realized when I saw several small cracks in both ends of the camshaft. The good news is that none of the cracks run the full length of the camshaft, this is the worst one. Also, none of the cracks are wide enough to visibly affect the decorative stitches. It sews well on a test, patch, now to find a small project to more fully check it out.

Who Let the Feed Dogs Out?

2011-07-24T12:28:00.000-04:00

Singer 645

Back in the middle of the 600 Series Touch & Sews, Singer decided that rubber-coated feed dogs would be a good idea. They would feed even the finest of fabrics without snagging or leaving marks on the fabric.

Unfortunately, Singer forgot that rubber and sewing machine oil don’t play well together and the rubber coating on the feed dogs softens and crumbles off. When that happens, fabric will not feed and the machine will not sew.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me to look at a 645 that she picked up at a thrift shop. The first thing I saw was that the rubber had melted and was all out of shape.

Before investing $20 in a new feed dog, I looked at the internal gears. This series not only has a rubber feed dog, but plastic internal gears, also. All the plastic gears appeared to have been replaced because they were all black. The original gears were white and turn yellow/brown with age just before they crumble and break. Someone had spent a good deal of money having those gears replaced and I have not yet seen a black replacement gear crack or break. The machine ran quiet and smooth, so I decided it was worth the money to replace the feed dog.

Rubber-coated feed dogs are available but there is another option. After a few years, Singer realized that rubber-coated feed dogs were a mistake and went back to metal feed dogs with teeth. Those feed dogs from later model 600 series Touch & Sews fit perfectly where the rubber feed dogs were.

Just pop off the throat plate, remove the two screws holding the feed dog and lift off the feed dog. Set the new piece in place, replace the two screws and reinstall the throat plate. Takes less than 15 minutes. The metal feed dogs are about $2 cheaper but I happened to have one in the parts bin from a machine with cracked gears that I had parted out.

After seeing this machine, I am re-thinking the plastic gear issue and might try replacing a full set myself next time I run into a 600 series Touch & Sew that needs re-gearing.

Sad Necchi BU

2011-07-17T18:19:00.000-04:00

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Necchi BU because a $10 one from a thrift shop was my first exposure to the quality and sturdiness of Italian-built Necchis and Necchis have been my favorite machines ever since. A few of the post WWII Japanese machines come close, but I have found none yet that can match the smooth, quiet sewing of a well-oiled Necchi BU or Supernova. Anyway, this BU had been relegated to my storage shed for several years at the old house and sitting in the garage at the new house since we moved in a year ago. It has been so long since I used it, I don’t even remember why I initially put it in storage. It isn’t pretty by any means, paint on the bed is cracking, paint on the head is dull and the chrome is beginning to rust. I vaguely remember tension issues, but can’t be sure after all this time. I decided it either had to be rehabilitated or stripped for parts. Either way, it was not going to take up precious garage space any longer.

On the workbench, I found that the balance wheel would only make about half a rotation so I lubricated every friction point with Tri-Flow Lubricant and worked the balance wheel back and forth for about half an hour. Things weren’t getting any freer, so I got out a spray can of Permatex Ultra Slick Synthetic All-Purpose Lubricant and sprayed that all over the underside and inside the machine. In short time, the mechanism freed up and the motor spun the machine so fast I thought it was going to take off! That lasted for about a minute, and then it froze up again. This has been my experience with the modern wonder lubricants - they don’t do what they advertise and don’t last. Resorting to the old standby sewing machine oil, I oiled the machine and in just a few minutes had it running like new. At least the modern wonder lubricants broke the mechanism loose so the sewing machine oil could do its job.

The next issue was mounting the head in a cabinet. Original ads for the Necchi BU stressed the fact that many parts of the machine were common and repairs would not be a problem. But for some odd reason, the holes for the cabinet-to-machine mounting hinges are smaller than all the rest and standard hinges will not fit in the holes. It's virtually impossible to find a set of the correct hinge pins. In the past, I have reamed out the BU holes to accept standard hinges but am afraid that might weaken the bed and the weight of the machine could cause the metal of the bed to crack and the machine fall out of the cabinet. Now, I take a standard set of hinge pins and grind them down just enough to fit the holes in the BU.

This was not the last of the problems, though, when I attempted to sew a test patch, the material wouldn’t feed and when it did, stitch length was not consistent. It also felt like the presser foot was not doing a good job of pushing the fabric down against the feed dog. I lowered the presser foot about a quarter inch and stitch quality improved. I haven't permanently solved this problem, I think the presser foot is not original Necchi but an industrial high shank foot. Many folks don't realize that high shank feet and industrial feet are the same thing. If you have high shank machines and need feet, investigate the industrial feet sold on eBay for options. Anyway, I will try replacing this one with a Necchi foot to see if it makes any difference, if that doesn't fix it, I will lower the presser bar a bit.

One thing I like about this machine is the light. It has “Necchi” embossed on the shade, so I am fairly sure it is a genuine Necchi light but it is mounted using a swivel with multiple joints so the light can be repositioned an infinite number of ways. If I ever decide to get rid of this machine, I will definitely keep the light.

A Squid in My Jeans?

2011-07-13T19:22:00.000-04:00

With all my recent business travel, college visits with my Rising Senior Daughter, and family illnesses, it has been a long time since I last posted. To get back in the swing, I am going to start off with a simple recycled jean project.

In Big Lots yesterday, I spotted a cell phone charger on sale for $8. That’s not a great price, except this model had a charger that would plug into either a wall socket or a car cigarette lighter and six different “heads” to fit many different phones. I could see carrying only one charger and using it to charge my daughter’s Motorola, my Blackberry, and my wife’s LG either in the minivan or in a hotel room. I envisioned the cable looking like a squid with a head shaped like a USB plug and six tentacles streaming out behind. In that configuration, I could conceivably charge all three phones simultaneously.

Unfortunately, when I got home and opened the package, I found the squid head shaped like a USB plug, but the tentacles were separate adapters that plugged individually into the South end of the squid. So, I can only charge one phone at a time and I had to come up with some way to keep track of all those loose adapters.

Knowing that I had a pair of discarded jeans on my cutting table, I decided to recycle that fabric, rather than buying new. As I looked to find the best place to cut, I noticed a rear pocket and decided that if I could incorporate that pocket into my design, half of the cutting and sewing had already been done for me. I cut out the pocket leaving about one inch of fabric all around.

Next, I cut a chunk from the bottom of a leg, keeping the hem intact. I trimmed that piece to the exact shape of the bottom and sides of the pocket, with about 2-3 inches extra at the top to serve as a cover flap.

I rolled over the fabric above the pocket and made a hem. Then, I measured and sewed six even slots in the pocket to hold the six adapters.

Next, I sewed the pant leg piece to the back side of the pocket and rolled the extra fabric from around the pocket to the back side and sewed along the pocket seam to hold it. I could have been neater if I had taken more time, but thinking this would only be a prototype, I was more interested in getting it done quickly.

After coming up with some way to fasten down the flap, the six adapters fit snugly in the pocket and the charger and squid live in the compartment behind the pocket.

To keep this on topic, I was going to discuss the Necchi BU I used for this project, but this post has gotten so long I will save that for another day.

Fair Lady?

2011-03-18T20:04:00.000-04:00

Lest you think I don't care about anything but Necchi and Singer, let me show you my latest acquisition - a White Model 764. I have seen it called a "Fairlady" or "Fair Lady"on the internet, but see nothing on the machine itself to substantiate that.

I have been hoping to run across one of these for many years because I just like the looks with that integrated handle. Until today, every one I had seen was either way too expensive, or in poor condition, or both. I happened across this one in a thrift shop while I was searching for an AC adapter for some wireless headphones. One look at the immaculate paint and the $20 price tag and I didn't even spin the balance wheel, just bought it then and there.

When I got it home and started playing with it, I found the bobbin case jammed in the shuttle race and the check spring out of adjustment. Oh, and it was missing the presser foot. It took less than 10 minutes to get it sewing.

It is in exceptional condition, not a chip or scratch on the paint. Any imperfections you think you see in the photo are either reflections or dust. That's the secret to collecting vintage sewing machines, go for the cosmetic condition because the mechanicals can be replaced, but once the paint is gone, it's gone.

The engraving on the bobbin cover (it's not a slide plate 'cause it doesn't slide - maybe it's a hinge plate) says "Selected for the House of Good Taste New York World's Fair". That puts this machine's birthday around 1964.

One-Block Wonder

2011-02-12T19:35:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged in quite some time - buying a new house and business travel have occupied most of my spare time in the past year. Today, I had time to fit in a small sewing project. A co-worker who has a phobia of sitting in seats previously used by strangers (rental cars, airline seats, etc.) asked me to make a seat cover for her. She gave me a piece of yoga mat cut to the shape she wanted and I was to make a cover for it. She provided very little guidance, when I asked what color she would like, she said, "surprise me" and when I asked if there was some special quilt pattern she would like, she said, "no, anything quilty".

With that to go by, I started rifling through my wife's quilt fabric stash for raw materials and hit the internet looking for a block pattern I could whip up in a hurry that would still look like I worked real hard. Here is the finished product:

Because piecing quilts is boring to me, I only make small quilt items. My wife calls me a One-Block Wonder.

To keep this on topic, for this project I used my latest acquisition, a Singer 201 from a local thrift shop for the piecing.

I was driving by one day and saw it sitting outside with a $30 price tag on it and had to buy it. I consider the 201 one of Singer's best-made machines. With the rotating hook and gear-drive motor, they run smooth and quiet and produce perfect stitches. The AG2XXXXX serial number places this one's manufacture squarely in 1941. It's not in the best condition, but they are getting harder to find in the wild and I try to keep one around at all times.

More on the Value of Old Sewing Machines

2010-08-11T12:22:00.002-04:00

I had a chance to watch the HGTV show "Cash In The Attic" this morning where the host and an "expert" pick items from a family's possessions and takes them to auction to raise funds for a specific purpose or project. One of this morning's possessions was the lady's Grandmother's Singer sewing machine. The machine lived down in the basement, the finish was dull or extremely dirty and it was covered with cobwebs. Probably frozen solid from being in the damp basement for a prolonged period, too. It was a 15 Class machine, I think a 15-91 but I didn't get a good look at the backside to be sure. The "expert" asked the owner what she thought it was worth and she immediately said, "$400 to $500". The "expert" explained that everyone has a Singer sewing machine, they aren't rare and estimated the value at $50. Needless to say, the owner was considerably deflated, seeing her bathroom remodeling going up in smoke. I was a bit skeptical at the $50 estimate because I have never paid more than half that for a 15-91. It sold at auction for $5.

I run into this all the time - people visit antique shops and see treadle machines marked at $250, then think that because they have a similar black Singer with gold decals, theirs has a similar value. It just ain't so.

Singer 401/500/600 Stitch Selectors

2010-07-29T08:02:00.004-04:00

I have seen a couple of postings on forums recently mentioning that the stitch selector controls on Singer models 401, 500, or 600 no longer function. These three popular vintage machines share a similar mechanical structure and this is a common problem with all three models. The good news is that the problem is easily remedied.

When you rotate the stitch select knobs on the 401/500 or move the stitch select levers on the 600, you are causing metal collars to slide up or down on metal posts to select the desired stitch on the camstack. When the collars are not sufficiently lubricated, they stick to the posts and will no longer slide. If the collars don't slide, the control knobs/levers will not move, either.

The cure is to remove the top cover and dribble a drop or two of sewing machine oil down the two posts. The result won't be instantaneous - you should let the machine sit overnight before attempting to move the stitch select controls. Even that may not be enough, you might have to repeat the oil & wait cycle several times. If, after 3 times of oiling and waiting overnight, the collars still will not slide smoothly, try directing some hot air from a hair dryer toward the collars, that should make the collars expand enough to break loose.

Once the collars begin to exhibit a slight bit of movement, exercise them to work the oil in all around the area between the post and collar. Whatever you do, DON'T FORCE THE CONTROLS! If you bend or break the linkage between the control and the collar, it is no longer a simple, low-cost, do-it-yourself repair job.

After you have the stitch selector controls operating smoothly, make the posts part of your regular oiling routine.

Ed

Sometimes You Gotta Let Go!

2010-01-27T20:51:00.001-05:00

This week, I made the mistake of stating on a sewing machine collectors' forum that I plan to take a vanload of sewing machines to the landfill. From the firestorm that ensued, you would have thought that I am sending a dozen new Rolls Royces to the crusher! My inbox was flooded with people wanting me to use my time and packing materials to package these old machine carcasses and ship to them one at a time. Others called me an idiot for not trying to sell them, without even knowing what I have. All this reminded me of something I wrote well about 10 years ago. I dredged it up and find that I have Nostradamus tendencies, because here it is with absolutely no changes from the original, which I wrote when I was in Phase 3. I am currently in Phase 7:

The Phases of Sewing Machine Collecting

Phase 1: Looking for a first sewing machine or a backup for your plastic computerized machine that's always in the shop, you find an old Singer 66 or 99 minus the slide plate at Value Village. Although you have little or no interest in old sewing machines, it will be okay as a backup machine. If you don't like it, you can give to a family member (daughter) when she voices an interest in learning to sew and if you can't get it sewing, you can always use it as a decoration in your sewing room.

Phase 2: After cleaning, oiling, adjusting, and testing your find, you learn that it's an enjoyable activity and relatively easy, and you fear that your daughter may actually want it. You start looking for another machine for her so you can keep the first one. You begin going to local auctions, visiting every local thrift shop weekly and spending your lunch hour cruising ebay.

Phase 3: Friends, neighbors, and co-workers now know you collect sewing machines because that's all you talk about. They start dumping their non-working machines on you that have been sitting in the damp basement for 20 years. In your search for SM info, you find and sign up onto dozens of sewing machine forums. You spend more time reading and keeping up with the digests then you do working on the SM's. You sell your plastic computerized machine on the Sewing Rummage for $200 more than you paid for it and swear to never again sew on a machine made after 1955. You have wild dreams of selling your collection to some museum and retiring in luxury.

Phase 4: As you find more and more sources, you begin acquiring them faster than you can fix them up. You vow to limit the collection to one era and one manufacturer and pass by all others. You keep that vow religiously until the next time you visit the Goodwill store and see a neglected (fill in any manufacturer's name here) sitting in the corner on half-price day.

Phase 5: You have so many machines that you start donating or parting out the ugly ducklings in your growing collection (because no one wants to even pay shipping on them). Straight stitch machines are no longer a challenge and you pass them by in favor of more complicated specimens. Since few of those were made before 1955, you raise your manufacturing cutoff date to 1970.

Phase 6: You stop actively looking for more machines as you realize that you have more than you can fix up and sew on for the rest of your life. You settle down to fixing up the nicest few machines in your stable and sewing on them occasionally.

Phase 7: You tire of collecting and begin trying to dispose of your space-hogging old sewing machines, but you find that there is no market for them. Your fantasy of retiring on the proceeds of your collection goes up in smoke. You donate more to charities and haul some of the stripped carcasses to the dump.

Phase 8: You pare down to just three vintage machines you can't bear to part with - a Featherweight and two others. You are now sewing more and more but long for stretch stitches and features that the older machines can't provide.

Phase 9: You go to the local Sew & Vac and buy a brand new $3000 plastic computerized machine so you can enjoy one-step buttonholes, three alphabets, and 9mm zig zag.

Necchi Zig Zag Issue

2009-11-11T15:24:00.004-05:00

Tammy is having problems with her Lelia, it won't zig zag. Probably half the vintage Necchis I have owned had this problem when I got them. Necchis are victims of their own perfection - tolerances are so tight that even a minor build-up of corrosion that would not affect a lesser machine is enough to freeze a Necchi up tight. The cure to that problem in all my machines has been to lubricate the swivel arm top and bottom and wait overnight to see if the oil has penetrated enough to loosen up the swing arm.

Mere oiling will probably not be enough to free up the swivel arm, it might need some help. First thing to try is heat, preferably from a hair dryer. Heat will cause the parts to expand, hopefully they will expand enough for some of the new oil to work down in where it will do some good. It might take several applications of oil and heat to get the swivel arm loose enough to move. Apply oil, heat and wait overnight.

Once the swing arm swivels the tiniest bit, you're almost home! Remove the needle, bobbin case and shuttle and hold the stitch width lever to the widest point you can get it without forcing it and bending some linkage. Run the machine at top speed, holding the stitch width lever to the right. As that new oil works its way in, you should notice the needlebar taking wider and wider strokes and the stitch width lever moving gradually to the right. When you are able to move the stitch width lever all the way to the widest stitch and the needlebar is taking full 5mm zig zags, you are done.

Ironically, the Necchi oiling diagram does not show these as oiling points and does not even direct the owner to remove the end cover to oil anything in that end of the machine. There are lots of moving parts in that location that require lubrication - the needlebar, presser bar, takeup lever, and others. Once you've taken care of the zig zag problem, before closing up the machine, put a drop of oil every place metal rubs against metal and your machine will run quieter and smoother.

Who Needs Maaco?

2009-10-04T14:33:00.003-04:00

I saw some chat on one of the sewing forums the other day concerning repainting vintage sewing machines and that brought to mind the industrial Singer 96-10 that I re-finished a while back. Industrial sewing machines are built to work for many years with minimal maintenance in a factory setting. While the guts are strong, the paint coat is another story; it’s the weakest part of an industrial sewing machine. of the 15 +/- industrial machines I own, at least half have been repainted, partially or fully. I have seen many industrial machines that were in perfect working order that looked like they had been dragged from Boston to Miami behind a cement truck. My 96-10 didn’t exactly fit that description, but it was pretty bad. I found the sewing head in a thrift shop for $30. The slide plate and bobbin case were missing and the thread take-up lever was broken off. Less than $50 of parts later had it sewing just fine, but still looking sad, so I decided to refresh the paint with automotive paint and a couple of coats of clear topcoat for protection.

There was no rust, so I didn’t need to clean out a lot of pits and fill them in, I just sanded, primed, and painted. I removed everything I could from the exterior of the machine to avoid taping. Impatient as I am, the whole project took less than a day, and most of that was waiting for coats of paint to dry. Those of you with sharp eyes will notice that the paint on the horizontal arm in photo 3 is smoother than that in photo 4 – that’s because I was a bit too hasty in attempting to apply a Singer decal and didn’t wait until the paint had sufficiently cured. Regardless, it looks much better and still sews like it should. I just pulled it out last week and lubed it up and have been sewing small projects with it. If I can find the “before” photo, I will show you the 111W155 that I resurrected another time.

Feeding Frenzy

2009-09-19T09:09:00.004-04:00

About a week ago, I was trying to sew some light cotton fabric with a ¼” seam on my Singer 31-15. The stitch would progress fine for a while, then the fabric would bunch up under the presser foot. Thinking the thread was getting caught somewhere under the throat plate, I tightened tension, increased presser foot pressure, checked for burrs in the hook area and everything else I could think of that would cause the thread to get caught and stop the fabric from feeding.

Almost by accident, I saw that one of the legs on the throat plate was broken away from the plate. When the presser foot was lifted, the leg came up into its natural position; when the presser foot was lowered, the weight of the foot pushed the leg down, leaving a rough surface on the plate itself for the fabric to catch on. One theory for the cause of this is that, in the past, the presser foot has been allowed to freefall onto the throat plate, rather than being gently lowered.

This not the first time I have had this problem, and that’s why I mention it here. I got a Necchi Lycia off ebay that had exactly the same issue. The machine worked very well, but fabric kept bunching up beneath the presser foot. Parts for most common industrial machines, like this 31 Class Singer are easy to find and reasonably priced – I got a new throat plate and feed dog set for $4.95 plus shipping. I don’t remember if I ever did find a replacement throat plate for the Necchi.

The Singer That Should Be Forgotten

2009-08-29T18:52:00.002-04:00

Actually, it’s a whole family of Singers: models 206, 306, and 319. These were Singer’s first attempts at zig zag machines for family use and I personally think they missed their target. The machines are noisy, clumsy to use, and rotating and oscillating machinery is exposed to catch long hair or thread. These three models require special 206x13 needles. As far as I can tell, 206x13 needles are only available in sizes 12, 14, and 16, so if you are doing work that requires a size 11 or 18, you’re out of luck. I doubt that you will find 206x13 needles at your local sewing machine dealer, be prepared to special order and pay about four times as much as standard 15x1 needles. The 206 and 306W use standard industrial bobbin and bobbin case. Once you know that, bobbin cases are easy to find and cheap. However, if you need a bobbin case for your 306K or 319W, that will be tough to find and will probably cost more than you paid for the rest of the machine.

I tried my best to bond with the machine in the photo and just can’t do it. I changed out the motor to get rid of the motor noise, but there is still so much rattling in the sewing mechanism that I always feel like I’m sewing on some cheap piece of junk. I’m glad that Singer realized the error of their ways and redesigned their machines for the introduction of the 401.

The Forgotten Singer

2009-08-05T20:16:00.004-04:00

Many folks covet the Singer 15-91 for its gear drive that presumably makes the machine capable of sewing heavier materials. No belt to slip or need adjusting. It has the revered 15 Class oscillating hook that has been a standard for almost a hundred years and is still manufactured today. I have owned several 15-91s and agree that they are one of the best made 15 Class machines.

However, there is a Singer that followed the 15-91 that is every bit as strong and reliable. It uses the same motor, same gear drive, same drive train, and same 15 Class sewing system but sports more modern styling and paint, the 15-125.

But, for some reason, while many want a 15-91, few wish to own a 15-125! Why would anyone want a 15-91 when they could have a 15-125? Perhaps I am partial because a 15-125 was the first machine I bought when I embarked on my vintage sewing machine collecting spree - not my first machine, that was a Singer 301 but a 15-125 was the first one I bought purely as a collectible.

The one pictured here is my second, one I picked up at a local auction where, again, I was the only bidder. This is another machine that has sat idle for years because it was buried under other, newer acquisitions. I uncovered it a week ago and I decided to oil it up and check it out. Usually, I sew only one project on a machine before I become bored and swap it out for another machine but I have sewed 4 projects on this one and have no intention of replacing it anytime soon.

2009-07-17T19:03:00.005-04:00

As I move out some of the old machines, I find others I had forgotten. This morning, in a cabinet in the storage shed that I had thought was empty, I found a Necchi 515. One of my favorite machines, I don't remember why I relegated it to the storage building. I'll have to get it out and play with it some day.

Today's project, however, was a horse of a different color. It is a Thompson PW-201 Mini-Walker that has been back behind other machines for several years because I was not pleased with it.

I had been wanting one of these for years, and when this one came up for bids at a local auction, I was quite excited. Either no one else in the room knew what it was, or no one else was in the market for this type of machine, but I was the only bidder and walked away with it for a $5 bid. I oiled and cleaned it and it sewed okay, but was noisy enough to require hearing protection. I took it out on a job, making an instrument panel cover for a boat and halfway through the project, the tension assembly popped off and went into the water. I brought it home and shoved it in a corner, never to see the light of day until now.

This is essentially a family machine on steroids, built to sew heavier goods than the standard family machine. It's marketed as a portable industrial machine with built-in walking foot and drop feed. Sailrite sells a newer model with zig zag capability.

It uses the same industrial needles as my big Singer upholstery machine and it easily sews with 69 nylon thread. Although it uses a family machine style motor, it has a reduction gear to lower speed and increase punching power and toothed belts to reduce slippage.

I dusted it off today and oiled it and replaced the tension assembly with an industrial tension assembly. When I fired it up, it was just as noisy as ever and I was ready to stuff it back in a corner when I noticed a loose screw on top of the head in the walking foot linkage. I tightened the screw and the noise reduced significantly, so I looked all over the machine for other possible problems. Another screw was loose in the walking foot linkage inside the needlebar door and tightening it made the machine noise almost bearable. Adjusting the inner foot so it didn't rub on the outer foot was the final task and now I can actually stand to sew on it. I might even take it with me the next time I have to travel to the job.

Value of an Old Sewing Machine

2009-01-26T20:46:00.002-05:00

One of the most common questions asked of sewing machine enthusiasts is, "What is my old sewing machine worth?"

Vintage sewing machines are valued much like vintage automobiles. Just saying you have an 1891 Singer sewing machine is not enough to establish the value. Several other factors must be considered:

- Condition: Is it a rusty hulk, or shiny, showroom shape?

- Model: Each manufacturer made several machines for different pocketbooks, just as with autos, the luxury models usually retain their value better than the utility models.

- Configuration: How many drawers does the treadle cabinet have? Counting the center drawer, it could be 3, 5, or 7 drawers. Is there any fancy carving on the cabinet, or is it pretty plain? Often, the treadle cabinet is worth more than the machine itself!

- Has it been electrified by removing it from the treadle cabinet and adding a motor and foot control, or is it in its original configuration?

- Accessories: Does the machine have its instruction manual and full complement of accessories that came with it? Are there any additional accessories that were purchased later?
Then there are other issues that can affect the selling price of a vintage sewing machine:

- Location: If you live in an upscale U.S. neighborhood, probably very few buyers will be interested in an average condition old sewing machine. If you live in an area with a large number of lower income families, they might want an old, reliable sewing machine to actually sew on.

- Furniture value: If your machine is in a nice wood cabinet, some may be interested in it purely for its decorative value. Others will shy away because they don't have room for a cabinet or it does not match their décor. Some buyers will only want a portable model they can stash away in a closet when not in use.

- Shipping: If you are only willing to sell locally, your market will be limited. If your machine is small enough to ship, listing it on Ebay might bring a quicker sale and higher price.
Speaking of Ebay, that is probably the best place to research prices for old sewing machines. Look for machines of the same model and age, in the same condition. Note the accessories that come with it and see how closely your item matches the Ebay item.

Ed

Another Recycled Jeans Project

2008-10-11T09:32:00.004-04:00

Trolling around the Internet last night, I happened upon a tutorial for a car litter bag. We normally keep a Wal-Mart bag on the floor of the back seat for that purpose, but that looks messy and is always in the way if we have more than one person in the back seat. The litter bag tutorial I found used brightly-patterned cotton fabric and had a pocket sewn on the front for tissues, or anything else you wanted to carry. I looked at my stash and saw an old pair of my wife's jeans, which I had already hacked up for another project, but they still had one leg, including the rear pocket intact. I figured using an already-made pocket would surely be easier than constructing a new pocket, so I decided to design my litter bag around that pocket. Here's what I did:

STEP 1: I pieced together enough jeans material to make a 12"x24" rectangle. Folded in half, that will make an 11"x11" bag. That may be smaller or larger than you want, but it seemed like a good size for us.

STEP 2: I salvaged about two feet of waistband from the front of the jeans, saving the button and the buttonhole. I just hacked them off, you may want to unsew the lower half, remove the excess fabric, and sew the waistband back together, this was a prototype, so I didn't take the time.

STEP 3: I folded the rectangle in half and sewed up the sides from the inside.

STEP 4: I hemmed around the opening.

STEP 5: I attached the two pieces of waistband to the backside of the bag to be used as hanging straps.

FINAL: The denim litter bag roughly matches the dark blue exterior of our car and keeps the trash off the floor. The pocket could be used to hold a small pack of tissues, a pen and note paper, MP3 player, Gameboy, or ???Because this was a prototype and I wanted to finish in a hurry, I didn't measure carefully or do any pressing. I'm sure you could produce a much better looking product.

To keep this on topic, I used my new Singer 603E for this entire project and it had no problems sewing through multiple layers of denim with a universal needle. I picked this beauty up in a local thrift shop last week. It came in a cabinet with drawers full of manual, attachments, cams, notions, and about a half-ton of buttons. The price - $30! Manufactured in 1963/1964, I consider the 600, 603 and 603E to be the last of the "good" Singers, after that, Singer began putting plastic gears in the innards and quality went quickly downhill.

More on Needles

2008-10-09T20:21:00.005-04:00

There are four vintage Singer sewing machines that use needles that are slightly different than the standard 15x1 needle used in 99.9% of all home sewing machines. The models are Singer's first domestic zig zag machine, the 206 and its successors, the 306, 319, and the rare free arm 320. The correct needles for these models is the 206x13. Here is a photo of a 206x13 needle (on the top) and a 15x1 needle (on the bottom):

The first thing to notice is that the two needles are the same length from top to the eye. This means that you could insert a 15x1 needle in a 206/306/319 and the machine will sew, because the hook-to-eye timing is identical. However, it is obvious that the point of the 206x13 is much shorter than the 15x1. What happens if you sew with a 15x1 needle in a 206/306/319 is this:

The point of the longer needle strikes the bobbin case and damages both the bobbin case and the needle. Surprisingly to me, you cannot hear the needle strike the bobbin case, so you don't even realize what is happening until you change the bobbin.

The other problem with using the wrong needle is that, because the point is longer, the needle could be still in the fabric when the feed dog begins to move the fabric. This can mean skipped stitches, puckering, and possibly a bent or broken needle. I can see no problem with using a 206x13 needle in a machine designed for a 15x1 needle, except that the 206x13s are considerably more expensive.

Until recently, 206x13 needles have only been available in sizes 14 and 16 and kind of hard to find. AllBrands now carries of Schmetz 206x13 needles in sizes 12, 14, and 16. Problem is, you have to buy 100 of one size. Go to allbrands.com and search "206x13".

Hidden Treasure

2008-09-22T18:39:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was cruising Ebay and saw a listing for Necchi accessories. Always on the lookout for new Necchi stuff, I clicked on it and saw the fuzzy photo above. Now, there are Necchis that use cams to form decorative stitches, but I could swear those fuzzy plastic discs in that Necchi box were Elna cams. Knowing that Elna cams sell for around $5 apiece on eBay, and seeing at least four and possibly six in that photo, I took a chance and plunked down the $9.99 plus shipping. When I received the package, it contained not four, or even six, but eleven Elna cams, including the monster below:

Elnas are not popular in my neck of the woods, I have only seen two or three in my entire 20-year-plus of collecting sewing machines, so I had no idea what this cam was for. I searched eBay active and completed listings and cannot find a similar cam, so I assume either they are so hard to come by that they aren't traded very often, or there are so many out there that they are worthless. Needlebar identified it as the #200 Buttonhole Disc, and another forum told me, "The buttonhole cam allows the making of buttonholes without rotating the work piece. The cam is a specialized double cam that provides a zig-zag stitch whose width is controlled by the stitch width lever but where the forward and reverse speeds are preset to provide a nice, tight stitch AND are selected by the position of the stitch width lever. The cam's lever has a notch at its end which is fitted behind the stitch width knob. " Now that I know that, I can see the similarity to the Necchi Supernova buttonhole cam, which performs virtually the same functions. Amazing how much engineering went into sewing machines of a half century ago!

Even More Online Manuals

2008-09-08T10:04:00.004-04:00

As promised, here are my sources for other free, downloadable sewing machine manuals:

INDUSTRIAL MACHINES

Artisan
http://www.artisansew.com/manuals.html

Brother Industrial
http://pub.brother.com/pub/com/ism_manual/handbook/html/bottom.html

Consew Industrial
http://consew.marginspluslive.com/public/default.aspx?pageid=4
or
http://www.sewingmachineoutlet.com/consewmanuals.htm

Juki Industrial
http://www.juki.co.jp/industrial_e/download_e/manual_e.html

Pfaff Industrial
http://www.pfaff-industrial.com/pfaff/en/service/downloads/technicaldocu/pfaffdocument?doctype=technical

Singer Industrial
http://parts.singerco.com/html/inst_manuals.html

U.S. Blindstitch
http://www.nysmac.com/USBlindstitch_Maintenance.pdf

Yamata
http://www.feiyueusa.com/Manual/

-----------------------------------------------

FAMILY USE MACHINES

Bernina
http://www.berninausa.com/browse4b.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302118573&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181831&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673305595&AST_LOCALE=en&AST_NAME=USA&bmUID=1116413493312

Brother
ftp://ftp.brother.ca/ENGLISH/SEWINGMACHINE/
or
http://www.brother-usa.com/Manuals/

Feiyue
http://www.feiyueusa.com/Manual/

Riccar
http://www.riccar.com/help/manuals/

Simplicity
http://www.simplicitysewing.com/manuals/
---------------------------------------

Enjoy,
Ed

Singer Online Manuals

2008-08-27T19:31:00.002-04:00

I thought I would share my list of sources for online instruction manuals and service manuals. I clicked all these links today to make sure they are still active, doesn't mean they will be tomorrow! These are links to Singer manuals, next time I will dust off my links to other manufacturers.

Ed

INSTRUCTION MANUALS
Singer No. 15
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/0203/
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2664/
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/15.pdf
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Singer 15K
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/15K.pdf
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Instructions for using Singer sewing machines 15-88 and 15-89
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2665/
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Instructions for using Singer Sewing Machine 15-91
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/15-91.pdf
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Instructions for using Singer sewing machines of class 24 one needle single thread chain stitch for manufacturing.
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2670/
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Singer Sewing Machine No. 27. / Vibrating shuttle number 2.
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/0673/
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Singer 99k
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPsvcManuals/99K.pdf
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Instructions for using Singer sewing machine no. 115
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2682/
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Singer 127 & 128 manual
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/127-128.pdf
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/0650/
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2678/
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Instructions for Using Singer Sewing Machine 195k / http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/195K.pdf
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Instructions for using Singer Sewing Machine 201
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/201.pdf
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Instructions for Using Singer Sewing Machine no 206
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Trade-Literature/Sewing-Machines/NMAHTEX/2983/
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Instructions for using Singer Sewing Machine no. 301
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/301.pdf
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Instructions for using Singer Sewing Machine no 404
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/404.pdf
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Instructions for Using Singer Sewing Machine no 431
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/431.pdf
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Instructions for Using Singer Sewing Machine no 503
http://www.ismacs.net/singer/manuals/503.pdf
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SERVICE MANUALS
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Service Manual Singer 66, 99, 185. /
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/66.pdf
Adjuster's Manual Singer 15-91
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/15-91.pdf
Adjuster's Manual for Singer 206k25 /
http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPsvcManuals/206K25.pdf
Swing Needle Service Manual Models 306, 319, 401
http://parts.singerco.com/IPsvcManuals/306W25.pdf
Service Manual for Models 620, 625, 626, and 628
http://www.parts.singerco.com/CPpartCharts/6_6999/620_625_626_628.pdf

2008-08-26T19:52:00.003-04:00

I have cruised eBay for many years, researching and buying sewing machines. About once a year, a smaller version of a Japanese 15 Class machine shows up. They usually have cutesy names, like Margaret or Princess and they usually sell for about $75 – much more than a standard size 15 Class machine (and more than I am willing to pay). Last week, I noticed one that did not have a cute name and the dimensions were not noted in the description, but looking at the rear view, the motor seemed considerably larger than normal and the proportion of the throat area seemed odd. Not wanting to ask a question and tip off other bidders, I bid what I considered was a reasonable amount and ended up the only bidder at 99 cents! Shipping brought my total to just under $18.

UPS delivered it yesterday. The length of the bed is 12”, compared to a standard bed of 14”. The space from needle to vertical pillar is 5.75”, compared to 7” on a full size machine. Other than that, everything seems to be normal size, except the length of all the shafts. After cleaning and oiling, it runs smooth, but I haven't gotten around to installing a spool pin to test stitch. I will need to manufacture a base for it – it won't fit in a standard base or cabinet. Before I do, I will try it in a ¾ size carrying case from a Singer 99.

You Can Use Vintage Sewing Machines!

2008-02-19T18:44:00.004-05:00

Earlier this month I was packing for a trip to Japan. I couldn’t find the shoe bag I made years ago and didn’t want to put my shoes in a plastic Wal-Mart bag, so I decided to whip up another shoe bag. While I was rummaging through the box of scrap fabric, I noticed a pair of my wife’s discarded jeans. It seemed that the bottom of each leg might make a bag large enough for one shoe. Measuring the shoes I wanted to pack, I cut off 18" of the lower end of each pant leg.

I worked the rest of the project with the denim tube inside out. You can’t see it in this photo, but I tucked in about an inch on each side and sewed across the bottom of each leg.

I opened about 1.5" of the seam in the upper edge of the tube to make an opening for the drawstring and sewed down the two seam allowances.

Next, I sewed a ¾" tunnel for the drawstring and inserted the string.

Turning the bag right side out, it is finished.

Using a higher section of the leg, you could make one bag large enough to hold two shoes, but I thought it might be easier to pack a pair of shoes if they could be tucked into two separate corners of the suitcase. Just to keep this on the subject of vintage sewing machines, I sewed this project on my Singer 111W155 compound feed upholstery machine. That monster made quick work of those denim seams.

I traded an 8-track player for this machine in the early 70's. I had it professionally rebuilt for $295 and have used it for about 35 years now with no further repair. I expect it to last me the rest of my life.

Quit Needling Me!

2008-01-27T16:36:00.000-05:00

There has been more than the usual chatter on the sewing forums lately about needles. It seems that very few sewers know
anything about needles and the few who think they do are merely repeating urban myths that they heard from some questionable
source. I decided to perform some research and publish my results here. Before sewing machine and sewing forums sprang up on
the internet, I had a very limited knowledge of sewing machine needles. Thanks to folks like Bill Holman, who are willing to
share their years of experience, I learned enough to be dangerous, but still keep hearing stories about one brand of needle
being better than another, or one brand being longer than another so they won't work in certain machines. I dug through my
needle stash and pulled out samples of widely-used needles and put them on my scanner at high resolution to see what the
difference really is. I started this exercise with the preconceived notion that standard 15x1 needles are all manufactured to
the same specification, so they all had to be identical, and all the hype about one brand being better than another was just so much hogwash. I do know that there are different styles of needles - sharp, ball point, leather, etc., and some needles are manufactured a little off-center to aid in sewing knits, but a ball-point Schmetz should be identical to a ball point Singer, right?.

The usual argument is that Singer needles are a bit longer than Schmetz and, for some reason, that makes the Schmetz needles sew better. I took needles made by Schmetz and Singer and carefully lined them up on the glass of my scanner. I tossed in an Organ needle, too, because that's the brand I use most and wanted to see how Organ compares to the other brands. I also
have a box of very old Singer needles and tossed one of them in the mix to see how needles have changed over the years.

In the photo, the Schmetz and new Singer are the two center needles, the Singer being identified by the red shaft. The Organ needle is on the left, and the vintage Singer needle is on the right. I used a straight edge to align the shafts and found that all the stories I had heard about Singer needles being longer than Schmetz are all hot air - both modern needles are the same length. Additionally, the distance from the top of the shaft to the top of the eye (the critical distance for timing) is the same on all four. The distance from the eye to the point of the Organ needle was just a tad shorter than both the Singer and Schmetz, as was the vintage Singer needle. The eye of the vintage Singer needle is roughly half the size of the eye of all the modern needles, and the vintage Singer needle has no scarf.

Here are my conclusions:

- Modern Singer and Schmetz needles are identical.

- Of the three brands, no one modern needle appears to be better than another.

- Organ needles appear to be identical to Schmetz and Singer, except that the distance from the eye to the point is shorter. If you like Schmetz, try Organ at one-third the price and see if you can tell the difference.

- If you still have some old needles in the drawers of Grandma's treadle, you might be better off replacing them with modern needles. At least, save them to use with the older machine and don't "borrow" them for your new, computerized machine.

Wanna Necchi?

2007-01-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

I'm back after an extended period in which Blogger would not recognize my password and would not acknowledge multiple "forgot my password" pleas. I finally regained access by telling Blogger "I forgot my user ID". Maybe I will have better luck with the new Blogger?

Before I became hooked on industrial machines, my favorites were Necchis. Necchi was one of the first, if not the first, to introduce zig zag machines to the home sewer and the Supernovas of the late 1950s had decorative stitch capabilities that did not show up on most other manufacturers' machines for another decade. All you have to do is sew a short seam on a Supernova to know immediately that all the parts are flawlessly machined and fit together properly. The rotation of the balance wheel is smooth as silk and the machine doesn't make enough noise to wake a sleeping cat. Unfortunately, this precision comes at a price - there is so little space for oil between the moving parts that Necchis must be frequently lubricated to maintain their efficiency. The needlebar swivel on the zig zag models is a particularly sensitive to lack of lubrication and will freeze up tight if ignored for too long. Probably half the Necchis I have acquired had frozen needlebar swivels which took hours of oiling and persuading to get them moving freely again. I suspect this is the reason that many sewers abandoned their Necchis, the American and Japanese models of the time could sew for months or even years without being oiled.

Necchi has passed through several phases, but the machines made in Italy before the Age of Plastic are, in my opinion, the best-engineered and most well-built sewing machines ever made. The models that fit in this category are the BF, BU, Mira, Nora, Lelia, Supernova, and Lycia. Some of my Necchi collection can be seen at http://www.geocities.com/lamx . Beginning with the Lydia, Necchi began experimenting with plastic gears and camstacks that have disintegrated over time and need to be replaced. A replacement plastic Lydia camstack costs over $100 - about 4 times what the machine is worth on the open market. Sometime in the 70's, Necchi started having machines made in Japan and quality declined somewhat. The Japanese Necchis are okay, but not built to the same high standards that the Italian models enjoyed. After a short time using Japanese manufacturers, Necchi moved production to Taiwan and changed from selling sewing machines to boat anchors. I can't even comment on modern-day Necchis.

Industrial Sewing Machines

2006-06-21T14:39:00.000-04:00

The main difference between industrial machines and family-use machines is that industrial machines are designed to perform ONE task and perform it very well. Family-use machines are designed to do everything and as a result perform some tasks inadequately. A perfect example is buttonholes - read all the postings on various forums complaining about the poor quality of buttonholes formed on family-use machines, then look at any item of commercially produced clothing and see what the buttonholes look like. The machine that made those buttonholes will do nothing but sew buttonholes 16 hours a day, 5 days a week, but don't try to use it to install a zipper! The vast majority of industrial machines are straight stitch only because that's the kind of sewing that's performed most in factories. What you lose with the household machine is the strength, speed, and consistently perfect stitches obtained with an industrial sewing machine. In most cases, the industrial sewing machine has two distinct parts: the sewing machine itself, and the power stand, consisting of the table and motor. Most manufacturers recommend that a one-half horsepower 3450 rpm or 1750 rpm motor be used on their machines. Using this powerful motor, the machine can achieve a fast sewing speed by using pulleys. On some industrial machines you can achieve a sewing speed of 4500 spm (stitches per minute) or more. Family-use sewing machines have their motors attached to the body of the machine. The motors are usually rated at one-tenth horsepower. The power is limited because of the motor size, so they use a pulley or gearing system to increase the power while producing a slower stitch speed. Most household sewing machines sew at 800 spm.
Sometimes terms like "semi-industrial", "heavy duty", and "industrial strength" are used to imply that a household sewing machine has the power of an industrial. In these cases, the buyer should verify the actual motor power and stitching speed. That said, the Brother 1500 series and Juki 98 series are straight stitch machines possessing some of the features of home machines, like needle threaders and thread cutters. Their throats are slightly larger than standard family machines, making them popular with quilters who are unwilling to upgrade to a true industrial machine. The Bernina 950 probably has the most features on a "semi-industrial" - 21 stitches, 5-step buttonhole, and the 1/2 hp motor will drive it to form 2000 stitches per minute but throat area is no larger than a home machine. At around $1700, that would be my choice if I wanted a bunch of functions combined in one ruggedized machine. However, for the same money, I would buy a used straight stitch industrial ($250), a used zig zag industrial ($600), and one other specialty machine, depending on the sewing you do (buttonholes, grommets, quilting). As for reliability, the major brands are probably best, Pfaffs, Jukis, Brothers and the older Singers are the ones I have used.

If you are looking at a used machine, check the price of any needed parts before buying. I bought a used Pfaff 144 double-needle machine that was missing the feed dog. Knowing that feed dogs for Singers cost in the neighborhood of $20, I willingly gave the $135 for the Pfaff. When I went to order a Pfaff feed dog, the dealer gave me a quote of $695 for just the feed dog! He told me I was lucky I didn't need a throat plate too, because that would add another $350! I have never owned an Adler, but hear that replacement parts for them are similarly priced.

Presser Feet

2006-05-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Mary Jo asks, "A friend has a White 999 and wants a walking foot…I've tried to explain to her about checking the alignment of the feed dogs and checking the shank, anything else she should check?". While I don't intend to use the blog to answer individual questions, this might be an opportune time to start a thread about presser feet, because they cause a good deal of stress for new users of vintage machines. I am certainly not a fountain of presser foot knowledge, I'll just spout out what I know and invite anyone else to jump in and add more info or correct any misstatements I might make.
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While there are quite a number of different sizes, shapes, and styles of presser feet out there, the vast majority manufactured since the turn of the 20th Century fall into 3 1/2 categories:

- High Shank - Used on most industrial sewing machines and on Japanese zig zag machines of the 60's and 70's. Necchi machines of that era used high shank attachments on zig zag models and low shank attachments on straight-stitch models. If you have a high shank machine and are having problems locating suitable and economical presser feet, check with an industrial machine vendor. You'll be amazed at the huge variety of feet available.

- Slant Shank - Used on Singer machines made in the USA, Germany, and Japan in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Singer introduced the slant shank on the model 301 in 1950 and continued through all of the Slant-O-Matics, Touch 'n' Sew series and beyond. Interestingly, the Singers manufactured in Great Britain during the same time period continued using low shank accessories.

- Low Shank - probably the most common.

- Snap-On - I call this the 1/2 category because the snap-on adapters I have seen are low shank.
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Berninas use exclusive Bernina style attachments that will not interchange with anything else. This keeps the price of Bernina accessories high and is reason enough for me to stay away from Berninas unless they come with a full complement of presser feet and other attachments.

For a short time, Sears used a "Super High Shank" style presser foot on their Kenmores, probably for the same reason that Bernina uses exclusive feet - to stifle competition.

For a few years, Singer used back-clamping feet on the model 66, but later switched to low shank feet. Back-clamping feet are a bit scarce, but it is a simple job to swap the presser bar from a later model 66 and begin using low shank attachments.
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The general wisdom is that you may swap feet between different machines as long as they are the same style (High Shank, Slant Shank, etc.). While this is basically true, there are some considerations:

- The feed dog on a zig zag machine is wider than the feed dog on a straight stitch machine. If you try to swap a straight stitch foot to a zig zag machine, or vice-versa, the feed dog might not align properly with the underside of the foot and fabric will not feed properly.

- The needles on early zig zag machines were not centered, as they are today, they rested in the left side of the needle hole in the throat plate. If you try to swap a straight stitch foot between center-needle machines and left-needle machines, the needle will hit the foot and break. Usually the zig zag feet are still swappable because the hole in the foot is wide enough to accept the needle all the way from full left to full right throw.

The Clotilde catalog has a chart crossing machines to the style of presser foot at:
http://www.clotilde.com/cl/shank_chart1.asp
I spotted at least one error in the Necchi section, but it might help somewhat.

There you have it - the sum total of my presser foot knowledge! Comments?

Japanese Clones of the 40's, 50's, and 60's

2006-05-04T20:30:00.000-04:00

Shortly after W.W.II, Japan, with money from the United States, manufactured a large number of sewing machines. The most common of these were based on the Singer Model 15 but there are also Singer 99 clones. Indeed many of these machines are practically indistinguishable from a Singer and use parts that are interchangeable. Often they were given American sounding names to appeal to the overseas market. Over 5000 different "brands" have been identified, manufactured by 15 or so companies. Unfortunately, records from these manufactures don't exist, so it is impossible to identify them further. Generally speaking, a machine will, somewhere, state "made in Japan" or have "JA- " stamped into the bottom of the machine. To further complicate matters, large retailers would purchase machines and have the company name on them: RH Macy, Gimbals, etc. Any retailer so inclined could have Sewing Machines made just for him or her (Sears Kenmore, Wards Signature). I've tracked Department Stores, Machines with Automobile names, female names, patriotic names etc. The post war machines are generally well made, often quieter and smoother running than the Singers they were copied from! Japan also gave us many of our colored sewing machines. Examples have been found in metallic blue, green, pink, yellow, and I have a Fire Engine Red one! In terms of collectability, don't be fooled by a claim of "an extremely rare" Mitsubishi, Ford, Saxon, Stitch Queen etc., the same machine could have dozens of different names. If it says "Singer" on the machine, it probably is. If it doesn't, it's not. The Japanese machines have not caught on with collectors (even the ones made in Occupied Japan) and as a result retain very little value. They can be found at many thrift shops for $10-$20 and at local auctions for under $5. This might be a good niche for a collector on a limited budget – they could collect all pink machines or one machine of each color.

The Beginning

2006-04-25T19:18:00.000-04:00

Collecting Antique and Vintage sewing machines is a growing hobby. Some collect just because they are beautiful to look at. The time, effort, and expense expended in decorating these mechanical marvels with gold, green, and red decals is something that is unseen in this day and age. Others collect sewing machines because they marvel at the precision mechanism and the inherent reliability. A 100-year-old sewing machine in good repair will still function today and make a straight stitch to rival the newest computer operated machines. Still others buy old sewing machines to use in day to day sewing. They may enjoy the feeling of sewing without benefit of electricity on a treadle or handcrank machine or they may just enjoy sewing for extended periods without experiencing breakdowns common to modern plastic sewing machines.
Regardless of the reason you buy old sewing machines, it helps to know how they work and how to maintain them. This is more difficult than it should be because there is very little consumer information available on old sewing machines. Instruction books can be tough to locate for many models; the handful of repair books I have found were published in the 1970s and before, are complicated and incomplete. Sewing machine dealers and repair shops have service manuals, but they guard them jealously and you will have a difficult time talking your local dealer into copying one for you. In the last couple of years, the Internet has spawned some sites where antique and vintage sewing machines are discussed and parts are swapped. If you can find those sites, you will learn more about old sewing machines there than from any other single source.
This blog is my attempt to help the antique and vintage sewing machine buyer to select and maintain an all-metal machine.