sewing machine newbie

[1930artdeco]

Hi All,

I would like to get an antique sewing machine so that I can do BASIC sewing stuff. Things like fixing a hem on some pants, patching my comforter cover...simple things. At this point I have no plans to do anything more advanced. Now, I did a search and I remember a thread where I think Lizziemaine was saying what she thought a good beginner-electric machine would be but i can't find it now. Any suggestions? I am looking for a table top model that I can put away when not in use.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[LizzieMaine]

If you want a good, basic vintage machine, get a Singer 66 or 99. They're mechanically identical, but the 99 is two-thirds the size of the 66, which is a full-size machine. Millions of these models were built, and most of them still exist -- you can get a perfectly serviceable one for less than fifty dollars most anywhere, and they're very easy to maintain. Shangas posted documentation of his restoration of his grandmother's Singer in the Display Case, and I highly recommend that thread before you get started.

 

[kiwilrdg]

Be sure that if you are looking at an old machine that it is one that uses standard needles and bobbins. I have a couple of machines that use odd needles and bobbins but since one is handcrank and one is tredle they are the machines I use the most.

If you are new to machine sewing I suggest that you look for one with a good pedal so you have speed control. I have had pedals that gave almost no speed control (off or full speed only).

 

[1930artdeco]

What about the early machines, say around teens up through the 30's that have been 'modernized' with electric motors? Am I correct in assuming the parts are pretty much interchangeable?

Mike

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep. Any Singer 66 or 99 uses the same attachments, has a standard spool bobbin that you can still buy at any notion counter or Wal Mart, uses standard needles, and is entirely usable without extra or complicated effort on the part of the user. Singers from before 1930 or so don't come with a reverse-stitch capability, so you have to turn the work around on the arm to tack a seam, but that's nothing difficult to do.

The standard attachment kit for these machines includes a wide variety of specialized feet for doing fancy sewing, but most of the work you'll want to do can be accomplished with just the standard foot and the zipper foot. If you decide to go into clothing construction, the best investment you'll ever make will be the Singer Buttonhole Attachment, which is fast and easy and effective to use. There's also a good Singer Zig-Zag Attachment for these machines, but it's not as important to have as the buttonholer,.

If you get one of these machines, the operating manual can be downloaded or bought for cheap in print form on eBay. It's worth having and reading to make sure you have the tension and stitch length set properly.

Maintenance is very simple -- there are obvious oiling points on the machine casting, and there's a felt wick in the bobbin case. The standard Singer bolt-on motor has two small grease fittings which need to be kept filled with fine white grease, and other than that, you don't need to do much else.

 

[Shangas]

If you want a good, basic vintage machine, get a Singer 66 or 99. They're mechanically identical, but the 99 is two-thirds the size of the 66, which is a full-size machine. Millions of these models were built, and most of them still exist -- you can get a perfectly serviceable one for less than fifty dollars most anywhere, and they're very easy to maintain. Shangas posted documentation of his restoration of his grandmother's Singer in the Display Case, and I highly recommend that thread before you get started.

My blushes, madam!

Regarding vintage sewing-machines...

- They're VERY solidly built. If you manage to break it, I would give you a medal. As I'm sure Lizzie will testify to, they're nigh indestructable.

- Singer is of course the most popular and well-known manufacturer. Good models in the Singer range include the 66, 99 (more or less identical), the 15, and the 27/28-series.

- Best to choose a machine from a popular maker (Jones, Singer, Frister & Rossmann, etc), for ease of finding parts (relatively speaking).

- The vast majority of vintage sewing-machines use the same type of needle. And that same needle is still manufactured today. You can buy them by the boxload at any good sewing-shop. Some REALLY old sewing-machines (such as, I believe, the Singer 12 Fiddlebase) use different needles, which aren't easily found today. But the majority will use needles which are still manufactured today.

- Portable sewing-machines (and I use the term lightly; the 99 Singer weighs about 35 pounds!!) were produced in both hand-crank, and electric models. Some people bought separate Singer motors, removed the cranks, and retrofitted the motors onto their older machines.

If you can/or are able, then you can just re-wire the old motor and use it as an electric machine.

If you can't (or won't), then you can remove the old motor and light, buy a hand-crank off the internet or from an old junker-machine, and bolt it onto the side of the machine as it used to be done.

Not all parts are interchangeable. Some are, some aren't.

As far as SINGER goes, the parts that are interchangeable include...

- Feet/attachments.
- Cranks/motors.
- Bobbin-winder tires.
- Needles.
- Needle-clamps.
- Bits and pieces (nuts, bolts, washers, etc).

With Singer, the only things that aren't interchangeable between the different models is the BOBBINS. Singer 66 and 99 machines both take the same style of bobbin. Singer 15s take a larger bobbin. Singer 28s and 27s take a 'long bobbin' that fits inside a shuttle (a bullet-shaped bobbin-case).

It's not to say that you MUST throw away an old motor and revert to a hand-crank. You can if you want. But if you are going to use the old electric motor, best to get someone to look at it and restore it for you (or do it yourself if you're confident enough).

Some machines are electric through and through. For example, my grandmother's machine (which Lizzie mentioned) is a 1950 Singer 99k. It's of the knee-lever variety, and so was manufactured AS an electric machine, not as a hand-machine that was converted later on (and which would be able to be converted back).

Old sewing-machines are pretty easy to restore and fix and clean. I've done two already and I have another two on the waiting-list. A Singapore-made 'MODERN' (clone of a Singer 15) and a Singer 28 model. I'm expecting them at the end of next month.

If you got any questions about anything, just ask. Overhauling these machines is easy.

If it wasn't, then I wouldn't do it!!

 

[kiwilrdg]

A lot of the "early" machines were the same whether they had electric, hand, or treddle drives. The operation of most machines that do not have zig-zag are about the same. The bobbin is either on a shuttle or a piece rotates around the bobbin. Some machines use needles and bobbins that are not the standard size.

Be sure that if you get a machine with odd needles or bobbin that you get at least one bobbin with the machine. If the bobbin needs a shuttle that can be the hardest part to get if it is missing.

Sounds like more info was posted before I put mine up.

I would rather completely overhaul an old machine than thread a serger or try to get the tension adjusted right on a new machine.

 

[Shangas]

Shuttles and long bobbins can be tricky to find. Class 66/99 and Class 15 bobbins are still manufactured and you can still buy them today. But the really old shuttles and long bobbins...nah. Gotta take your chances with those at the flea-markets and online.

If you want a really vintage/antique machine, then best to get a treadle or a handcrank machine. With treadle-machines, you need of course, to get a new drive-belt. That's pretty easy to do. You can either buy a specific belt, or you can just get a length of rope, run it around the machine-wheel, staple it together at the ends and bob's your father's brother.

 

[kiwilrdg]

The belts can be bought long and then trimmed and stapled to fit. I once had to buy a whole singer belt to cut off about 2 feet to use on an old electric conversion machine.

 

[Shangas]

This is for 1930ArtDeco (Mike). This is the thread which LizzieMaine was talking about:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?63425-Restoring-my-Grandmother-s-Singer-Sewing-Machine

My grandmother was a professional dressmaker for 30-odd years, and this machine was her workhorse for all that time (or all that time when she wasn't using a mechanical treadle-machine). She carried it with her to Australia, and used it until her Alzheimer's got too bad for her to continue. It's nearly 70 years old and works wonderfully (it better after all the work I did to it!!)

If you want more help, here's my personal guide to restoring old sewing-machines:

http://scheong.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/how-to-service-your-vintage-sewing-machine/

As I said in the posting, this was created in response to a comment I got on my blog. If you've got any additional questions, just ask here and I'll try my best to answer them.