Thursday, May 5, 2011

Sewing Machine Thursday

Toy Singer ZZ machine
 This cute little Singer Zig Zag sewing machine is my latest 'find'.  All it needed was new batteries to make it work.  Only $3 at Goodwill.  It even came with the instructions, and extra needle and 2 more colors of thread.  It is a chainstitch machine, so, no bobbins.  It makes really big stitches and vibrates a lot.  You can see that the light is on if you look closely.  I think a hand crank would be much better for a child to use. 
1921Singer 66 Red Eye
face plate on Singer 66
Bobbin area on Singer 66
1910 New Home e-machine
Foot peddle for New Home e-machine

This is my 1921 Singer 66 Red Eye machine.  I was hoping to turn it into a hand crank, but, the hand crank doesn't fit it.  The grooves are wrong, and there isn't anywhere to attach the hand crank to the hand wheel.  This machine is VERY DIRTY.  I really need to clean it up.  It moves well despite the dirt.  It came from a treadle.  The man gave me the head but kept the base and legs of the treadle.  Since I have 3 Singer treadles (full machines and bases) I think that I'll clean it up and put it into one of the other bases.  I really like the fact that it uses a regular bobbin, like on my Singer 15 series treadle.  I have a bobbin winder machine that works to wind the bobbins with out having to treadle them.  Treadling bobbins is tiring.  I am missing part of the bobbin.  The decals are in pretty good shape.  The rust seems minor.  I'm hoping that with a good cleaning it will come off.  I haven't cleaned a head yet.  I tried with my first treadle, before I learned what to do, and I silvered some of the decals on that one.  That has made me scared to try again.  I'd really like to bring this machine to life and sew with it.


The New Home e-machine is from 1910 and made in Orange, Mass.  I blogged about finding it in an earlier post. I've plugged it in, and the motor works.  The plug needs to be re-wired.  The plastic that covers the wires is almost melted.  I was scared to even plug it in.  The foot peddle has been rewired.  I've never seen a foot peddle like this one before.  I want to turn this machine into a hand crank, but, I can't get a hold of the man who makes the hand cranks for New Home machines.  The decals are in pretty good shape, and it would make a pretty hand crank.  I was hoping the hand crank (in the Singer 66 photo above) would fit it.  A nice lady from New Zealand mailed it to me for that reason.  Unfortunately, it doesn't fit either machine.  I really want a hand crank.  Oh well, I'll just have to keep looking.

3 comments:

  1. Ah, how wonderful! The whole family has the collection bug!(and I don't even have room for one machine) All my early machine sewing was on treadle machines. As I recall the bobbin was long and thin and fit into a sheath. I have a Scout friend that is keeping one like it for me in her garage in CA. Oh for the day I have it!

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  2. Wow, what great machines! And in working order!

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  3. Oh, I am so jealous. I haven't found a nice Red Eye yet to call my own. I turned an electric Singer 99 into a hand crank several years ago, and I had to buy a different hand wheel for it. If you still need help, let me know and I'll see what I can do to find out some info for you. I know a sewing machine guy who sells the hand cranks (or used to) and he could probably help you.

    As for your new home, I would bet that the New home machine would take the same crank as the Singer. Most machines are pretty generic as far as replacement parts go.

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