going to pick up 2 machines. 1 looks like a recent posting here for a featherweight. the belt is dry rotted and i don't like the looks of the electrical wire. can i replace the wire without affecting the value of the machine? I offered her $25. I figure if I have to put $100 into repair and cleaning, it's still worth it. It is in cabinet, which i think I would like to have refinished. Will that be OK for value?

Second machine- an industrial Singer in this metal table. lady was a seamstress in a factory. she used it to sew on all the time. i don't really need another machine, but i bought my juki to go on a frame, which i have yet to do. i can put the juki on the frame and use this to piece on. Sound good? she wants $100.

so don't tell anyone- especially her daughter- she has no clue and just wants to get rid of them. new SIL is sworn to secrecy, he's going to go help pick them up and i'll take them to my office until i can get them to the shop.

she also has an old Necchi, but I don't know anything about them. it's in a cabinet too. maybe i can get her to throw it in for free.

also getting 2 nice chairs for me to recover for my office. and- hand loomed rag rugs- holy cow- they are like 8 foot long, for your hall. i'm getting 2 brand new ones, $25 each.

i'll post pics tomorrow.

ps i will have 7 machines after i get these. when is enough, enough?

no- I still need a treadle, i really really want one of those.

WOW!
We don't have things like that here

Sounds like you have run into great Bargains!!

Oh what fun. Lucky you. Enjoy yourself.

I promise I will not tell... BUT you have to take pics and show us... I love old machines. Used to have a treadle that I got at an estate sale.. no machine in it, but it was in great shape.. Then by chance we had gone down to the State fair and across the street was this shop with antiques. They had a bargin basement room, literally in the basement and there sat this machine for $5... it was missing it's treadle... so I bring it home and it fit!!!
Now my X has it.. like he sews or even knows how to thread a needle :roll: :roll:

A Juki industrial machine is a factory workhorse. At $100 for the machine, motor, and stand ... it is a good buy.
I paid $500 a number of year for my singer version ... just as a comparison
changing the wire on the little sewing machine may change the value, but can't see that it would hurt the machine. The price you quote is a steal, considering the cabinet it is in.
Enjoy!
Haven't figured out when enough machines is enough ... but, I figure if I can save one machine from the garbage dump ... the world is a better place <g>.

I have never heard of a Featherweight in a cabinet. Are you sure it isn't a model 99?

GET THE NECCHI!!!!

My first sewing machine was a Necchi, and I loved it. That was a FEW years ago! But you sound like a collector, so if you can afford it, go for it!

I love looking at older machine and kick myself for not picking up an industrial machine a while back. It was in a basement and I had too much stuff in my van and didn't want to bother. And NOW, oh well I guess it just wasn't meant to be!

Good luck on the machines! Enjoy them! :lol:

You have made a great score, for sure!! :D
I am anxious to see pictures of your new
treasure's, after you get them!!
:D :D :D :D

I couldn't see a model # on the Singer- so maybe it could be a 99. Can't wait to get them to the office (can't bring them home need to make room).

Will see if I can get the Necchi, maybe someone would want it if I get it cleaned and serviced.

I'm getting 2 chairs that I will recover the cushions. Maybe I'll take the fabric to the office and do them there. Can't wait until i pick them up at 10!

Sounds like a find. I have a treadle that was my grandmothers. I even made a dress on it 40+ years ago. Don't know if it still works, but will put it in my new sewing room when we move.

lucky you. i wish i had the room to collect stuff like that.

I took my older singer in and had the cord replaced and the belt...Its no use if you can't sew with it...

Wow! What fun! My husband doesn't understand why I have 2 machines. I asked him why he had 4 reloading machines. He said, for different jobs. I said, bingo!

Great Score! and Definitely get the Necchi!!!! Those are workhorses!

A featherweight will always have the left side of the table able to flip up. It is hinged. (There is a more rare type of featherweight in which the left side of the table can actually be removed -- it is not hinged -- but I doubt you would find this at an estate sale.) If the table is all in one piece with the rest of the machine, it is not a featherweight.

ok- my loot is at the office. I took pics which I will download tomorrow. the Singer says Catalog A-400 (Ok, I should have written it down, now I think that's what it said). It has a #AF45 something, but I need to clean the plate off to see the #s.

The cabinet has the top that lifts over to the left and lays flat. The front opens up and has a knee power pedal attached inside.

Got the industrial one too, It appears to be a singer- the front plate had a AF# too. The bobbins looks like older Singer too.

I'll investigate more.

(Oh, she was so overpriced on everything else, she wanted a couple hundred for the Necchi even though she didn't know if it even worked.) I figured I did well enough and went on my way with my purchases. I don't think i was ripped off since I have to put some $ into them for repairs and service.

If you need to replace the cord you should do it for safety sake unless you are not going to sew on it. My DH replaced mine on my 1950's singer.
You could look for repro parts so the value will be better than if you just used any new cord. Do keep in mind tho if you recycle a used part to check the cord for breaks. My DH just used an extension cord and rewired it. I didn't care at the time whether it retained any value or not. It is still going 25 years later.
I would definately replace it unless it is only a show piece.
My mom was an antique dealer and I grew up around antique shops. If you do necessary repairs it won't devalue it too much. If you can keep the look in the replacement part you will retain more of the value.

here are some pics. Based on the serial number- the Singer is from March 1940. It is a 66. the belt is dry rotted, but the wire looks fine. should I refinish the cabinet? It has paint overspray on the top. I would like it spiffy.

The other one appears to be a Singer- it has a model #AF on the front but nowhere else does it have any identifiers. Of course, it could, but I haven't cleaned it up yet. there is a drawer in the table- I found old thread and tons of heavy duty needles. And, a real find. A black heart with tiny diamond chips in it. It's almost the size of a quarter. I will put it on a chain and wear it. Reminds me of art deco period- probably worth $5 but it's my "find" in the midst of the dirty clean up job I have ahead of me.

Let me know what you think of my bargains. The industrial was $100 and the Singer was $25.

Your Singer is very nearly the same as my 50's Singer. I have a knee pedal but I don't have the door just a tip out drawer. The cabinet is very similar too.

Yes I would have the belt replaced. As to refinishing it that is a call you will have to make. The value is affected if it is not in good shape but if you want to preserve value don't do anymore than you have to. But how far you go only you can decide what you want it to look like.

I don't know how many of this era are available and that also affects the value. Look on line at sites that deal with renovating old Singers they can give you better advice than I can. And they will have access to any parts you might need.

There is another thread on the board about rebuillding an old Singer and someone put a link on there for Old Singer repairs. If and when I find it I will post it here.

I don't know much about the other machine.

Cool finds!!! Hope you can get the fixed up and running in tip top shape!!!

yes yes yes

my first machine was a surprise necchi when i was 14. used it until i was ....uhmmmm... recently! the brushes were finally worn down too much to do anything with them. ran like a greased pig forever. get it get .

it will be your new old favorite machine.

i have a very old machine with lots of gold decorations on it and on the cabinet. it was originally a treadle. nobody ever wired it. i have it because it's beautiful (to me). it's on the original stand. i don't know what it is. it has no id. the gold leaf bits are dragons. there are three drawers on each side and a center drawer. here's what i did:

i use the table/machine as an end table at the side of my sofa. i had a sheet of table glass cut the size of the flip-down part. when i have company, i flip down the cover, leaving the machine in the hole, and cover the hole with the glass. now i have an interesting exhibit as well as a good-sized table to serve off of. the table glass is strong enough to hold a stack of small dishes, napkins and silverware for or for use as a small bar. i've used it both ways.
i use the drawers for permanent storage of my good silverware. large spoons, small spoons, large forks, etc. great looking serving piece and no complaints about another machine. :mrgreen:

you could definitely do that with the flip-down singer if you like it. just clean up the cabinet. interesting old pieces are the best, aren't they? :wink:

If you can get that with the table for 25.00 I would say it is a shopping miracle. I love those shopping miracles. The table alone would be worth over 100.00.

If you can get that with the table for 25.00 I would say it is a shopping miracle. I love those shopping miracles. The table alone would be worth over 100.00. The picture doesn't look like an orignal featherweight table but the machine would be well worth the 25.00

I love estate sales. Last year my husband and I decided to stop at one when we were on the way out of town for our anniversary weekend. There wasn't much there, but in a bedroom at the top of the stairs was a wonderful oak sewing machine cabinet. No machine, just the cabinet; I'd been asking him for a cabinet for mine and had been looking at those at Hancock and Joann's. I got it for $50.00 and had to delay my trip a few hours so I could get it out. After I got it home I found that it had an insert for a free arm with it that perfectly fit my Viking and that the shelf the machine sits on is operated by an electric switch that raises and lowers it. :lol: :lol: The cheapest cabinet I'd seen that I would have considered bringing home was $350.00 on sale and wasn't even half as nice as this old one I got. Sometimes you get a great deal at estate sales.

Linda

Sounds like you found some great deals. There is no such thing as too many sewing machines. I have 6, am looking for a 7th and would like to add a treadle to the collection. It's like having too much fabric or chocolate...NOT!

Chris
aka busiacam

Please do post your bargains. THat is truly is what they will be

I had a guy here yesterday to give me an estimate for cleaning out the basement of the office- there's carpet and some sort of underlayment to be removed- it's damp.

Anyway- he sees my machines and says- you collect these things? I say yes- he says he just sent 2 treadles to the crusher last week. I almost had heart failure! But, he said he will give me every sewing machine he finds. He does clean out work for foreclosures and finds all kinds of stuff. I think that's a job I want.

Maybe I better learn sewing machine repair.

If it is a feather weight Singer cabinet #68, it could be worth lots of money.
I think it would be O.K. to rewire it because it could be damages to use otherwise. I have seen Featherweight sell for $350 if the gold is good shape and lots of people just want them to sew with and will still give a lot of money for one.

my heart breaks :cry: :cry: :cry: I sold my old treadle 4 yrs ago when we moved,my hubby was tired of moving it from here to there, no place for it at the home we moved into. It had all of it orginal pieces and parts, in very good condition, except I was the only one who seen beauty in it, bought it for $10.oo 15 yrs ago, I miss it dearly. I sold most of my antiques then, and what I have left, I am holding onto with dear life! :cry: Hold on to your machines, my fellow quilters!

If you are interested in a treadle go to treadleon website. Check out Craigslist et.I have many treadles and piece almost everything on my Singer treadle. I have a 15-88 that I love and another Singer that is in almost perfect condition that I also use. I stick with Singers since I can buy bobbins for them anywhere even Wal-Mart

Chances are that your grandmothers machine will still work with a little machine oil. I have one that was left out in the rain for who knows how many years with stuff piled on top of it that I can sew on LOL