miriam

How do you navigate the yahoo site?

Susanmarie

I've enjoyed looking through this thread. I'll add one of my Japanese ZigZaggers:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]498239[/ATTACH]
Coronado was a badge sold by the Gambles department store. Gambles was a mid-west (US.) department store which went out of business in the 60s or early 70s. The brass badge on the pedestal says 'Standard Sewing Equipment Corp' around the edge of the badge. Within the middle it says 'Model SAZ-2 Deluxe' followed by 'Automatic ZigZag Japan'.

It was a Craigslist find and it's a high shank. It came without a manual, cams or any attachments. I had to do some research to figure out how to use it and determine what cams would fit it. I love the teal color.

I found on Yahoo's Vintage Japanese Sewing Machine group a photo of the same machine with a Universal badge. The owner had included a photo of the cam compartment with a cam inside. The cam had the stitch pattern embossed on it along with the number 15. I searched Ebay until I found a box of cams with a #15 cam that had the same design. I purchased it hoping it would fit my Coronado and it did.

I posted some photos of the Coronado in the photo album of the same Yahoo Group and low and behold someone recognized the cam compartment and told me the machine was the same as a White 231 and the manual to the White was on a Singer website. She was correct! I was able to download the White manual - it is a match to my Coronado machine.

I'm not sure if the White company made the Coronado and Universal machines in Japan or if another Japanese company made a machine that was badged White, Universal and Coronado (and perhaps additional badges).

KenmoreRulesAll

do you mean Gimbel's?

Cari-in-Oly

Nope, it was Gambles. Gimbles was another store.

SusanMarie, now here's where I'm gonna muck the history up a bit. Up to 1954 Coronado machines were built by National. After that they were Japanese built. Before I ever saw one like yours, I had assumed that Brother built all of them after 1954. Now I believe that the Brother built Coronados came sometime later in the 50s or possibly the early 60s because yours is definitely an earlier machine than the Brother built ones.

I've never been able to keep the White/Standard/National connections history straight in my head so I won't even try to explain why your Japanese built machine with the Standard badge has a White manual. Whew, now I have a headache.

Cari

Cari-in-Oly

Not sure what you're asking Miriam. Are you trying to find the Yahoo groups? I've been using Yahoo as my "home page" when the computer first turns on since I started using a computer in 99. On the left side of the homepage is a partial list of Yahoo sites. At the bottom of that is a link for more sites. Click that and you'll find the link for the Yahoo groups.

Cari

KenmoreRulesAll

Interesting. I've never heard of Gambles. I've seen machines with the 'Gimbel's' badge and I've seen Coronado sewing machines but never freezers or other appliances.

miriam

you must be too sheltered

J Miller

Slightly off topic, but partly on .... huh ?

I also have a Gambles Coronado Princess.
It's a light green clone, made by Brother.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]498290[/ATTACH]

On the badge on the upper left corner of the arm is a crown.
In the crown in very small letters is the name Gambles.
So although a straight stitch clone, the name does fit with the ongoing conversation.


Joe

Susanmarie

Yes, it's enough to give anyone a headache. To muddy the waters further I read a theory somewhere that the company name on the distinctive oval brass badge (Standard Sewing Equipment Corp) was the name of a distributor, not the name of the company that actually manufactured the machine.

I was in the old part of Wabasha, Minnesota a couple of months ago and saw an old Gambles store front. The store was of course closed but the logo sign was still up on the store front. It took me back a few years.

quiltedsunshine

It's been fun to see everyones' machine pictures!

OK, here are a few of mine...

The Belvedere is sewn off and ready to sell, but I don't have cams for it.

The Dressmaker needs work. I have the cams for it, but not the reverse button.

The New Home, I bought clean, but haven't had time to play with it yet.

The Riccar is just a fun package! The case has these spring-loaded bars on each side that you turn, then push in to release the cover. Then the one side comes off to reveal a storage space: one side for bobbins, the other for thread spools, with one small box for accessories and the other for the cams. The cam door is in the front, and flips up. Down side is that it has a broken driver gear. I have a replacement, just need to put it in.