vmaniqui

Here’s another long but nice story about my Singer 27 treadle.

I got it. I bought the Singer 27 Treadle Sewing Machine.

I’ve been inquiring on this forum and asking from members’ input if $35 is a good price for a Singer 27 Treadle. Everyone agreed that I should buy it as it’s a nice machine. This was on my local CL with no price posted. So I inquired about it couple of days ago and received a call from the seller and he said i emailed him last night at 2am. I asked him to tell me what singer model no. he is selling as I emailed so many CL sellers. He couldn’t tell me the model no. and just told me that it’s a treadle. I looked at all my emails and sure enough I found it with picture. He was asking for $75 but I said too much and he said ‘how about $35’. I said sure (although I am not really sure if I am going to buy it). I asked the seller for his address and agreed that I will pick it up this morning at 9am. I was so hesitant to drive there this morning as 1) it's too early and 2) it's so cold out here 3} wifey might not be happy if she sees another machine in our garage. Oh well, i said to myself. let's just go for a nice drive and check it. So off i go.

The drive took me a good 35 minutes (no traffic as it’s early Saturday morning. Otherwise this will be a good 1.5 hours commute}. Got there 10 minutes early for our agreed time but If you’ve been to San Francisco, you know how bad parking is. Even at a residential area you could hardly find parking space. I just parked at the next available driveway and called the seller. He went out and walked me thru an empty garage. i asked him if it's ok to block the driveway and he said that's ok as i know the owner. He said he was just trying to help an old friend get rid of some stuff. That's why he got this singer listed at CL.

As we were walking by, we passed by a sewing machine cabinet and he said ‘not that one’. I didn’t look at that ‘Not that one’ cabinet as I was interested in seeing the singer treadle. There’s the machine at the corner all by herself. I checked the cabinet and it’s in good condition. Opened it and flip up the machine and saw how nice it is. I checked everything and it seems to be in good condition for a 1906 machine. It looks like it might not have been used for years. I looked around moved my eyes to where the ‘Not that one’ sewing machine was and I found out and was surprised that it is a Martha Washington cabinet. I got that big smile knowing that it’s another White Sewing Machine. I asked him how much it is and he said $35. I checked it and bobbin case is missing. I told him that might be an expensive part to buy. We looked at the cabinet drawers but couldn’t find it. He whispered ‘just take it’ and took it back and said he wants $35 for it. I said no I will pass as there’s missing part. Then all of the sudden he said ‘just take it with you’. I was like ‘ take it with me for free?’ he said, Yah go ahead take it. You can tell from the picture that the White have not been touched for years. We loaded up the 2 machines and barely fit in my truck. Tied them to make sure that they will not be shaking and moving. Couldn’t believe that a $35 Singer 27 treadle sewing machine comes with a free White Rotary Sewing Machine. Here they are….

Monroe

My-My-My- you Have been busy! I think originally there was a piece atop the left side of the MW cabinet that matched the right side so the cabinet top was level. You can probably make one from an old table leaf of a matching wood.

vmaniqui

yes. i noticed that but what happened was the left top part cabinet drawer's hinges got loose so the cover got misaligned. all i need to do is to fix the hinges and i should be ok. that's the top part you're seeing on the left side. it just fell off the hinges. thanks a lot.

miriam

I wonder what kind of industrial machine was in that industrial table in the back ground? Nice finds by the way. You will stay busy cleaning them up and making them work.

ThayerRags

Monroe,

Those Martha Washington cabinets have special “double-jointed” hinges on that left end. They are called a “Soss Invisible Hinge”. They allow the compartment lid to rest in two positions: up level with the folded leaf when the leaf is closed, and down on top of the compartment to allow room for the leaf to swing open. Many of the hinges get ripped out of the wood by someone opening the leaf without first lowering the compartment cover to its lower position.

CD in Oklahoma

JudyTheSewer

That embossed White is about my favorite machine (yes, I know it is a cast design but I've mostly heard of it as "the embossed" model). You are so lucky to get it for free!

Rodney

Congrats on both machines. I like the embossed Whites too. That thing looks like it has 50 years of dust on it.
Rodney

SteveH

It's the Bay Area, I tell ya.......

vmaniqui

@ miriam - yes, that's an industrial singer 16-188 that i have and am refinishing the cabinet. thanks, it's sure is a nice find more so with the free white rotary.

@ CD - the hinges gave way maybe because the previous owner is not aware that you need to lower it before lifting the machine. i still need to check if i can salvage the hinges. thanks a lot for telling the name of the hinge. if i can't salvage it i should be able to replace it WITH THIS HINGE

@ rodney - sure enough i myself is assuming that the machine have not been touched for years. i wanted to capture the before pictures.

@ steveh - got it right buddy. it's sunny in the bay area....so much dust...

@judythesewer - thanks as i feel so lucky too. imagine getting 2 free white rotaries in 2 days.

Carol34446

Good for you, and can't wait to see after pictures. You will make them so pretty.