Kittywolf13

So yesterday i went to my favorite antique shop, because they were hosting an outdoor sale from local folks in the area. sewing machine there wasn't much... although if your in the market for a feather weight that was the place to be. but i already have one, so i wasn't interested in one and nor was it in the budget to spend 250+ on a new machine. So after browsing around outside. (i picked up a wall mirror that had my favorite artist Alphonse Mucha designed on it) i went inside the store and did a quick browse through... more feather weights. but outside in the outdoor warehouse there was a broken touch and sew and lurking in the shadow's was a singer box. my mother saw it. Note she had cataract surgery a few days prior and was complaining about not being able to see... yet here she was pointing out the box to me. "Did you see this?" I had not and went back to look. i finally got someone to retrieve it for me because it was kind of on a back table that had things in front of it. I didnt know what it was. it uses a long bobbin, and has what i assume is referred to as the shuttle? (the bullet shaped item.) The box however was brittle and falling apart. i used this to haggle the price on it and ended up getting my asking price of 45... originally they wanted 65 (which i know 45 is probably still high to some folks in some areas, but where im at its a pretty good deal because old sewing machines tend to go for a lot.)

I saw it had a motor and instantly thought of the hand crank that now i was aware would not work on my 66. what i didnt notice is that the machine is smaller then my 66 and thus will not fit in the box made for the 66! Go me for adding to my collection without research and without solving my prior problem of wanting a hand crank and the machine intended for it didnt work. I did however put the hand crank on the 128 and it seems to work just fine!

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(The 66 on my new sewing area! it all folds up to hide all the fabric.)

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(Any idea what this is? she also came with no cables so i had no qualm installing the hand crank. :P )

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(Grapes!)

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(The hand crank where the motor was... i removed the motor because it was so dirty i wasnt certain if it would work at all.)

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(Hand crank installed! she turns super well!)

So the box and cover are really brittle... is there a way to fix it. Also i have no idea how a long bobbin works? advice on this? It had 3 bobbins, the "shuttle"... so i think all the pieces are there. I just didnt want to leave her behind. I've named her Shadow since she was lurking in the shadows of the store! and i will leave you with a picture of the "warzone" mess were i was fixing and cleaning them up. the 128 cleaned up really well. im impressed!

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pinkCastleDH

Looks like a 128 to me. That electrical gizmo I believe is the control box for a knee actuator that would feed through the hole in the front of the box.

If the box is falling apart you should be able to reglue it without any problems. A fresh coat or three of shellac should make it all look much nicer, too.

Kittywolf13

that is what the white motor thing says... and there was a metal bar thing inside that i had no clue what it went too... but after looking at it i thought it might be a knee press or something. I'm going to have my dad look at the case and see if its fixable with some glue... though all the triangles that sit in the corners that hold the machine have falled off! so we'll see. i need to see if i have a copy of the manual some where.

pinkCastleDH

The corner blocks were just glued on to start with - regluing is the ticket there.

Lucky you to have the knee lever since they're frequently missing.

Kittywolf13

i just have nothing else except the motor/light and the control box and lever... no cable or anything. i dont know if id trust it just yet so i wont plug it in yet. :P

irishrose

The box glues back together very nicely. If you're missing the triangles, cut a piece if 1/2" by 1/2" wood to the correct length. Like a square dowel. My bentwood top is in good shape, but I think the machine sat on a damp basement floor and the box looks like it's been damp and needed regluing. Bungee cords held it together until it dried. Mine is a 1952 and the electrics seem okay, though I'd like to handcrank for my GS if it doesn't sell. It's for sale, but I won't ship it.

Kittywolf13

I keep hearing everyone say glue as well. Any recommendation on wood glue brand? This one the bottom was falling out too the gentleman who does the shops repairs tacked a few tacks in so at least the stuff inside wouldn't fall out the bottom. I will ask my father what he thinks.

Any idea on how to remove the control box?

Do all 128's have the long bobbins?

pinkCastleDH

All 128's use long bobbins. Wood glues vary by purpose - for repair use I'm fond of Gorilla Glue but Titebond is well thought of, too, and works better if you will be refinishing.

Kittywolf13

Ok. I thought the long bobbin was older then the average common bobbin and was surprised to see it on an electric machine. I need to see if I have a digital manual somewhere do I can see about threading her up and seeing if she works. she turns easily and all the bobbins were threaded so I guess maybe they didn't use her too much.

Any special needles? (doubt it singers tend to use the same stuff. )

pinkCastleDH

Singer and I think New Home were still making vibrating shuttle machines into the 50's. After all - the design had been working for decades and the tooling was paid off! Same thing as keeping going with the oscillating hook machines when rotary hooks have become so popular.