Canadian sources for hand crank mechanism?
 

Hi,

Does anyone know of anyone in Canada who sells hand crank mechanisms? (Not a whole machine, jsut the cranky part, to convert a non-crank machine to a crank machine.)

Much appreciate any info.

-Cecilia.

I bought two on ebay for around 25$ plus shipping. They work perfectly. Sew classics had them at twice the price for 1.

Cecilia, I have found out that because of the rate of Canada Post compared to USPS, it`s always cheaper to get something shipped from USA. I shipped a gift to my brother who is 2h drive away: it cost me 12$. It would have cost me only 7$ to ship the same package to USA. It's a sad thing for us Canadian not being able to buy locally...

Thanks, Profannie, and amyjo. I will still hope to find a Canadian source. It is not an anti-other-country sentiment at all, but I feel strongly that paying more for something in one's own area is very important for balance and economy. I don't mean to start a political discussion! I just feel that wherever I live and earn at a given time, I am responsible to support that economy, and that is more important than to save a few nickels for myself... otherwise it can become a global race to the bottom. So, I do buy locally, often even if it does cost me more. In the long run, the communal social costs of individual saving short term can have worse implications.

So, if anyone knows of a Canadian source for hand cranks, I would very much love to know! Thanks again. (and profannie, please don't be offended!) (profannie, btw, a separate thread; I think your Bernina will stand alone well on its own without a case base... maybe you will tell better once you see it out of the cabinet)

-C.

Cecilia, I'm absolutely not offended, on the contrary: I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gives a value to local buying. I myself prefer to buy from canadian shop even if it's more expensive for the same reason you exposed. But some people don't think that way and I can understand why; money can be more an issue for them than it is for me (I'm married, I have a good job, etc.)
I didn't found any canadian source for an hand crank when I was looking for one (I finally decided to buy a "suicide knob") but I hope somebody will have a suggestion. Maybe you should open an online shop to keep parts for us???;)
(And thanks for the info about the Bernina; I only had Singer in cabinet and they sure are not doing well without a case base).

To put my 2 cents in;
I'm Canadian and if I can get something that I want off Ebay from a Canadian I will. The shipping is way faster than waiting for it to come across the line from the States. That being said, there is WAY MORE stuff in the States and its almost impossible to find what I want in Canada.

But on the contrary, when it comes to sewing machines, it looks like us Canucks get a lot of european models that don't turn up to often in the USA.

As for your handcrank, depending on where you live, I would look on Kijiji or Craigslist in your area and just try to find someone selling a handcrank machine, if you have a Singer than try to find a Singer handcrank etc... You will almost never find just the crank on its own. I'm sure its possible, but I wouldn't count on it. I found a 99 handcrank at an antique mall in Edmonton for $80, great machine and I can use the handcrank on some other machines of mine if I wanted. But to be honest, I think I'm going to keep the crank on the 99, my 201 deserves electricity or at least a treadle and my 15-88 is going to stay on the treadle as well.
I've learnt pretty quickly that a hand crank is hard on your right shoulder and sewing for long periods of time is not really realistic for me that way. Any machine that's set up for hand crank I would only sew on for short bursts of time. I;m thinking a featherweight would be a great hand crank machine, but there is only a guy in the states making kits for them and selling them ebay from there.

Humm, I wonder if a Canadian should start up a business/distribution up here? Seems like handcranking is getting trendy.

It's not Canadian, but if you're still lookin for a crank mechanism:
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/atq/4166853069.html

If that person put it on Ebay, they would sell if for their asking price or maybe even more.