"Illinois" badged 15 Clone
 

I spotted this machine on E-bay and said 'cool' but I wasn't totally interested in a 15 clone ... a few days later I saw it in my "purchases" box. Husband bought her ... $12.00. Nice deal. I haven't plugged her in yet as the wiring has some breaks in it and I'd rather get that fixed first (have I mentioned I don't like electricity?). The light will clamp in place once the bulb is in.

The badge reads "Dial-O-Matic World best sewing machine". That's not a typo ... it actually say's "world best" ... not "worlds best". SN #TA79021

I've got an electrical guy who works on electric motors for a living (usually really BIG motors, he'll probably giggle when I give him this one). I'll be asking for his expertise as I don't do electric (which is part of the reason I wasn't totally interested in a 15 clone - I like pure mechanics - electricity hurts). I'm the kind of person that throws the main breaker when I need to change a face plate on a light switch. I've only recently stopped throwing the breaker to change the light bulbs ... baby steps.

Posting two pics of what it looked like when I brought it home, a pic of what it looked like after rubbing a cloth over her to remove the gunk (there was actually a band aid on the bobbin plate - I think it was a 1/4" guide!!), and some pics of a funky looking thing that I think is the foot pedal but I can't for the life of me figure out what the clamps are for and how the darn thing works (there is no "movement" to it if you press it). So if anyone knows what this thing is ... or how it's supposed to work ... clueless here could use some guidance.

Wow- that cleaned up well. Interesting foot pedal- I'll bet the machine will work well when you have it rewired.

Ahhh ..... Ok ... sometimes the pictures tell the story.

I kept trying to make the large black part of the foot pedal to move, then while looking at the pictures I just posted I noticed the rubber feet on the black tri-pod bottom - which would have the long black part (which I thought was the business end of the foot pedal) sitting sideways and the raw steel part at the top.

Sure enough ... that's how it sits and when I press down on the raw steel part ... up and down she goes.

I think this is one machine I won't be sewing barefoot in.

Pretty machine! Definitely an interesting foot pedal. Here's to many happy hours of stitching on her!

That is a very nice machine. The wiring is easy to fix, and that foot controller is a very simple reliable unit. I have several machines with the same type and I like them quite a bit.

Joe

I was just browsing around the "Will the real 15 clone ..." and "the dark underside" threads and found a very similar machine. Caroline S has a machine badged "Mercury" that is almost identical - same bed decals, same "Dial-O-Matic" with "world best" badge, same foot pedal, same grape vine face plate, same motor mount, and same light mount on the belly of the pillar (these are the only two machines I've seen with this light mount). The differences other than "Mercury" vs "Illinois" is that hers has the name "Morse" stamped on the inside lip above the SN - mine does not, and her motor has a metal plate with "Morse" on it .. mine has no metal plate at all. Both of the machines have an SN that start with TA.

I can't wait to play with mine.

Your hubby loves you and helps support your hobby. How great is that? Looks like a fun machine, and a bargin too!

Oh post the pic on the 15 clone place!!! I love clones - I need to post a pic of my Universal - it has a cool nose cover.
LINK:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...p-t164361.html

What a pretty machine!! You did great!. I've never purchased a machine on ebay .... I've read the stories of how machines were packed so badly that the machine was in awful condition once it arrived..... but I love your machine. Enjoy it.

I LOVE machines like that. But as soon as I get one cleaned up and consider starting a quilt with it, I lose it to a motorcycle dude who needs to sew on patches(should never have started that trend lol). And since they don't like pink machines, I have a couple but no blue ones anymore.
What I need to do is a sales pitch to the next one for a Kenmore :)