Look what I have found! Vintage hand crank Singer Sewing Machine
 

My son and I were just wandering through a charity shop on Sunday and he spied this lovely machine in the shop underneath a machine at the cashier's table. I was amazed that this machine was there because I have never seen one in a charity shop before.

I asked the shop assistant and was told it was for sale and highly collectible. (I knew that before he told me of course! LOL!) He said that there was a part under the plate where the feed dogs were that needed replacing. The crank would not make a complete revolution and was stopping short of a complete revolution. I paid £20 for it and then took it home convinced that it needed a service.

I am not savvy about old machines but went on the internet to look for someone to service the machine here in England. I came across a blog spot called 'oldsingersewingmachineblog'. it is manned by Sid and Elsie. Here is their link: http://oldsingersewingmachineblog.com (you may red to copy and paste the link). I email Sid and with his advice, managed to find a knot of thread was causing the problem! So now the machine is working though I have not tested it yet but will do after we have moved.

I thought I would post some pictures here on the board. I will take my time and clean it up as best as I can and hope that I can bring it back to its former glory. At least I have a piece of history and I can pass some of that on to my children.

My great great great grandfather and the grandfathers 2 generations after were all tailors and used hand cranked machines. Unfortunately, these machines did not survive the war. The only machine to have survived was my grandmother's treadle machine but that has since gone awol. I learnt to sew as a child on that machine. I hope to find one in the future.

Enjoy the pictures!

Congrats!! We'll look forward to seeing the pictures!! :)

Isn't it a thrill to find a treasure! Can't wait to see your pictures----congratulations!

Hello B Lizzie,

Lovely to hear from a compatriot. I keep telling everyone here that we have fantastic machines in England waiting to be picked up.

Well there's a thing, my great great great grandfather was a tailor too, but I doubt he ever used a sewing machine, that's going back to pre-Famine Ireland. He was followed by three generations of tailoresses in this country, who I expect spent many hours on treadles.

Looking forward to hearing more about your machine and what you make on it...

check for the missing plate in with bobbins and accessories.....when my Daughter bought one that is where the missing piece was hiding.

Thank you for the link you posted. I really enjoyed it.

Great find and nice that you were able to get it going again. What a fantastic price too ... even in pounds. I wanted to thank you for the website you included in this posting. I started reading through it and could hardly pull myself away. Loved the history and story about the 99K someone bought from this couple. Also, I never thought about all the machines that were lost during the war ... along with so many other things including the most important loss: lives. It was nice to read about your find. Hope it sews perfectly for you when you try it out. Hope to see pictures of it when you get it cleaned up and going.

KLO,

My friend Mary, who was born just before the War, has an 1893 28K that her father bought for her mother as a wedding present for thirty shillings. They lived in London and their house was bombed. Her father was able to salvage the sewing machine and a clock, but not much else. It's a wonderful machine - it has that well worn look.

Looking forward for pictures~~love those old machines.

Been having problems with uploading pictures, tried everything I can think of; resizing, cropping, all sorts. Will try and post the pics. Please bear with me….

Please bear with me as I have to load the pictures gradually, thank you.

A picture of the offending knot….

Thank you so much!

Yes, it is not often that we find treasures like this. Thank you.

Helllo Muv,

thank you. Nice to 'meet' someone from this part of the world! Indeed, I think that we have the best selection of vintage items from machines to all sorts. I guess it is because of the need to stick to tradition passed from generation to generation.

My grandfathers of years gone by were wealthy tailors having obtained their wealth in tea plantations in China. When the red army came along, the family fled to Singapore and established themselves there as tailors until the Japanese came along and basically tore Singapore to shreds, destroying all that they had. The part between the occupation and freedom is a blur and there is no one left to tell the tale and they barely spoke about it. My grandmother spoke in bursts about how she hated the Japanese and that was all she would say.

I cannot quite remember what happened since the end of the war but all I know is that they sewed on these machines.

I will attempt to sew on this lovely machine once I get settled in our new home. It needs a little tender loving care. Once I am sorted with the move, you get bet your last pound/dollar I am going to try it out. Will keep you posted. Lovely to hear from you.

Thank you for the tip. I have had a chat with 'Sid' (I have now found out it is not his real name) and he walked me through what to look for. It wasn't a missing anything that was causing the trouble but a knot of thread that was stopping the mechanism. It needed a little bit of cleaning - fluff around the feed dogs. Now the crank is moving smoothly.

As far as I can see, the attachments are all there. Will try and post the picture of what it came with later. I have tried to upload the picture that I took but it will not upload. I will need to take another one and try again.

You are most welcome. I thought Sid and Elsie were great fun and so much information! It is not always that you get someone willing to share his information with the masses. Glad you enjoyed it. The most recent blog post is carrot cake. Fancy trying it out? I bet it tastes real scrumy!

Hi KLO,

thank you. It is a superb price for England. Most antiques are recognised and priced nearer the £45 and upwards mark. To be able to get one under £40 was a bargain. It needs a little polishing and 'dusting' (lol) and once it is nice and shiny, it will have its place in a display cabinet. I will use it but it needs some recognition! (lol)

The owner who donated it to the charity shop said that it was working perfectly until the crank stopped moving. My guess is that he/she was told that a part needed replacing and it probably cost too much. There are some unscrupulous businessmen/women out there ready to charge a premium for their service which is why when I found the website, I was so thankful that Sid was so helpful and had not jumped at the opportunity to service the machine as I originally asked him if he would do.

Yes, the war did a lot of damage to our family and to millions of people. I feel that the heads of the countries should come off their high horses and sit down with their heads screwed on tightly and communicate properly. All this unnecessary pain and loss can be avoided. If people weren't so greedy and fighting for control the world could be a better place, don't you think?

Maybe I am simplifying things too much but that is my heart felt opinion. Thank you for your post.

Hi Muv,

how fortunate her father managed to save the machine and she still has it! What a lovely machine!

Here are a few. I have to re take some more because for some reason, I cannot seem to download the pictures I have taken even after cropping etc. So please bear with me.

Here is a picture of what came with it. I am not certain if they are all there but I am so thankful that there are attachments that have come with it. It even has it's little oil can!

B Lizzie - You have a really nice 99K. Have you checked the year? What is the serial number?

It doesn't need much of a clean up, just watch my videos to see how easy it is. Otherwise, PM me to tell me where you live, and if you are within an easy distance of here, you put the kettle on and lay on the cake and I'll get my hands grubby and have it sparkling in no time.

It is far too good a machine not to use, it is a very reliable model. I get loads of use from my 99K. I'm sure you will like my Diamond Jubilee wall hanging which I posted a few days ago on the sticky thread Quilts Made Using Vintage Machines - for that I used my 99K and did the quilting on my 15K treadle.

Your family have certainly taken a pounding in the past. For my family the hard times were in the 19th century and we got through the 20th pretty lightly. Can't say the same for my husband's family, he's an English born Pole.

Glad you enjoyed hearing about Mary's machine. We have a young friend called Lily, she's 9, and she loves using Mary's machine when she gets the chance - it's wonderful to watch her, she's a natural.

Congratulations on your great find! Enjoy.

Hi Muv,

yes it is a lovely 99K and it was born on the 6th July 1946 at Kilbowie, Clydebank, Scotland. The machine itself needs to be cleaned up and polished and it will look lovely afterwards. I need to figure out how to restore the lid to the box and the box as these have shown wear in them.

Yes I saw that post earlier on and I am hoping to try this lovely machine out after we are settled with the move etc. I hope to post my creations on there in the near future.

Once we are nicely settled, you are more than welcome to come and visit, not to get your hands grubby (unless I get hopelessly overwhelmed) and I'll have the kettle boiling and cake at the ready!

You know, now that I have dipped my hand into this by accident, I am so hooked up on the machines that everything about them is new fodder! It is such an addiction! :D Thank you for pointing me in the direction of your videos. I most certainly will have a look at them. Any help is gratefully accepted. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Congrats on your find! I, too, never thought about sewing machines missing during the war. You have a lovely machine!

I just watched an episode (episode 3) of the Korean Drama "Fashion King" where they used a similar machine.
Go in about 14 minutes on this link to see it in use.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpr...?search_algo=1
I need to get one of these. Congratulations, Nice find, in good shape.

Beautiful and a great find! I'm jealous!!

Thank you. I only know about the war and missing machines because my mother told me the story a few years before she died. I wanted to try and buy a machine then for her to try out when she came to visit but it was beyond my budget at the time so she never has had the opportunity to use one. Never mind, at least we now have a part of history and for that, I am thankful.

Cheers!

Thank you and thank you for the link. I watched the video and saw the machine. Lovely. To think that they are still using it in Korea! Wow! I hope you do find one in a garage sale which is where you could possibly find one cheaper than what is advertised on the internet on various websites? Good luck!

Best wishes

Thank you. Sorry to make you jealous. Hope you find one too! :) Best wishes

Great find! It looks like it is in great shape. Why can't I ever find anything like that? lol

Thank you, it is in good shape and all it needs is some cleaning and polishing. As I mentioned in my reply to husband-of -a-quilter, you'd probably find machines like this in garage sales? My guess is that it would be cheaper than from most websites as there are people who just want to clear their old stuff out and price is not the main aim. I used to think the same as you and many others before I found this machine. So, keep your chin up and if it is meant to be, it'll come knocking.

Best wishes.

BLizzie, I'm so happy you got a Singer 99K. Your machine is beautiful!! I think the 99's are just neat little machines. You will love sewing with it. I am the proud owner of 2, one that is electric and the other one has a knee bar. Mine from the 1920's, but look a lot like yours. Mine don't have numbers on the tension, does yours? And like yours, they have the knob for the stitch regulator. Almost any short shank attachments will work on your machine. Now I also would like a hand crank machine. Will it be a 99 also? who knows? But I'll be watching out for one.
Janis

Wow what a wonderful find. It is very rare to find one of these in such awesome shape:thumbup:

Hi Janis, thank you. I am so lucky that my son was with me that day, otherwise, I would have walked right past it as it was in an obscure part of the shop and not at all noticeable. You mention numbers on the tension. Where would I find those numbers if they are there? Please can you tell me and I'll have a look.

I think that the hand crank machines have a charm all their own and they are lovely. I am now on the look out for a treadle machine that resembles my grandmother's machine. What have I got myself into? :shock: :eek: I am hooked!

Please let us know when you get your hand crank machine. It will be a lovely find, I'm sure of it. Best wishes.

Yes, it is a wonderful find. I had no idea how rare it is to find a machine like this in such good condition. I realise now that there are machines that need more than spit and a polish! I wouldn't have been able to do more than simple cleaning and maintenance as I have no clue as to where to begin. I watched Muv's videos and thank goodness for her videos and various blogs, I have an idea as to what I should be doing. Cheers! :)

[QUOTE=BizzieLizzie;5275102]Hi Janis, thank you. I am so lucky that my son was with me that day, otherwise, I would have walked right past it as it was in an obscure part of the shop and not at all noticeable. You mention numbers on the tension. Where would I find those numbers if they are there? Please can you tell me and I'll have a look.

If there are numbers on the tension dial, they are in a circle around the dial. Mine doesn't have them, and I don't pay attention to the numbers on my other machines. If the tension needs adjusting, I just turn the dial which way I need to in able to correct the tension. As you notice, there is just a dial for the length of stitch, and no numbers. You just turn the dial to see what length of stitch you want, and leave it there.
Happy sewing!

[QUOTE=Janis;5276583]Hi Janis,

I have just had a peek and there doesn't appear to be any numbers anywhere except for the serial number. I guess it will be a case of trial and error? How far do you turn the dial? I am guessing in small increments? I'll have a go one day and see how it sews.

B Lizzie - watch my video on how to adjust the tension on a long bobbin machine. Follow the same method on that video to adjust your upper tension. Make sure you have cleaned your discs first. Shame we aren't round the corner from each other...