Sticking my toe in the waters of Vintage Sewing Machines
 

I thought I would start a thread instead of bouncing around as I've been doing. I'll still bounce around, but if anyone wants to find me, I'll be here.

I bought....I should say "saved" or "adopted"...my first machine last weekend. A Minnehaha treadle machine, for $5. I'll post a picture asap, but I have posted it in other places here, so I don't want to be redundant. I want to clean it up before I try to sew with it, but I know that it works, all the parts move, the treadle works, etc. The gears for the bobbin winder are a little gummy, so that might be a challenge, but I think with a little cleaning it might be OK.

I've watched the videos about cleaning, winding bobbins, etc and have enjoyed them and I have been looking at most of the sights suggested here for more information. I don't know what company made my machine...I've had a few suggestions of either a branded Standard or a National, but I've seen a Davis that also looks very similar, so that is a mystery I would like to solve. It looks a lot like the Minnesota that was made by Goodrich and sold by Sears. There are patent dates listed, and the last one is 1904, so...does that mean it was made in or around 1904?

I have other "new" machines. I have a Kenmore that I use most often. I have a Viking/Husqvarna #1+ that I've tried to like, but I keep going back to the simplicity of my Kenmore. I bought a Singer at the same estate sale, a 1969 Stylist in a cabinet that I thought would be a fun machine for my daughter to use. I also have a Nolting Long-arm machine for quilting.

Anyway, I thought I could post my progress here so I don't hi-jak anyone else's threads.

Thanks for all the welcoming words and advice. I really appreciate it!

Barb

[ATTACH=CONFIG]342115[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342114[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342116[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342117[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342118[/ATTACH]I have the missing drawer front, but the rest of the drawer is gone. He was trying to sell them separately

Really kool machine!

Hi Barb...thanks for putting up pics of your machine. I don't think it's a Davis badge. Davis's have the tension pieces in different locations, and the needle plate is almost always square instead of round or oval. I would bet a National, but I could be just shooting in the dark!! LOL

Congrats on the 'toe' in the water. When you get swept up in the flood, give us a yell and we will through you a lift ring. LOL

:) You're standing on a mightly slippery band whilst dipping that toe!

(Psssssstttttt! Glenda is lying when she says we'll toss you a lift ring! We will however, cheer you on! :D )

Now you've done it! That treadle will send out a siren song to every machine needing rescue for miles around, and within a year you'll have a herd. The drawer front might fit other treadle drawers. If you post the dimensions of your drawers I'm sure folks can check those from other models, and maybe even find you a match.

ooohhh...I hadn't thought of that. I was planning on making another drawer box for my little drawer front. Its brass handle is bent, but other than that, the drawer front is fine. They were going to sell them separate from the machine and its cabinet. Silly estate sale man. Yesterday, I just cleaned it with a little mild soap and water and dusted the cabinet. It's looking better already. Some of the decals were already faded, so I don't want to do them any more damage. When I clean the insides, I will most likely leave it all intact...my reconstruction skills are minimal, so I don't want to end up with a pile of screws and no idea where they go.

I was just reading the thread about what damage GOOP can do to a machine's decals...glad I read that before I did anything more to this one. It really isn't that dirty, but the decals are faded. Chances are, someone along the line gave it a good cleaning and wiped them away...hmmmm.

I also bought a Singer at the estate sale. A Singer Stylist 457. I've been cleaning it up, it was a bit musty :thumbdown: but it's getting better...but it has a squeak. I haven't tried sewing yet, I wanted to oil anything that was metal against metal before I did too much. The plastic gears all look good, but I just can't determine where the squeak is coming from. It doesn't happen when I disengage the motor to run the bobbin winder. It seems to be getting a bit better as the oil gets into the joints, so I will see what it does when I thread it and try to sew tomorrow.