Quiltingboard Forums - Those pesky treadle needles!

We had some posts in the Vintage Machine thread about needles for the W&W 9 (and D-9), and the Singer 9W. The "original" needles for those machines are the same, and they're obsolete. Tougher to find than hen's teeth, those needles are!

I got an email from a yahoo group I belong to, and I was thrilled when Kevin Pinkerton suggested these solutions! I wrote and asked him for permission to share with everyone here, and he's graciously granted it, with a postscript that I'll also share! :) Nice guy, that Kevin!!

Original email follows:

As far as the 127x1 needles. I have found an alternative which works for me
and at least one other person. It is readily available and cheap. The
industrial round shank needle is smaller in diameter and will slide up in
the needle bar. Except for the shank being round instead of flat, all the
other dimensions are the same as the 127x1 needle. Being a round shank
needle, you will need to orient the needle yourself, but that can be done
fairly easily.

The needle goes by the following identifications:

Schmetx 34:22 1
MY1014B
SMx1014B
SY7256
SMX1014A
SM1014B

You can get this needle from Schemtz, Groz-Beckert and Organ.

The W&W 9 is a very nice machine and one of my favorites. If anyone has a
D-12, long bed version of this machine (head only) that they want to part
with, please let me know.

The follow up email with additional information after I asked his permission to share is this:

Hi Charlee,

I have no problems with sharing everything with everyone. But please add this note:

After inserting a new needle, always turn the wheel by hand slowly and watch for any needle obstruction where the needle might hit the rotary hook or bobbin.

The needle orientation is very important and I did not go into details on that but you can also add something for that as well. The scarf side of the needle, which is opposite of the thread groove side of the needle needs to be oriented exactly the same as it was for the 127x1. There is more to that, but it is easy to compare to get that right.

These new needles actually shrink in toward the center in all dimensions so there should NOT be a problem with the needle being positioned differently and then hitting the hook or bobbin. But I do not want to be responsible for a busted or damaged hook! The gap between the hook and the needle will increase a bit with these new needles, but unless it causes skipped stitches then it is not a problem.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin...YOU ROCK!! :)