I have a question regarding rust and its many forms. When working on old houses and their various bits of vintage hardware (most were not replaceable) I would boil the rusty metal bits in an old dedicated pot. Hinges, latches, and doorknobs/parts all went in the pan for a good long water boil. It was also great for removing old paint from the parts without dust (think lead) or much effort.

One of two things happened, the rust came off (when cool) or changed into a hard nearly black surface. Bottom line, it stopped the rust from spreading and sometimes made the piece completely useable again! For instance, some of the old cabinet latches would be unusable due to the rough rust preventing parts from sliding back and forth. After this treatment and a bit of sanding, they worked like brand new.

I don't have rusty bits of machines around. Everything I have works. Will someone try this method on some of the bobbin shuttle parts that are rusty and let us know how it turned out? 10-15 minutes of boiling will be all it takes. Think of the saved parts potential!!

Personally, I wouldn't put ANY money into a Touch and Throw.

I would not either.

You know to never say never. I said never about the touch and sew's and my husband's grandmother's machine that landed here, "because you like sewing machines" was a touch and sew, and I will probably refurb it, first chance I get.

It should be ok Melinda - you have good back up machines.

I give them away as gifts to charity, I sewed on one once and that was enough for me. I mean the touch and throw

A vintage White machine followed me home today. It is my 1st White and came with a box of accessories and a manual plus a bobbin case with a bobbin in it. Only one bobbin loaded with at least 3 identifiable colors. Does sew-classic carry these bobbins? I need to order 301/FW bobbins anyway and thought I'd just get all at the same time. The machine has the brown crinkle/Godzilla finish on it and the shop assured me it ran but it is very linty in the bobbin area so will be cleaning that area first. The cords look good. I need to put together that sewing kit. Will post pics later when I am cool and it is a smidge cooler outside - like under 100 degrees.:D

I e-mailed Singer when I couldn't get a certificate to print for the machine on mysingerstory.com and they wrote back that they
'do not have detailed historical data on the "EY" series serial numbers. We do know however, that model 221K was manufactured between 1968 and 1970.'

That's what I've found out and I also saw on another site that along with the white/green 221Ks they also made beige ones, and that is what color I have as I don't see any 'green' in mine and it isn't that white either. Mine was made in Great Britain.

Good afternoon, I'm on light duty for a little while so thought I'd take advantage of the time and read this thread. I'm up to page 217... before my list gets too long I thought I'd pose a few questions for the group.

#1. RE: the knee bar for the 128 La Vencedora. Mine doesn't have the knee hole. When it was given to me it had been electrified in the 40's, I took that off and converted it back to a hand crank. Does the knee lever hole indicate a later production that was electrified? I can't picture how a knee lever would work without electricity.

#2. re: Pin rash, any good ideas on a clever replacement wrap? I made one with a flexible plastic insert to protect from more rash but it doesn't make my heart sing.

#3. I've seen the comment a number of times that hand cranks are harder to find than treadles. A possible reason is many church and civic groups have got the word out they are collecting them and then shipping them to places with little or no electricity.

#4. I'd like to find a Singer 15. From what I can find it is a rather plain machine with several badges.
Is there a way to KNOW one if I run across one? What are it's identifiers?
In August 2010 Billy said he would be selling new 15's. Any comments on those machines?

#5. Needlebar.com There were several comments about not hearing back if membership was approved. I registered not long ago and noticed in the introductions forum there were new people every day. So today on a whim I checked to see if my registration letter had showed up in introductions like Alan says they will. Sure enough there it was, the day after I registered. But no notice in my email. So if you've been waiting for that perhaps you've been registered all along? Sign in and see if you can access any of the forums besides introductions.
If not, there are 5 or 6 questions they want answered in the registration letter so check FAQ's

Anyway, I'm enjoying seeing all the machines and hearing about the finds.
Happy hunting, and stitching
Sharyn in Kalama

Featherweight
LaVincedora 128
New Home Treadle 1914

No Monica, someone was talking about filing off the plastic feed dogs to make new teeth - after they had a Touch and Sew with the plastic feeds dogs worn smooth? Am I going crazy? I could swear someone on here did that? Joe was it you?

Nancy