A couple of weeks ago I picked up several machines for free. The owner had to move in a hurry and was going to leave all of his machines in the house. I had to pass on a few Godzilla White machines but this is what I got. I needed the Karma and I was guessing he could use some money so they weren't exactly free, but that was my choice. Here is a quick look at them. I took a front and back of them before they went into storage. Except for the Brother, they all came from the same place. The Brother I got at the same time in a separate deal and is the only one that is not for sale.
~G~

Singer 15 in a cabinet.
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Red Eye possibly for parts.
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Aldens dusty but looks like it is in good shape.
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Turquoise Brother. Keeping this one.
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Cardinal in a case with unique decals.
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Continued next page.

The rest of the machines.

A Free Westinghouse for parts.
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Compac in a broken case.
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"The Elgin" was named after my home town.
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1941 Singer 66.
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Singer 99 in a bentwood case.
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Well there you have it. That stash should keep me busy for a while.
~G~

Wow! What a haul. Most of them are in decent shape, too. The Compac is going to be great, as is the Elgin, the Cardinal, and the Singer 15 with the WWII decals. From the looks of things, you've got some good karma going on.

Grant, I'm waiting for after shots.

Miriam, I am already working on the Brother and it is close to being done. I have posted pictures on my Sew Restored page of it. It cleaned up very nicely. I want to have a custom base made for it.
Ken More, (I couldn't resist) It is a haul. A lot of job security too. And everyone could use a little more Karma. The 15's markings are called RAF. There is some conflicting things being said about where the name came from and why. I am just going to call it a 15 and leave it at that.
~G~

Grant, I have a horde of old machines like that - I'm working my way through them. It is so cool when they get all cleaned up, adjusted and sold. I usually have two of my grandkids help with the initial clean up. Miss Lovie loves to clean out lint and she is very good at it and Wilbur loves to oil things and he is getting very careful. One day I got out a rusted out old Kenmore and we baptized it in oil. Now I have taught Wilbur to only use a drop of T-F and oiling one like that blew his little mind. Low and behold the machine turns. It still doesn't zig zag but we did a real make over on it. The kids did me proud. The upper zig zag stamped metal on the control part has rust in there I'm going to have to figure out how to get it cleaned up with out causing damage. There is some paint damage to the machine in that area, too. We also took apart the bobbin area and cleaned off all rust and muck. Then I asked him where it went. His little fingers couldn't quite get it in there but he knew exactly how it was suppose to go. We ran out of time to do the tension. It is one of the older 158 Kenmores - I think those are the bomb so looks or not it would sew some guy gear. I haven't test sewn it yet - too much going on for this poor ADHD to handle and I don't mean Wilbur. Oh when we did the Kenmore he looked over the machine and then said "Grandma that isn't a Singer." I asked him what it was and he said it was a K.E.N.M.O.R.E but he didn't put it all together before someone told him it was a Kenmore. I assured him it was a good machine though. He was a little nervous when I told him he could pour oil on the rusted areas. Now I think I should go back and clean up - I guess I figured the oil would wash the rust pretty much and it did. That machine will never be pretty again as far as I know. So we have not had total success on that one yet.

Then I got out an Electro Grande the next time he was over. It was totally stuck. The two of us went over it real nice. He stuck with it for a couple hours. AND it is still stuck. I believe it is the needle bar. Wilbur cleaned up a lot of dirt and saw markings on the bottom so we cleaned some more and found B.R.O.T.H.E.R which he read - he got the biggest kick out of that. So we had a good discussion about how to know who made a sewing machine. I'm sure that bit of info is tucked away in his little head. He loves facts. The Electro Grande is waiting for a shipment of Kroil.

BTW Wilbur had a Bob the Builder obsession for awhile until he figured out that Bob didn't DO anything. He wants to learn to DO things. He is 4 and reads and does his sister's second grade math - he sneaks and uses the computer programs - he's self taught. He stays pretty focused or is it obsessed with what ever he does. I think some people medicate their kids for that but we enjoy him like he is.

Grant, I would imagine it's a Royal Air Force edition of the 15 made in Great Britain? (Just a guess...) Beautiful decals. I too am looking forward to pics of the finished machines. Those are some beauties.

Redmadder, the 301 threads from right to left with the flat side of the needle to the left.

Apparently the 301 has a timing issue. Or a screw loose. I had a 'Frozen' dress that had to get done and my 1941 15 proved to be up to the task. I haven't used the 301 much or the Featherweight. The FW was doing the job just fine until the presser foot uptake lever broke in two. I suspect that is a common failing of the older FWs. Now to find one to replace it.

Anyway, the needle on the 301 started hitting something in the bobbin area, turning it without the bobbin in by hand. If I can just slow down long enough, observation, learning, and surgery will begin.

And there is a problem with the 15 - 91 hanging up the loop underneath. Good thing I have a few extra machines, including a 50's someone gave me and Miriam had the throat plate.

Re 301: Is the finger on the bobbin holder thingy pointing up and in the groove in the throat plate? You have to seat it from underneath before you tighten screws the from the top.