I got the Sew-Classic order today. (And an out of stock item was taken off of the order and the needle plate marking stickers were put in instead with no charge. I am happy. I meant to order those stickers too but forgot.) So far the emery cord has been good for a lot of things.

I smoothed out needle dings from the needle plate,
took off the partial stripping from the needle plate screw heads,
removed a sharp edge from inside my pinky ring,
almost tried to sharpen my seam ripper before I thought about the ring and what it meant as far as putting a sharp edge back on something,
and told the cat to stop trying to bite the cord and run away with it.

It is useful.

Sadly I also got bobbins to match a machine but I lost the auction after the order went out. Is there a thread for whining about the wish list or the ones that got away? ;)

Hi! Is this the place we go about questions? I moved my White 568 from one cabinet to the one I just bought since I couldn't use it with my Penney's machine. It has it's original cords. However....the motor/light cord coming from the bottom of the machine has been taped up with electrical tape so I'm thinking it's time to change it out. I saw a generic replacement plug in part (the part that plugs into the wall outlet), but I couldn't tell if it also has the two lines coming from the sewing machine itself. Those really should be replaced. right?

Mrs Finch I found a replacement caster on ebay for very little for my Free #5 Treadle. You should be able to find one very close to the one your missing.

Need Help Please- Universal KZM
 

I saw a post someone made in 2012 offering copies of the manual for a Universal KZM machine. My mother in law needs a copy for her old machine. I sent the person a message asking for a copy but have not heard back yet.
If anyone can please let me know if they have a copy of this manual I would really appreciate it. I will be happy to provide my email if anyone can send me a copy.
Thanks so much in advance.

OK I am back from Florida minus a few sewing machines plus a fractured sprained ankle - no panic - it is healing.
I do have to tell about teaching old men to sew. First we were camped at the Alafia River Rendezvous and you can google search that.... It is like a little town from 18th century. Everyone dresses the part and we all live in tents. I know, sewing machines aren't 18th century. Just only the patent. So we bent the rules a little and I took some and sold them - this year and last. Last year a man wanted one but didn't get one so he came looking for me and bought two machines - one for himself and one for his daughter - I taught her how to use hers. A couple days later I did show him how to use his. After about 2 hours he was getting the hang of it but later brought his pants to be hemmed. LOL... Next enter 2 gruffy old men and their younger friend - ahem he was our age.... One of the gruffy old men decided to buy a sewing machine. And he wanted to learn how to use it. So they all sat there and watched me teach him (I mean heckle the guy.) He got the hang of it but he never did make a stitch - go figure? So when he left with the younger man and the machine the other old man sat there and laughed. He said, "He isn't really going to use that machine. It's just bait." "Bait???" I ask. He just snorted, "His wife died two years ago and he can't manage on his own - he's going to try to get the widow across the street to teach him to sew so he can mend his pants...." Beware ladies it's a pretty little Singer 128 HC - I think he headed back to Pennsylvania... An elderly Seminole men showed up and bought a machine, picked it up and walked back to his camp - I thought - WOW he must be some specimen if he can haul that a mile. Well, it turned out he only made it so far, sold the machine and came back and bought another machine. So I ended up having to teach the guy that bought it from him how to use it. Ok so then another old guy shows up. He pays for the machine and leaves. He didn't come back for days - I figured he forgot he bought it. When he did come back it was dark - ever try to teach someone to sew in the dark in a tent??? Anyway he was getting it for his 10 year old grand daughter. He just wanted a few basics - we used a flash light. (cheat cheat)

I don't check in over here as often as I should. But, glad I did. Very interesting story, Miriam, and hope your ankle will be less swollen real soon.

Now I’m hungry again. I went to the Lakeland Ledger Gallery (Lakeland, FL) and saw Mike Lunn, of Fort Meade, dressed as an 1840's era fur trapper, showing off the deer shoulder that he was cooking for a meal, and wow did that look good! Did you get to eat any of that? That would beat the heck out of Chicken Nuggets!!!

That Rendezvous looks like a fun place that I would like to visit someday.

CD in Oklahoma

ETA: My link to the Lakeland Ledger Gallery didn't work because it changed to a different album on me. (Sorry)

Usually I walk miles and miles down there - this time I never made it out of our camp. There are some places you can get some really good food in there - but the best are invitation only. We run our own 'Grumpies Dutch Oven Bake Shop'. We bake scones in a Dutch oven over a wood fire and sell them to the public - with the wood in Florida it is a mean job. One year I tried to make coffee but it tasted like dish water. Then I found out DH was going to use that water for dish water... We have some running jokes... This year our son helped man the fires. I usually get the job of washing dishes. I think we made 7 batches on Friday and 7 batches in 3 hours on Saturday. That might be a record and after the toad choking rain we had the night before it was almost a miracle. The scones don't taste the same at home. We have little chalk board signs up that say "Eat at your own peril" and 'Advice 25 cents' and others but fortunately nobody reads the signs.

You might have an easier time if you search Floridafrontiersmen - they have a web page and you have to dig to find pictures unless they changed things. Yes CD you would fit right in there and you would have a blast.

Replace if the cord has been damaged - they are fairly cheap if it is the cord box and controller. If the cords are attached to the machine they are do-able but more work.

I forgot part of the story about the 3 old men. I wish I had their names. For ease of the story I'm going to name them for you. Two of them drove from Pennsylvania to Florida together. 'Ralph and George' have been friends for YEARS and live a few blocks apart. 'Ralph', the old guy telling the story was a truck driver for years. 'George' the other guy was going to share the driving (same guy that bought the sewing machine). Well 'George' plugged in his GPS and drove the first 100 miles. 'Ralph' took it from there. He thought 'George' wove all over the road too much. So as 'Ralph' drove, 'George' kept telling him where to turn - HE had the GPS. 'Ralph' said he kept getting lost when he paid attention to the GPS. At one point 'George' pulled off the road and ASKED. I bet he's never done that before - he was steamed - that GPS got them 30 miles out of the way. Worst of it is they have a business together - they make gun barrels. Some times when I camp I entertain little kids - old men are just as funny.