what & where did this HOBSONS come from
 

hello, my name is rae, I am from Australia and I have an old Hobsons made in USA, treddle machine without a manual, it does sew however I recently took belt off due to grandchild playing with it, and decals seem in good order, I don't want to clean as worried about harming her as cabinet is fine, anyone know anything about this machine its age, year of manufacture or with any luck a manual even, thankyou Rae..... I can supply photos of machine and cabinet :)

Hi Rae, you can clean it with a clean rag and sewing machine oil without damaging anything. It should remove the dirt and grease, but because the oil is so gentle it might take a while. Make sure you oil the treadle mechanism too (you should do this first).

Which model is this ?

Want to know what model it is, when I bought it in the drawers had old lace, old cotton, old needles, two old bobbins, besides the one in the bullet bobbin, also a manual saying "Operating INSTRUCTIONS for the Oscillating Shuttle Sewing Machine" that's al I know, the decals say HOBSONS on front, it has serial number too and the enamel has baked into it made in USA..

Hi Rae, I just Googled for it and nothing at all, suggesting it is probably a re-badged machine. This was extremely common "back in the day". A company would buy machines from, say, Singer and if they ordered enough of them they'd even get their name and decals on it.

Does it use a 15x1 (domestic, flat on one side) needle? The needle it uses will point to the actual manufacturer. Also, if the serial number is a six or seven digit number it's probably a Singer from the 1800s.
If it doesn't use a 15x1 needle, ISMACS has a list of which machines use which needles (and I looked for HOBSONS - not listed). It looks 1890s. In fact it looks like a Singer VS3/28 (3/4 size machine).

BTW It's the shuttle that's a bullet, the bobbin's just a "long bobbin".

How did you go with the clean? Is she spanking?

I just noticed you said in the first post it didn't have a manual but above you said it came with "operating instructions". This is a mini-manual and should at least tell you what needle it uses. With luck it'll say "15x1" and does it mention a year at all?

Mani
model is so much like a 1889 model except the base has is square, the other older one is a fiddle base singer, and shuttle bobbin too,not too clean as has bit surface rust however the metal plates came up a treat with a bit of elbow grease with numbers l over one, also the number at back g it, not where singers are is M16405, I already went onto ISMACS, thanks Rae

Singer is one company that never put someone else's name on their machines.

However Domestic and Free were both making machines that were very similar to the Singer 27 for Sears, and probably other companies. They take the same shuttle, needle, throat plates and attachments as Singer 27.

This one is very likely to be made by one of those two companies.

Ah, thanks Cathy. I was probably reading about another company.
Rae, whatever you have it's going to be rare. No mention with Google, nothing on ISMACS or needlebar you might have to consult an OSMG. What city are you near? I'm in Melbourne and there's a guy in Footscray who knows *a lot* about older machines. PM me if you want his address.

Singer made the Wheeler and Wilson D9 (9W1) for a few years until they could redesign it into the Singer 9w7 and later the 115.

http://needlebar.org/manuals/singer1908catalogue.pdf

I agree that the Hobson looks like a Free product.

Jon