patdesign

Go for it the back clamping attachments are all over ebay, I have several sets I would be happy to sell you.

krista

I contacted a guy from Illinois that was recommended from this site and he said not to worry he could get the parts. I also found a singer treadle stand that has been refurbished and is beautiful. When I get both on Fri. I will post pics! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

krista

here are pictures of the redeye that I purchased. It is in excellent working order. I only paid $35. She gave me the cabinet for free. I had mentioned that I was looking for a cabinet and she said she acquired one and told me I could have it. I love it! Thank you for all your advise. Now I just have to get used to using it!

Bennett

Not bad at all to get both for $35. Beautiful decals on that one, and the metal parts should clean up well.

ThayerRags

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlee

... (bit of trivia, the only difference between a 66-1 and a 66-3 is that the 66-1 is in a treadle cabinet, the 66-3 is "portable" and is a handcrank.)

Let me add a little to that Charlee.

The early 66-1 machines were treadle-only. It wasn’t until around 1914 that the casting was changed to include a “hand crank boss” for attachment of the common Singer Hand Crank being mounted on other portable models dating back years earlier. That made the 66-3 possible, and then all machines made could go out either as a 66-1 in a treadle or a 66-3 portable with a hand crank. This attachment boss is normally called a “motor boss” now that we’re well past electrification days, and with the motor brackets having been designed to attach on the same fitting.

The hand wheel and bobbin winder was also upgraded at that time, since the early bobbin winders were driven by the treadle belt, which was not possible on a portable machine. The later bobbin winder was outfitted with a rubber “tire” and was driven on the shoulder of the hand wheel. An obvious difference between the two models is the hand wheel spoke count. Early ones have 6 spokes and the later ones have 9 spokes.

The presser bar change (from back clamp to side clamp) occurred sometime around 1923 as far as I can tell. The Red Eye decal is reported to have been used up until 1925, so it’s probable that some Red Eye machines came out originally with side-mount presser feet, although many earlier models were retro-fitted with side-mount bars by sewing machine shops, especially during the time when electrification was taking place, to take advantage of a larger selection of attachments.

In this photo, the one on the left is a 1912 model, and the one on the right is a 1923 model.

CD in Oklahoma

LoisM

A year plus late on joining this thread but just had to say.... O.M.G! What a great find. You were so fortunately get the cabinet and machine for $35. Do you have any updated photos of the machine after her metal was cleaned, etc.?

LoisM

Wonderful information for those of us still shopping around. Thank you.

J Miller

CD,

So, it would be safe to say that my 1919 vintage 66-? treadle machine, which now has a low shank presser foot shaft, left the factory as a back clamp machine and was later converted.

Currently I have three red eyes: a 1913 vintage 66-1 that still has it's back clamp presser foot shaft, and the motor boss, a 1919 66-? that's probably been converted to low shank and a 1924 66-? that also has a low shank presser foot bar.

How can I, or can I tell for sure which type of presser foot shaft the machine came with?

Joe