I bought four 10-needle packages of Schmetz MY1014B needles on eBay, as a substitute for the old 127x1 needles for my W&W No. 9. --10 needles each for 4 different weights of fabric. (The asking price was $8 per pack of 10; I offered $5 per pack which was accepted by the seller. I paid $70 for the W&W No. 9, and with shipping have invested almost $30 in these needles.)
They match the length of needles in the old Boye wooden tube that was in the drawer of the machine; however, the Boye needles (if that is what they really are) all have a flat side for no-brainer insertion.
I read someplace that the early W&W No. 9s like this one took a round shank needle, and later models took needles with one flat side. I'm still searching for the place on the internet where I read that. Makes sense, as the flat sided needle was probably a later patent.
Some of the needles in the Boye tube have writing on the shank, too small for me to read without magnification.
I'm still cleaning the cabinet on this W&W No. 9. I have ordered a new belt for the treadle, and will soon start carefully cleaning the head. (I've read in several places that the gold decals on the W&W No. 9 are particularly fragile.) Once clean, I'll insert a new Schmetz needle, see how it goes, and report back.
The trick will be to get Billy's "timing" right. I think he meant "orientation." See earlier post.
Modern Schmetz MY1014B Needles
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