Hi all, I've been a bit quiet as I've been busy renovating two houses (no, I'm not finished) but saw a very interesting auction come up online for two machines. "Museum pieces" as they were called by the seller... I did have a bit of a snort at that choice of phrase but decided to have a closer look and I'm glad I did! Both were completely without decals and the 'non Singer' was unidentified and described by the seller as having "primitive" workings (LOL).
I went on to ID this 2nd machine as a Davis VF and I was super excited! There don't seem to be that many USA manufactured machines in Australia and I've haven't seen a Davis machine in the couple of years I've been collecting. The only other unusual one I've seen is an Eldredge model B and every now and then there's a White treadle.
So I told Mike about what I'd found and he was the one that noticed that the Singer was actually a 15-1! Naturally, we decided to band together to secure the prize and each take one machine each. Success! Minimal amount paid but a couple of issues with both machines, apart from lack of bases/tables. The 15-1 has a broken piece off the rear inspection plate which is a real shame but won't affect function. The DVF is missing its shuttle. I must be really rusty because I didn't notice and I also recently bought a completely unusable Necchi BU and a Pfaff treadle table because I wasn't paying attention. Sigh. Anyway, buoyed by Mike's optimism, I am sending out vibes into the universe that I WILL get my shuttle and WILL get this fascinating machine working.
Here are the pics (haven't got it yet - pics from the auction)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]483002[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]483003[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]483004[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]483005[/ATTACH]
Really interested to know if anyone here has exactly the same model as this. I'd love to see detailed pics of the shuttle and maybe some measurements to aid my search. Would also love to see a pic of a case or table that it would have originally come with; I've seen some fantastic pics and videos of the attachments for these so will have to keep an eye out for those too. How common are these in the States? Easy to come by? Easy to find parts and accessories?
Also, the butterfly nut to hold the attachments on seems to be at the back on this machine. Is there a reason for this or has someone put it in the wrong spot?
Look forward to sharing more pics once I get her home. Mike and I are going to 'Lunch and Muv' on Wednesday so should be able to take some great pics then. I'll let him share pics and info on the 15-1
