Originally Posted by
juneayerza
I want a hand crank sewing machine I can actually sew with, not just as a display item. Needless to say, I want it in good working condition since I have no idea of how to restore a machine myself. Does anyone know of a ruputable dealer? And are parts available for these old machines such as needles and shuttle cock bobbins or am I just wanting something that would not be practical to actually sew on? I have seen them listed on eBay, but would rather buy from a trusted dealer.
Thanks in Advance on any information you could give me.
Original HC machines are going for a pretty penny these days. There seems to be a real demand for them, although I don't know why. Those that come up on Shopgoodwill.com always go for big bucks.
You don't have to know how to "restore" machines to build yourself a HC. The best way is decide what machine you'd like to make into a HC then buy one, service it, (you can do that yourself), put a spoked hand wheel and a HC on it.
Most Singers made since the turn of the last century have a HC / motor boss on the right side just under the hand wheel. So do all the clones and early ZZ machines.
If the boss lines up vertically with the center line of the main shaft, and a spoked hand wheel will fit the shaft you can make a HC out of it.
Here are two pictures:
Singer 99K;
This was originally a rusted up electric motor machine that I rescued. It currently wears
an original Singer hand wheel and a Chinese HC kit. Works just fine.
Montgomery Wards 7 Jewel ZZ / Cam machine;
As an experiment I put a spoked hand well on it and the HC from the 99K.
The parts fit and functioned perfectly. As an added benefit the 7 Jewel can
be treadled if wanted.
So the spoked hand wheel and HC unit is available from Sew-Classic. If you choose to HC a Singer 15 or clone (good choice by the way) they also have a belt guard with bobbin winder to match.
Joe