OurWorkbench

Welcome, I always like it when people get a machine from a family member. Thank you for the pictures. We like pictures.

As IrisIrene said, Minnesota machines were made for Sears by a variety of manufacturers. I usually do a lot of research to make sure I'm giving correct information, but I'm answering mainly off the top of my head right now. Most of the Minnesota machines I have seen have a large letter to tell you which model you have. (It may be under the piece of fabric around the arm of the machine.) From what I remember there were actually a couple of different "Model A" machines. One of the ways to tell which manufacturer made is the shape of the needle plate. I believe the rectangle needle plate like yours indicate it was made by Davis??

I'm pretty sure that some of the Minnesota machines take a different needle system than what most modern domestic machines take.

There is a search box in the upper right as there are several threads here about Minnesota machines. However, the search function here has had a glitch for a while. After the search result show up and you click on a link the content text doesn't show up. It will if you refresh the page. I found the easiest way is with the circle arrow next to the address bar of the page. It depends on the device you are using as to the location of the said arrow. I found out on the Android devices one has to click on the " . . . " and then there will be a refresh icon (circle arrow).

Many times this type of machine is missing the front slide plate. I see yours is there and it has the serial number on it. Many times the serial doesn't help much as to dating it.

There are some here that know more than what I'm telling you, like which manufacturer made your machine and which needle system it uses (Jon or Macybaby are more knowledgeable about these machines). It might be a bit before they see your thread.


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.