Courtney
Courtney gives us a report on replacement bobbin cases for the 221/301.
Modern Featherweight Bobbin Cases
I decided to test some of the modern inexpensive bobbin cases for the Singer Featherweight. I bought three bobbin cases on eBay and eventually 3 on Amazon. The 7h bobbin case was one I had purchased several years ago very cheaply. I think I purchased it on eBay. I do not remember anything about this bobbin case or who sold it. I included it in the testing because I had it.
For each bobbin case I attempted two tests to begin with. The first was a simple “Will it fit” in the machines. The second test was can I turn the hand wheel freely with no binding. I did the first two tests on all the following machines: 1933,1948,1951,1960(white).1960(tan),1956(222),195 2 (301),1956(301). If I felt binding anywhere I did not try the other tests. The third test was to see if some of the machines that passed the first two tests would actually sew as I manually turned the hand wheel. My final test was would three machines (1949,1951,1956(301)) that passed the third test actually sew when plugged in to the electrical supply. I had to limit the actual electric sewing to three machines (1949,1951,1956(301) because of time.
There have been rumours that many of the new bobbin cases made in China will occasionally hang up while sewing especially in late 40’s and early 50’s machines. I chose machines for the sewing tests that fit this category. Being limited on time, I unfortunately was not able to sew long enough the give this a good test. Time will tell.
Case 1. Generic - Purchased several years ago off eBay for about $12. I had never tried this bobbin case. I don’t know the number of this bobbin case but it looked just like the #45751 bobbin cases I purchased for this test
Fit - YES
Hand Turn - Except for the 1933 machine which had some problems with all the new bobbin cases. In all the other machines I could turn the hand wheel smoothly without any binding.
Hand turn sew - Yes, sewed in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Electric sew– Sewed well in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Case 2. Industrial? - #45750 New Type from dilang001. Guaranteed to fit. Purchased on eBay for $17.47. Delivery 13 days from China. It appears that the same bobbin case is available on Amazon (YICBOR Bobbin Case (New Type) #45750 for Singer 221, 301) for $18.90.
This case looks like an industrial case, in that a portion of one side, where the finger normally sticks up, is cut out. The bobbin case removal lever is square instead of pointed. (see picture)
Fit - This case would not fit into any of the machines even though it was guaranteed to fit. The case has too large a diameter. I could perhaps file it down but I think there are better options. I returned it and got my money back. No other tests were performed on this bobbin case.
Case 3. Evernice - #45751 from Premium Sewing Machine Parts. Purchased on eBay for about $16.46 Delivery 13 days from China. Evernice is a common Chinese brand of sewing machine parts.
Fit - YES
Hand Turn - Except for the 1933 machine which had some problems with all the new bobbin cases. In all the other machines I could turn the hand wheel smoothly without any binding.
Hand turn sew – Yes, sewed in all three machines tested.1949,1951,1956(301)
Electric sew – Sewed well in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Case 4. CKPSMS - #45750 from dg-motor. Purchased on eBay in Australian money for about the equivalent of $20. Delivery 12 days from China. I know CKPSMS is a common Chinese brand of sewing machine parts but I know nothing about dg-motor which seems to sell this bobbin case and several auto accessories. I bought it because it was advertised as a #45750 bobbin case.
Fit - YES
Hand Turn – This bobbin case bound up in a couple of the machines. I could easily turn past the bind but would be hesitant to actually use this bobbin case in these machines (1933 Featherweight, 1952 Model 301) In all the other machines I could turn the hand wheel smoothly without any binding.
Hand turn sew - Yes, sewed in all three machines tested.1949,1951,1956(301)
Electric sew– Sewed well in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Case 5. YEQIN - #45751 Purchased on Amazon for $21.99 with 5 bobbins. Delivery 2 days from US. I was not familiar with YEQIN but had over 300 high reviews of this bobbin case.
Fit - YES
Hand Turn - Except for the 1933 machine which had some problems with all the new bobbin cases. In all the other machines I could turn the hand wheel smoothly without any binding.
Hand turn sew - Yes, sewed in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Electric sew - Sewed well in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Case 6. HONEYSEW - #45751 Purchased on Amazon for $20.90 with 5 bobbins. Delivery 2 days from US. Like the YEQIN above had over a 100 good reviews of this bobbin case.
Fit - YES
Hand Turn - Except for the 1933 machine which had some problems with all the new bobbin cases. In all the other machines I could turn the hand wheel smoothly without any binding.
Hand turn sew - Yes, sewed in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Electric sew – Sewed well in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Case 7. CKPSMS - #45751 Purchased on Amazon for $18.00. Delivery 2 days from Amazon. I purchased this bobbin case after the others since I thought I should try a CKPSMS bobbin case actually sold by the company.
Fit - YES
Hand Turn - Except for the 1933 machine which had some problems with all the new bobbin cases. In all the other machines I could turn the hand wheel smoothly without any binding.
Hand turn sew - Yes, sewed in all three machines tested. 1949,1951,1956(301)
Electric sew – Sewed well in all three machines tested.1949,1951,1956(301)
PERSONAL CONCLUSIONS
At present I have not sewn long enough to see if there may be long term problems. I do think I have done enough to ease my mind in trying one of these bobbin cases before spending $100.
The bobbin cases in the machines I tried were all marked #45750 or were older replacement bobbin cases that were on the machines when I purchased them. All of the new #45751 bobbin cases seemed to sew in the three machines I tested for actual sewing. Although I tried a number of things to try and get a problem to occur, none appeared.
I tried two new #45750 bobbin cases. One did not work at all and the other on quick inspection appeared no different than the #45751 bobbin cases and was a bit more expensive. I see no reason to to fiddle with the #45750 bobbin cases at this time.
My recommendation would be to purchase a #45751 bobbin case from a well known sewing parts brand (CKPSMS or HONEY SEW) from the appropriate Amazon store. The YEQIN bobbin case from Amazon, also performed well and did have the most reviews on Amazon. I think it might also be a safe bet. The Evernice bobbin case is only available on eBay but did perform as well as the other bobbin cases. I have purchased other Evernice parts before and have been satisfied with their performance. I would recommend purchasing from Amazon over eBay because it is just as cheap, has faster shipping, and has a much simpler return policy if necessary.
Since the #45751 bobbin cases worked well in my limited experience with machines that they are specifically supposed to have problems with I think they are probably worth a try if you need a new bobbin case.
I would like to hear of any other experiences with these new bobbin cases.
Courtney
In Closing
Thank you, Courtney, for the in depth report of your findings. Also thank you to our faithful readers. Will post again next month.