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OH What I wouldnt give to have that little lady.
Just Brilliant, well done. |
OH What I wouldnt give to have that little lady.
Just Brilliant, well done. |
gosh, I would love to have a hand crank machine, they are so nice. maybe I'll go to the antique stores today and see what I can find!
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I received one of the hand crank sewing machines from my DH as a gift, he knew I loved the old machines. But I have no idea how you hold the fabric when you crank. I asked him if I could sell it and he said sure. Guess I need to clean it up first and see how well it works (but he needs to crank it while I sew !).
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She is a beauty!!! I too found one recently... I just need to spend some time cleaning her up!
Sam... named after my grandfather... he was the sewer in the family!!! [ATTACH=CONFIG]262292[/ATTACH] |
I just converted two Singer 99s to hand crank a week ago! It was quite easy. You have to take the motor and light off, change out the hand wheel, then add the hand crank. It took about 30 minutes each and only a few hand tools (screw drivers and a wrench). I bought one for $40 (all cleaned up and an original spoked hand wheel) and another for $20 (broken light, no cord). The hand wheel for the one machine was $12.50 and the hand cranks were also $12.50 each.
I'm looking forward to using them while camping since I frequently camp without electricity. It really isn't that hard to use. As an earlier poster said, you give one turn of the hand crank for 3 stitches. Remember that the feed dogs pulls the fabric and all you have to do is gently guide it. Pam |
Beautiful! I bought a hand-crank from someone who frequents my favorite LQS. It was her grandmother's and an exact match to the one my Nana owned.
People always ask me how can I sew using only one hand to guide the fabric. Easy! I say. Sews so straight, you only need one hand. Welcome to the Club! |
I spent Sunday afternoon watching football and piecing a charity quilt on my hand-crank. Honestly, to me there is nothing more relaxing than cranking away on my Ambrozina; for some reason, it seems to slow down my mind so it's not racing a mile a minute, and I feel no pressure to get the sewing done quickly. It's a very strange phenomenon.
[Edited to add: Ambrozina is my hand-crank's name; she's named after my wonderful grandmother who is no longer with us. She is a Singer 66 Red-Eye.] |
Originally Posted by ThayerRags
Here’s a tip for anyone using a Singer HC like QuiltingHaven’s converted 99K or my 201K machine. Her hand crank is after-market and mine is original, but this works for both of them.
It helps to coordinate the HC handle with the needlebar each time after winding a bobbin or disengaging the HC finger from the wheel, to make it easier to stop with the needle in the up or down position as needed. ..... Now, since this type of HC is at a 3:1 ratio with the needlebar, the needle will be down at three points of the crank revolution, one of them being when the crank handle is straight down. Same thing with the needle being up: there will be three points where the needle is up during a complete revolution of the crank handle, one of them being when the handle is straight up. ..... CD in Oklahoma |
Originally Posted by Bennett
That's a good tip, I wouldn't have thought to do that. I was also wondering what the ratio to cranking and needle movement was, so you answered another question for me as well. Thanks from across the Red River in the Falls!
When I’m piecing quilt blocks, I like to chain several blocks together that need the same seam, and leave the needle down at the end so that I can raise the presser foot to place the next pieces up close to the previous ones. My wife doesn’t take time to raise the presser foot, and is better at getting the new pieces to feed smoothly under the front of the foot. The problem with my method is that every once in a while I get an overlap and have to carefully nip them apart without damaging the fabric when I’m cutting my chains apart. With the crank handle set to be down when the needle is down, at least I don’t have to worry so much about the needle moving while I have the foot up. We’re making a “Show Quilt” with a pattern that has fairly small block pieces. We named it that because we only work on it when we’re Vendors at a Craft Show or Quilt Show, so it will be our “Show Quilt”. We’ve done all of the piecing on a variety of hand crank sewing machines at shows. We don’t work on it at all any other time. I always select a HC machine to have in the booth during shows, and it gives us something to do during slack times, plus it generates activity at our booth. We prefer to run a “cold” booth instead of a “hot” booth (electrically hot) simply because of the logistics, so the hand crank machines fit in nicely. We encourage onlookers to have a go at the HC if they want to, and many of the blocks have stitches in them by show visitors. I had a little girl watching me intently at a Quilt Show, but I couldn’t get her to try cranking the handle for me no matter how much I urged her. She was just too bashful. At one point, after waiting patiently for me to quit talking sewing machines with another booth visitor, she blurted out “do another one!” LOL! I said “Yes Ma’am”, and got to cranking! She didn’t want to try it, she just wanted to watch it. CD in Oklahoma |
Originally Posted by ThayerRags
Here’s a tip for anyone using a Singer HC like QuiltingHaven’s converted 99K or my 201K machine. Her hand crank is after-market and mine is original, but this works for both of them.
It helps to coordinate the HC handle with the needlebar each time after winding a bobbin or disengaging the HC finger from the wheel, to make it easier to stop with the needle in the up or down position as needed. Most of these old machines turn so easily that the weight of the HC handle can be enough to allow the needle to begin moving after you have turned loose of the crank handle. That can be aggravating as heck. So, after winding a bobbin, tighten the clutch knob and turn the wheel until the needle is in its furthest down position. Loosen the clutch knob and turn the wheel again until the crank handle is also at the bottom of its rotation (make sure the needlebar doesn’t move while you’re doing this), and then tighten the clutch knob to begin sewing. Now, since this type of HC is at a 3:1 ratio with the needlebar, the needle will be down at three points of the crank revolution, one of them being when the crank handle is straight down. Same thing with the needle being up: there will be three points where the needle is up during a complete revolution of the crank handle, one of them being when the handle is straight up. Now you will know that when you stop the crank handle at the bottom of the rotation, the needle will be down, and when you stop the handle at the top of the rotation, the needle will be up. Makes hand cranking a whole lot more fun! CD in Oklahoma |
so, can any vintage singer be converted to a hand crank?
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That is a nice machine to own and you will really like it. I have one just like it with one of my handcrank kits and it sews so smooth!! I am thinking about bringing it in here and seeing if I can sew a few blocks together for exercise.
Billy |
Originally Posted by grammyj
I don't understand the hand crank, do you have to turn the wheel for every stitch and have the other hand to hold your pieces ?? I need both hands to hold my work and keep pieces together.
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Originally Posted by ThayerRags
Here’s a tip for anyone using a Singer HC
It helps to coordinate the HC handle with the needlebar each time after winding a bobbin or disengaging the HC finger from the wheel, to make it easier to stop with the needle in the up or down position as needed. So, after winding a bobbin, tighten the clutch knob and turn the wheel until the needle is in its furthest down position. Loosen the clutch knob and turn the wheel again until the crank handle is also at the bottom of its rotation (make sure the needlebar doesn’t move while you’re doing this), and then tighten the clutch knob to begin sewing. |
Originally Posted by gypsyquilter
so, can any vintage singer be converted to a hand crank?
If the machine 'does' have a motor boss then all you need is a spoked wheel and the hand crank and you are all set to go! |
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