Billy, thanks! I love so much about my Model C, there's so much about her that is unique. The decals are just perfectly Canadian with the maple leaves, and the shamrocks are a great complement to my husband's Irish heritage (our last name is Lanigan). I didn't know that the bobbin winder was unique in its design, that's interesting. Even the Beaver and Eaton machines which mine has been compared to have completely different bobbin winders. If you ever come across another similar machine, I'd love to hear about it!
Shelbie, that's such a shame about those old machines being turned into plant stands. What a waste! I spoke to a woman on the TreadleOn list who lived in Ontario, in an apartment that she later learned was the old original Raymond factory building. Neat, eh? Unfortunately, there is so little information out there to be found about the company. I'm hoping someday I'll be able to pin down a more specific manufacture date for my machine, rather than an approximate 20 year time frame.
Purplefiend, I love your purple machine! Sooo pretty! If I had a machine whose finish was beyond saving, I would totally paint it a fun, funky colour like that. Thanks for the tip about releasing the tension... I've just been holding the thread close to the fabric and pulling my work away from the machine that way.
Does your machine take hollow bobbins? I see some little similarities in your machine to mine. Even though consensus is that my machine was manufactured and distributed by Raymond, there is some thought that the basic machine was purchased from an American company and then added on to and/or modified by Raymond. Free and White have been tossed around as possibilities.