Originally Posted by BoJangles
. . . Are these Boye 10 or Davis Longs really hard to come by?
What is "TO?"
Miz Johnny, you said the latest Davis Vertical Feed takes a regular needle. What years are you talking about? This machine is probably pre- 1900 to very early 1900. The patent date on the slide plate is 1886. The machine itself is in very good shape, minus a few decals. I can't find a SN nor a site to date the machine if I do find a SN?
Nancy
The Davis longs (Boye 10, Singer 1 x 2, Free FF) are obsolete. You can still find them sometimes, but you will pay a premium price. That's why we're constantly trying to find substitutes.
TO refers to Treadle On, an online site that has been around for 12+ years. It has a digest, an active membership that gets together around the country (and in Canada and Australia, for that matter) for people-powered sewing machine madness at various times throughout the year.
Here is a site that shows the different models:
http://www.kelsew.info/domestic/davisVFmodels.html