Originally Posted by
KenmoreRulesAll
AA, just looking at the machines from pictures, I have a similar reaction: the first one would be really hard for me to resist. Everything about it: size, condition, features -- and you'd have a machine rarely found in a home studio. Just looking at it would be enough for me to buy it, price willing.
The third would be more intriguing but in a different way. "...2 line lock-stitching in balloons, aircraft work, for sewing celluloid into automobile curtains and for stitching articles of large and awkward sizes. It has an extra long arm and is equipped with a puller feed in addition to a drop feed and will sew up to 6 thicknesses of No. 8 Duck..." is industrial in the sense of the late years of the Industrial Revolution. It would be hard to come up with relevant uses similar to those for which it was designed, but lots of clothing requires 2-line lockstitch. And you are ArchaicArcane, after all.
As for the 2 wheels on the third machine, is it possible it was operated by 2 workers, especially considering the size of what went under the feet (balloons!) and the size of the table it must have occupied?
What a great heritage we're inheriting!
Well, there's talk about the 175 coming home. I could "use" it as a dining room table or a cutting table /work surface for upstairs. The studio in the basement is great except in the cold months because I have to choose between working and being warm for a reasonable cost. See, we have a wood stove upstairs and if it's lit, there's no heat going to the basement. We tried the furnace fan without the heat but it seemed to pull so much air around that it was just cool everywhere.
LOL! Yes, I am AA.
I loved the thought of the 113 behind my long arm, mounted high on the wall. The cost of putting it back into service would just be way too high so it would be a conversation piece only. I explained to DH what the 2 line lock stitch was by showing him the inner seam of my jeans. It's very much in use today. He mentioned hot air balloons would be relatively "air" tight with that sort of stitch. With large work like that, it's actually quite likely that it would require 2 people, even just to guide stuff straight. Not knowing how it was powered, it would be a huge challenge to treadle for instance and guide work that was presumably so large as to require that throat space. Heck, even controlling a clutch motor and guiding sizable work would probably put me over the edge!
You're right. It's a fascinating time to be a vintage machine enthusiast.
Originally Posted by
Redsquirrel
Ahh, I see the little black box in the first photo, I'm scared to ask how much they wanted for that.
That little machine has been there for at least 2 years. It's a centennial featherweight and they want too much for it because the bobbin winder is broken off of it. The price is below the $200 "we'll call the seller with an offer" threshold so I haven't been able to make an offer on it. It would be a parts machine for me unless I could find someone to aluminum weld it. I'd love to have a parts FW - I've had a few come to me broken lately but I can't justify three figures for one.
Originally Posted by
nancia
i'd like to know also. does any machine other than the fw have a carrying box like that?
I don't know of any common machines off the top of my head.
This trip also got me my first look and feel of an Alpha Sew "Quilter's Portable" Featherweight reproduction. It honestly didn't
look too bad. The case was obviously substandard but without hearing the machine and seeing it stitch, I can't comment too much on its mechanical fitness.