Helping my sister with a vintage machine
12-19-2021, 07:58 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 2
Helping my sister with a vintage machine
Hi everyone,
I joined specifically for this, so if it's not a good forum to ask for this, let me know. I'm working on a Christmas gift for my sister. She has a a heritage 1933 Treadle Singer sewing machine that hasn't worked in a while, and I'd love to get her in contact with someone who can help her fix it. Here's one of her posts about it. I'm completely alien to sewing machine repair, but I know she's taken her other machines to a Viking repair shop in the area. Can someone help me direct her to a place to get this machine working again? I think it's probably the best Christmas gift I can think to give. If you know of any Singer repair experts in the American southeast, that would be amazing. Thank you!
-John
I joined specifically for this, so if it's not a good forum to ask for this, let me know. I'm working on a Christmas gift for my sister. She has a a heritage 1933 Treadle Singer sewing machine that hasn't worked in a while, and I'd love to get her in contact with someone who can help her fix it. Here's one of her posts about it. I'm completely alien to sewing machine repair, but I know she's taken her other machines to a Viking repair shop in the area. Can someone help me direct her to a place to get this machine working again? I think it's probably the best Christmas gift I can think to give. If you know of any Singer repair experts in the American southeast, that would be amazing. Thank you!
-John
12-20-2021, 05:26 AM
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Sunny Florida, USA
Posts: 1,043
The machine doesn’t look in bad shape. Sewing machine oil is used to wipe down all the surfaces and to loosen up old oil and grime. If the belt is in poor shape, it can be easily obtained online. Use special care not to use cleaning products that will ruin the decals. Sewing machine oil is best to use.
12-20-2021, 08:35 AM
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,258
Welcome to Quilting Board. As AlvaStitcher said - do be careful with cleaning.
What a nice thought you have. A lot of us service our own machines. Frequently, these machines only need cleaned and oiled to get them working again. It appears to me that it is a Singer 15-86. It looks like it might be missing part of the tension assembly. Here is a site about a similar machine - https://mermaidsden.com/blog/2017/09...ning-and-using However, some of the links do not work and is not very detailed. There are a couple of manuals that are close for this machine at http://needlebar.org/main/sident/15.pdf and https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollec...0203/index.htm
One does need to be careful with who does the work. It seems like if they can work on modern machines that they should be able to work on vintage machines, but I have heard of some that do not.
Good luck in finding someone to do this for your sister. My brother and I restored the treadle that my sister learned to sew on. It gives me a warm fuzzy when sewing machines stay in the family and brought back to their original useful state of operation.
Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)
What a nice thought you have. A lot of us service our own machines. Frequently, these machines only need cleaned and oiled to get them working again. It appears to me that it is a Singer 15-86. It looks like it might be missing part of the tension assembly. Here is a site about a similar machine - https://mermaidsden.com/blog/2017/09...ning-and-using However, some of the links do not work and is not very detailed. There are a couple of manuals that are close for this machine at http://needlebar.org/main/sident/15.pdf and https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollec...0203/index.htm
One does need to be careful with who does the work. It seems like if they can work on modern machines that they should be able to work on vintage machines, but I have heard of some that do not.
Good luck in finding someone to do this for your sister. My brother and I restored the treadle that my sister learned to sew on. It gives me a warm fuzzy when sewing machines stay in the family and brought back to their original useful state of operation.
Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)
12-20-2021, 12:39 PM
#4
Super Member
Join Date: May 2016
Location: near Topeka kansas
Posts: 4,524
Many of us on this forum rarely takemachines in. We are likely to fix oour own. Yes , like Janey said, the tensioner is missing parts. but on the 15 the tensioner igoes onto the face plate. So with a bit of lulck you could find one available with ount. It also has RAF decclas. Use seing machine oil on every place that should move. That includes the teradle parts too. Take the belt off to llube teh head adn base serparpately then preacise treadeling without thread. or you 'll go crazy rethreading teh needle.when the head spins backwards.
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12-20-2021, 08:39 PM
#5
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 143
It's unlikely that there's anything wrong with the machine that will need a professional repair. The machine was finished with shellac. Any harsh cleaner will strip it. Very gently use sewing machine oil as others have advised.
The tension unit is the part that's on the extreme left of the machine and sticks out. It looks like it's missing parts. These tension units are easy to find online. There are a number of reputable vendors you can contact and you can certainly find them on the 'bay. These parts are easy to replace. It's like screwing in a lightbulb.
In their manuals Singer advised that when machines have been sitting for a while and are working "heavily" or don't turn over easily, that one should drip kerosene into the oiling holes to dissolve old oil and grease. Keep the kerosene off the black finish though. You can use kerosene to clean the inside of the machine and the mechanism underneath. 99% alcohol also works, but not as quickly. Don't use 70% as that is 30% water and can cause rust. Alcohol will also dissolve the shellac finish, so be extra careful with it. Kerosene is less likely to do damage to the shellac, but don't drip it on the finish, and if you do, wipe it off immediately.
When cleaning the machine, be on the look-out for thread jammed up in the mechanism under the plate where the bobbin fits. These are relatively delicate mechanisms and very apt to collect pieces of thread and fluff which can jam up the mechanism.
Otherwise, oil the machine using sewing machine oil only. Tri-Flow synthetic oil has a good reputation. Never use WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil. With a proper cleaning and sewing machine oil where needed this machine will still be sewing 100 years from now.
Your sister will need to clean and oil the machine if she's going to use it, so she needs to learn how to do that. It will take any reasonably intelligent person about 10 minutes to learn what she needs to know to keep this machine going for the next 100 years.
This is a model 15 machine. The manual for this machine is easily found on-line and it will show how to operate and maintain the machine. Singer started making these machines in the 1800's and continued to make them for something like 100 years in Scotland, the United States and Canada. They are still being made by Singer in India today. Google Singer India and you'll find this exact machine, in a treadle or with a hand-crank being sold by Singer today.
Singer made these by the 100's of thousands over the years. They are built the proverbial tank. Better probably. All parts are easily available, and if a person is at all mechanically inclined these machines can be repaired and kept in proper adjustment by a person with one or two screwdrivers.
The tension unit is the part that's on the extreme left of the machine and sticks out. It looks like it's missing parts. These tension units are easy to find online. There are a number of reputable vendors you can contact and you can certainly find them on the 'bay. These parts are easy to replace. It's like screwing in a lightbulb.
In their manuals Singer advised that when machines have been sitting for a while and are working "heavily" or don't turn over easily, that one should drip kerosene into the oiling holes to dissolve old oil and grease. Keep the kerosene off the black finish though. You can use kerosene to clean the inside of the machine and the mechanism underneath. 99% alcohol also works, but not as quickly. Don't use 70% as that is 30% water and can cause rust. Alcohol will also dissolve the shellac finish, so be extra careful with it. Kerosene is less likely to do damage to the shellac, but don't drip it on the finish, and if you do, wipe it off immediately.
When cleaning the machine, be on the look-out for thread jammed up in the mechanism under the plate where the bobbin fits. These are relatively delicate mechanisms and very apt to collect pieces of thread and fluff which can jam up the mechanism.
Otherwise, oil the machine using sewing machine oil only. Tri-Flow synthetic oil has a good reputation. Never use WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil. With a proper cleaning and sewing machine oil where needed this machine will still be sewing 100 years from now.
Your sister will need to clean and oil the machine if she's going to use it, so she needs to learn how to do that. It will take any reasonably intelligent person about 10 minutes to learn what she needs to know to keep this machine going for the next 100 years.
This is a model 15 machine. The manual for this machine is easily found on-line and it will show how to operate and maintain the machine. Singer started making these machines in the 1800's and continued to make them for something like 100 years in Scotland, the United States and Canada. They are still being made by Singer in India today. Google Singer India and you'll find this exact machine, in a treadle or with a hand-crank being sold by Singer today.
Singer made these by the 100's of thousands over the years. They are built the proverbial tank. Better probably. All parts are easily available, and if a person is at all mechanically inclined these machines can be repaired and kept in proper adjustment by a person with one or two screwdrivers.
Last edited by 1.41; 12-20-2021 at 08:54 PM.
12-22-2021, 07:45 PM
#7
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 2
Thank You
Thank you everyone for all the great advice, both in the thread and in DMs. I've ordered some books and have hunted down some manuals. I'll also direct her to this thread after Christmas to read all the great info you've given. Thank you so much!
01-01-2022, 08:05 PM
#8
Member
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: High Point, NC
Posts: 88
Originally Posted by johnmark
Thank you everyone for all the great advice, both in the thread and in DMs. I've ordered some books and have hunted down some manuals. I'll also direct her to this thread after Christmas to read all the great info you've given. Thank you so much!
John Thomas in NC
01-02-2022, 02:05 PM
#9
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: My own private Idaho
Posts: 182
Originally Posted by OurWorkbench
Welcome to Quilting Board. As AlvaStitcher said - do be careful with cleaning.
One does need to be careful with who does the work. It seems like if they can work on modern machines that they should be able to work on vintage machines, but I have heard of some that do not.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)
One does need to be careful with who does the work. It seems like if they can work on modern machines that they should be able to work on vintage machines, but I have heard of some that do not.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)
