Quincunx

I have been trying to put a better date on my 66-16. It's AF767347, one of the extremely large batches cast just before Singer shut down domestic sewing production for the war, so it may have sat on the shelf awhile. But looking around on the internet, I can still find machines from that and from the next set of 66s that were made and sold as 66-14s and as 66-16s. Does anyone have paperwork from that time that would put a better date on how old a 66-16 can possibly be? Or how long 66-14s were still being sold? Or why Singer went back to the less advanced tension dial for the 66-18s, while I am asking?

The tension dial is numbered, the back tack is there, the shiny parts are all shiny. It was not finished and sold while blackened parts were being used. To tell the truth it looks almost unused. I cannot even find fluff in the bobbin case. Someone did get in there before me and put in a plastic bobbin so that may have been cleaned out. Even so it is a very clean machine that looks unused and forgotten. Out of the middle of WWII. In California. It makes me uneasy.

Just in case someone finds this post while trying to figure out what 66 they have, here is the chart that told me how to tell what exact model number I had.

J Miller

Don't know for sure, but ISMACS { http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_mach...sses-1-99.html } mentions April 1941 for series; hand crank, treadle, portable etc, machine you have.

Joe

Macybaby

The first manual I have listed for the 66-16 came out May 1940
66-18 was October 1941
66-14 was January 1942

There may be earlier ones, but I've not come across them. I watch for them on eBay and add them to my list - only small green manuals though - which started around 1913 through 1952, and then Singer changed format.

BTW when Singer put out manuals, they will have a date, if it says "revised" then there is going to be an earlier one that isn't revised. The manual number will be the same.

The earliest 66-6 I have record of is June 1929, and prior to that they were just 66, except for the very earliest of the small green that was 66-1.

I have a 66-8 recorded for April 1938, but it's a revised edition so I now there was an earlier one out before that.

One more thing about Singer - they didn't always go in numerical order with extensions to model numbers, and some were only slight variations of the same machine, and offered during the same time period.

Macybaby

I wanted to add - I've come accross many machines that looked near unused. One was a beautiful Red Eye in a parlor cabinet. DH and I joked that the rich husband bought his wife this expensive machine, and she took one look at it is and "you think I'M going to do my own sewing? Think again!" and the machine was never used.

Then we got one perfect late model 99 in a cabinet that showed no wear. The machine wouldn't budge, and upon cleaning DH found a rusted pin wedged firmly in the shuttle workings. We figure the owner tried sewing on it a few times and it stopped working - and they set it aside and that was that.

DH got a great condition 201 that had so much thread wound around the shuttle area, it also wouldn't move.

But the one that has me scratching my head is my Viking 990 that came out new in the early '80's. Got one without a pedal, it is was unused. Still had the blue plastic along the arm for protection. I paid over $1,000 for mine when I bought it brand new, and that was a serious amount of money back then! I took out a loan to pay for it.

It's always a real treat when we come across a machine that was rarely used. Sure would be neat to know the stories, but some could be very sad too.

jlhmnj

Early 1940's husband might have been off to Europe or the Pacific Theater and the misses hard at work in the factory to support the war effort. I like a good story but can do without the sad ones also.

Jon

miriam

I've seen a few new looking - barely used machines, too. Usually there IS something wrong with them. I have a Domestic with the store tags still on it. Go figure.

ThayerRags

Or a spouse’s good intentions can cause non-use. I have an industrial Singer 20U33 that had been used maybe three times when bought many years ago that was the results of that. A lady enjoyed sewing and was pretty good at it, so her husband insisted that she get the 20U33. It was more machine than she wanted, and she was afraid of it. He bought it and insisted that she try it. She hated it, and was relieved when it locked up (thread in hook) and needed to go back to the shop to get fixed. He loaded the head in the trunk of her car, in a padded box, and that’s where it lived for probably 10-12 years. She just never remembered to drop it off at the shop. He no doubt caught on eventually, but she had her son help her move the power stand out to the garage where she covered it with a tarp and stored her Christmas decorations on top of it. After he passed, she sold me the machine, stand and all, in nearly new condition.

CD in Oklahoma

Quincunx

I am happier around modern items that were never used. There is abundance everywhere now and a lot of households on the move. Until you all started to tell stories I had forgotten that I left a Viking back in Florida with the ex-boyfriend barely used. Not yours Macybaby, a cheaper one and I did use it at least a few times. Thank you very much for the dates from the manuals.

Just to ease my mind I will keep on calling this machine Seabrook. It is respectful to all possibilities. He was a farmer too and he offered jobs to the Japanese in Manzanar who would move out to New Jersey and work for him.