Colorado get-together?
11-04-2020, 07:06 AM
#201
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 1
Colorado is having welcome 70 degree days for our November sewing machine get together. Next week is expected to be colder, with snow. There are several member projects that we have to show here, along with lots of pictures. Even through these awkward social distancing times, we enjoy sharing our personal work with other members, as well as here for all to read.
Cheryl
Cheryl and Chris have been working on a sewing machine and a case for it. She writes:
For this month's virtual meeting, we have the box Chris made to house the motor for the Davis Vertical Feed head I recently got. Since this was a treadle driven machine without a motor boss, he came up with an alternative way of attaching the motor. I had a Singer 418 that was trash, but the motor was good so we used that as well as the foot and plug from the 418. A nice lamp was wired in as well. The belt was made from urethane and cut to fit. There is also a storage compartment for the foot when not in use that has enough room for extras. When the belt is put on, gravity alone is enough to provide adequate tension on the belt. We got the idea from a Youtube video that had a much simpler version with just a board, and Chris did his usual "over the top" interpretation. The box is maple with an amber shellac finish.
cheryl
.... to be continued
Cheryl
Cheryl and Chris have been working on a sewing machine and a case for it. She writes:
For this month's virtual meeting, we have the box Chris made to house the motor for the Davis Vertical Feed head I recently got. Since this was a treadle driven machine without a motor boss, he came up with an alternative way of attaching the motor. I had a Singer 418 that was trash, but the motor was good so we used that as well as the foot and plug from the 418. A nice lamp was wired in as well. The belt was made from urethane and cut to fit. There is also a storage compartment for the foot when not in use that has enough room for extras. When the belt is put on, gravity alone is enough to provide adequate tension on the belt. We got the idea from a Youtube video that had a much simpler version with just a board, and Chris did his usual "over the top" interpretation. The box is maple with an amber shellac finish.
cheryl
.... to be continued
11-04-2020, 07:10 AM
#202
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 2
Last edited by OurWorkbench; 11-04-2020 at 07:13 AM.
11-04-2020, 07:33 AM
#203
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 3
James
James has acquired some sewing machines. He tells about his last month's efforts:
I have acquired several sewing machines since last time. Today I am featuring an interesting Necchi branded variant that was made in Spain. It is housed in a cream colored boxy leather look case with a broken handle. Inside is a green straight stitch machine called "Miracle" . There is some argument as to whether it can properly called a Necchi machine as it was not made in Italy. It was distributed by Necchi Elna sewing machine sales. The date stamped on the motor is for 1956 and the warranty card shows that the machine went to a contest winner at a sewing machine store in Denver in 1957.
There were actually two different Miracle sewing machines from the company. The first one was a black machine that looked very much like a Singer. The later Miracle has a very strong Necchi design look and is very well built. The bobbin winder tire is a bit unusual in that it has a square cross section. There were not very much in the way of accessories that came in the case but it had several L type bobbins, two screwdrivers, a cleaning brush, yet another zipper foot and a very brief manual that shows pictures of the earlier Miracle machine. I guess they did not bother making a new manual for the redesign! From what I was able to find out these machines were low cost machines at the time to get the owner into the store and would hopefully upgrade later to a more full featured Necchi machine.
.... to be continued
James has acquired some sewing machines. He tells about his last month's efforts:
I have acquired several sewing machines since last time. Today I am featuring an interesting Necchi branded variant that was made in Spain. It is housed in a cream colored boxy leather look case with a broken handle. Inside is a green straight stitch machine called "Miracle" . There is some argument as to whether it can properly called a Necchi machine as it was not made in Italy. It was distributed by Necchi Elna sewing machine sales. The date stamped on the motor is for 1956 and the warranty card shows that the machine went to a contest winner at a sewing machine store in Denver in 1957.
There were actually two different Miracle sewing machines from the company. The first one was a black machine that looked very much like a Singer. The later Miracle has a very strong Necchi design look and is very well built. The bobbin winder tire is a bit unusual in that it has a square cross section. There were not very much in the way of accessories that came in the case but it had several L type bobbins, two screwdrivers, a cleaning brush, yet another zipper foot and a very brief manual that shows pictures of the earlier Miracle machine. I guess they did not bother making a new manual for the redesign! From what I was able to find out these machines were low cost machines at the time to get the owner into the store and would hopefully upgrade later to a more full featured Necchi machine.
.... to be continued
Last edited by OurWorkbench; 11-04-2020 at 07:36 AM.
11-04-2020, 07:40 AM
#204
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 4
The second item is an old style foot pedal with cords that are still in great shape. It plugs into one of my swing away motors as it shares the same connection.
James
Courtney
From northern Colorado, Courtney writes:
At the beginning of the month I went down stairs and pulled up all the turntables I had down there. I dusted them off and oiled them up so most of them will now play records. In case you're and old fogey and wondering what I am talking about, vinyl records are having a new resurgence. A couple of weeks ago I had a birthday. I am no longer an old man. I am in the fourth quarter now so I am a very old man. I don't know what's older than a fogey but that's what I am now. I have included some pictures of presents my wife and daughter gave me. My daughter gave the turntable notebook and the Revenge of Analog books. My wife gave me two sewing machine books the Willcox and Gibbs book and the Select, Service, Repair and Maintain Vintage Sewing Machines book. I did get a mention in the Willcox and Gibbs book! A few years ago I had gotten all the year/serial number data I could find for Willcox and Gibbs machines. I plotted the data and took a linear regression (cause that's what old physics professors do) and came up with a fairly simple method of dating a W&G machine. It's not perfect because the production of machines was not linear but it does give a pretty good estimation (within a year of two) of the year of manufacture.
Divide the serial number by 8000 and add the result to 1838.
I had sent this to Alex Askeroff some time ago and he has included it on his web site. I have not been able to look at the other book much but will perhaps give a book report next month. It does have a lot of pictures which is nice and helpful.
Last fall I decided to do a quilt-along that was being offered by a young lady from the Netherlands. Once a month she would come out with a design for one strip of the quilt. Her Surgaridoo website and youtube channel would have her giving instructions for each new row. Although I did not know when I signed up that I would come to love her presentations. I would anxiously await her posting each month as something new to do during the pandemic. I was planning to be able to send a picture of the completed quilt top but I did not quite get it finished in time. Perhaps I will have it completed by this weekend. I have included a picture of all the rows, I just need to get them sewn together. I think you can see why this was a lot of fun.
See you all next month!
Courtney
.... to be continued
Last edited by OurWorkbench; 11-04-2020 at 07:49 AM.
11-04-2020, 07:56 AM
#205
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 5
Seb
Seb, who is our longest distance member(France), sent the following:
Last month, I went with a friend to buy a Singer 401G in a desk-style cabinet and -this is all too common!!- I came home with a Singer 784 in a cabinet... The 784 is not my kind of machine but it has a free arm so I guess it can be useful. The bobbin winding system is fun too when it doesn't crush the bobbin but that's another story for another time
What was so very interesting were the old Singer commercial leaflets inside the cabinet. On one of them is written the price the previous owner paid for it. On the 10th of December 1976 (in Europe 10-12-1976 would be 10th of December whereas across the pond it may mean 12th of October ) the people paid 3885 Francs for the machine and the cabinet. I have converted it and it would amount to almost $2,400 today! I'm joining the rest of the leaflet -please don't hesitate if you want a translation!
I'm also joining another leaflet showing the Singer cabinet styles that were available in France in the 1970s. They are not exactly the same as those which were available in the USA, I think.
Take care,
Seb
S
.... to be continued
Seb, who is our longest distance member(France), sent the following:
Last month, I went with a friend to buy a Singer 401G in a desk-style cabinet and -this is all too common!!- I came home with a Singer 784 in a cabinet... The 784 is not my kind of machine but it has a free arm so I guess it can be useful. The bobbin winding system is fun too when it doesn't crush the bobbin but that's another story for another time
What was so very interesting were the old Singer commercial leaflets inside the cabinet. On one of them is written the price the previous owner paid for it. On the 10th of December 1976 (in Europe 10-12-1976 would be 10th of December whereas across the pond it may mean 12th of October
) the people paid 3885 Francs for the machine and the cabinet. I have converted it and it would amount to almost $2,400 today! I'm joining the rest of the leaflet -please don't hesitate if you want a translation!I'm also joining another leaflet showing the Singer cabinet styles that were available in France in the 1970s. They are not exactly the same as those which were available in the USA, I think.
Take care,
Seb
S
.... to be continued
11-04-2020, 08:06 AM
#207
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 7
Leon
Leon, who lives in Kansas, was out looking for things of interest. He found the following things and sends this to us:
I saw a picture of a sewing machine at a garage sale , I could not tell what it was. Seller sent better pics of three sewing machines. All Singers. 491A, 201, and a touch and sew. They looked to be in terrible shape , but worth a look. They were worse that I expected. Moisture damage big time. but for $5.00 a piece I wouldn't lose much. I bought the 401 and the 201. No power supplies.
After two evenings with the 201, I now know that the motor will run, I have full movement with the presser foot, the stitch length control, feed drop.( all were stuck) I have 3 degrees of turn at the handwheel. Shaft through the pillar wiggles a tiny bit but the shaft from the bottom drive to the bobbin area has no intention of moving (yet) Needle moves just enough to see.
After buying these two and a few accessories, the lady said she also had a featherweight if I wanted to see it. Does a man in a desert want water? Though I was a bit nervous. She said she had a would be buyer coming by and she had a price of $300 on it.
Ok I opened up the box. Serious moisture damage again. Corrosion all around. Rust on bits that should be shiny. So sad to see.
I left her with a parts price offer and my phone #. Whoever gets it will have major challenges.
OH well. I had never torn into a 201 before and I am learning from it. I haven't touched the 401 yet. Thankfully the 201 is looking much better.
.... to be continued
11-04-2020, 08:13 AM
#208
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 8
In a followup, Leon wrote:
The 401 will actually run the needle from the hand wheel. I was shocked.
Good to hear from you all and stay safe.
Janey
Janey found a miniature sewing machine for sale online (we always like cute things) and shares this with us:
I haven't been checking CL often, but did one day in October. I happened to see a Smith & Egge Automatic which had been posted a couple weeks earlier. I called and it was still available. Interestingly enough it is still on CL, about a month later. There was only one picture with a busy background and looked to be missing a lot of paint. It had a needle, but it was broken and didn't have an eye. Well, I went to look at it and it did move. It had more paint than I expected, but still some bare spots. There was some rust on the metal parts.
I got it during lunch and took it back to work with me. I took a couple pictures at the shop. As can be seen, the size is about 7" tall and about 6" wide. It also had a bunch of thread around the base of the looper. I did use some "Lily White" oil at the shop, so that it would soak in during the afternoon.
I had some W&G needles (thank you, Courtney) and threaded it up. I got it to sew a few stitches before the thread broke. I thought the tension might be too tight, but trying to loosen it just turned the whole thing. John figured out that part of a binder clip was the right size to put in the hole at the base of the tension to hold it while unscrewing the top. I took it apart and polished the discs. I still haven't been able to sew more than a few stitches. I have tried different fabric, even tried a different needle and different tensions. Thought maybe it was the plastic spool so found a wooden spool. Still no joy. Oh well, I didn't really plan on using it. It sure is cute, though.
I found the patents listed on the needle plate.
USD25585 by Pierpoint for the frame design - June 2, 1896
US575984 by Pierpoint for the feeding device - January 26, 1897
US592092 by Johnson for the tension - October 19, 1897
I, too, wondered how the name Egge was pronounced. I asked someone that lives in Norway and was sent a link to the pronunciation https://www.easytrans.org/no/norsk-engelsk/?qegge#
I also found a musician named Ana Egge. According to a youtube video ( vSIP-oSZHbRA ) it is pronounced with a long "E" at the end.
.... to be continued
The 401 will actually run the needle from the hand wheel. I was shocked.
Good to hear from you all and stay safe.
Janey
Janey found a miniature sewing machine for sale online (we always like cute things) and shares this with us:
I haven't been checking CL often, but did one day in October. I happened to see a Smith & Egge Automatic which had been posted a couple weeks earlier. I called and it was still available. Interestingly enough it is still on CL, about a month later. There was only one picture with a busy background and looked to be missing a lot of paint. It had a needle, but it was broken and didn't have an eye. Well, I went to look at it and it did move. It had more paint than I expected, but still some bare spots. There was some rust on the metal parts.
I got it during lunch and took it back to work with me. I took a couple pictures at the shop. As can be seen, the size is about 7" tall and about 6" wide. It also had a bunch of thread around the base of the looper. I did use some "Lily White" oil at the shop, so that it would soak in during the afternoon.
I had some W&G needles (thank you, Courtney) and threaded it up. I got it to sew a few stitches before the thread broke. I thought the tension might be too tight, but trying to loosen it just turned the whole thing. John figured out that part of a binder clip was the right size to put in the hole at the base of the tension to hold it while unscrewing the top. I took it apart and polished the discs. I still haven't been able to sew more than a few stitches. I have tried different fabric, even tried a different needle and different tensions. Thought maybe it was the plastic spool so found a wooden spool. Still no joy. Oh well, I didn't really plan on using it. It sure is cute, though.
I found the patents listed on the needle plate.
USD25585 by Pierpoint for the frame design - June 2, 1896
US575984 by Pierpoint for the feeding device - January 26, 1897
US592092 by Johnson for the tension - October 19, 1897
I, too, wondered how the name Egge was pronounced. I asked someone that lives in Norway and was sent a link to the pronunciation https://www.easytrans.org/no/norsk-engelsk/?qegge#
I also found a musician named Ana Egge. According to a youtube video ( vSIP-oSZHbRA ) it is pronounced with a long "E" at the end.
.... to be continued
11-04-2020, 08:16 AM
#209
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,259
November 2020 Colorado Sewing Mechine Get Together - Part 9
Dorothy
And, Dorothy shares some of her activities with us:
Thank you for doing this monthly! It is always a pleasure to read the activities of the group!
I trust everyone is staying safe and healthy!
Although I was not really looking for any machines, a Necchi 544 (Leila) wandered into my path!
The gentleman selling the machine indicated it was his Grandmothers machine, passed on to his Mother with nobody in the family interested in sewing.
The machine is very complete including a pack of Necchi needles, all original feet and accessories including the oil bottle. It moves freely. I have opened up the back far enough to pop a spring off which bounced off a wall landing on the chair next to me! It allowed a peak at the cam stack which is not cracked that I can see!
I have the service manual for 544 & 542 which simple states Removed the screws on the back and remove the cover. Getting the back past the hand wheel is not addressed! It will be Something really easy defeating my efforts to remove the back!
I can not move the stitch selection knob to different stitches as that mechanism is frozen on narrow zig zag.
Surprisingly, someone has gotten a pattern for a cam stack to print! Makes me feel it might be safe to use the machine as the cam stack can be changed!
Saturday!
Dorothy
In Closing
We will post the activities of our members here again next month. Thank you for reading and everyone stay well and safe.
And, Dorothy shares some of her activities with us:
Thank you for doing this monthly! It is always a pleasure to read the activities of the group!
I trust everyone is staying safe and healthy!
Although I was not really looking for any machines, a Necchi 544 (Leila) wandered into my path!
The gentleman selling the machine indicated it was his Grandmothers machine, passed on to his Mother with nobody in the family interested in sewing.
The machine is very complete including a pack of Necchi needles, all original feet and accessories including the oil bottle. It moves freely. I have opened up the back far enough to pop a spring off which bounced off a wall landing on the chair next to me! It allowed a peak at the cam stack which is not cracked that I can see!
I have the service manual for 544 & 542 which simple states Removed the screws on the back and remove the cover. Getting the back past the hand wheel is not addressed! It will be Something really easy defeating my efforts to remove the back!
I can not move the stitch selection knob to different stitches as that mechanism is frozen on narrow zig zag.
Surprisingly, someone has gotten a pattern for a cam stack to print! Makes me feel it might be safe to use the machine as the cam stack can be changed!
Saturday!
Dorothy
In Closing
We will post the activities of our members here again next month. Thank you for reading and everyone stay well and safe.
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