cathyvv

I look at old 'stuff' as history. We have 1930's dining room set, my husband collects antique radios, 45 records and 45 record players. We have some 60 style lamps, oriental art, and a GORGEOUS 1930's dresser, all in one bedroom, and all purchased in antique or thrift stores.

I can't do a lot of the things I used to do, but I'm still pretty good at looking at stuff in antique or thrift stores. I can appreciate the machines of past and present , either because of how well they work or because of their history.

and you really don't need to know how much fabric I have!

SteveH

My main "other" hobbies are;

Restoring cars: (Currently finishing a 1965 Corvair Corsa and a 1990 Jeep 4x4)
-- My Singer New Manufacturing machine is doing the upholstery now
Armoring: I have been an Armorsmith for over 20 years. crimsonforge is my armoring site.
-- I have sewn the leather work for my armor on a Viking 1030 and on my Singer 13, my Glove machine will be sewing the gloves we make for under the gauntlets (hand sewing currently)
Kenjutsu: I have been teaching Japanese swordfighting for over 30 years. Clothing and under armor made on old machines now instead of hand stitching.
SCA: Medieval Armored combat. The reason I got into sewing machines in the first place was to be able to do support my medieval hobby...

Mickey2

I don't know how much fixing up old bicycles relates to sewing machines but I see some parallels. I have rebuilt a 1930s bike and a 1950s bike, (with help fromt a local repair shop), hunted down a couple of replacement parts (not unlike fixing up a sewing machine) Both bikes had heavy steel frames with large 28" wheels and three speed gear hubs. The chain wheels, drive wheels on these bikes are very much thicker than the stuff they make now, high quality hardened steel. The same goes for the internal parts in the hub; Shimano has nothing on the older Sachs and Sturmey Archer hubs. It's a bit like with the old straight stitchers, much more solidly built. Bikes that have been used hard for half a century still run and shift fine with a bit of care and attention, lots of cleaning, polishing and oiling there too.

I have an old bike from the 1980s, it has a 5 speed gear hub; even though chain wheel and the sprocket on the hub is lighter than the 1950s bikes, it's much thicker than the current production equvalents. Some parts where heavier on older bikes, but made to stand up to decades of daily use and still be serviced with replacement parts for yet a few decades.

I don't think there are any bikes made like that anymore, though there are lots of very nice bikes in all categories to choose from these days too. It's very odd how everything we have are made to be replaced after 5 years or so, a lot is not meant to be maintained. Production of goods are very much subject to a global economy, and the development of electronic and computerized parts are inflicted on almost every thing we have from toasters to cars. These days you can have computerized gear shifting on your bike (pedal type), all kinds of equipment to monitor speed, heart rate, with or with out the assistance of an electrical motor. I very much hope the basic bicycle will endure with out being dependent on batteries and electricity.


....hopefully a lot less drugs in the vintage sewing machine gang than the bike sport.

SteveH

Actually very connected. MANY sewing machine companies from the 1880's transitioned into bicycles. The precision casting and quality metalworking translated well, and the new bicycle market was higher profit margin than allowed by the mostly expired patent sewing machine business.

Davis is the first one to come to mind

Quincunx

To be slightly more on topic, most of my hobbies have been about playing with data and ideas and not things. I would rather have drawn the pattern instead of cut and sewn it, or thought through the quirks of the gaming systems instead of getting a cheat sheet, and I definitely did not like miniatures games that did not come already built and/or painted. But getting into VSMs was the first step towards any hobby that was based on working with my hands.

That's the one!

When I was looking up the small sewing machine manufacturers of Sweden I had much more success looking for bicycle makers' badges and then reading 'also makers of sewing machines' underneath the names of some companies.

OurWorkbench

A couple of other ones --
Stoewer in Germany http://www.stoewer-museum.de/stoewer/bernhstoewere.htm
Weed in Connecticut http://www.columbiamfginc.com/columbia_history.html
Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

Sunflowerzz

I melt glass. I have a cute hot glass studio ( Tuff Shed) on my back patio and boy do I have tools. I learned about brass, graphite, stainless and many other tools. Harbor Freight is now one of my fav stores! I was thrilled when I found the little dental tool kits, I use all sorts of tools for shaping glass and some travel into the house for sewing machine repair and vice versa. Hubby and I frequently dig around in others tool boxes for the just right tool.

I head to the tools when I go to Sears now, NEVER would have guessed I would be doing that. The colors I paint the sewing machine cases and tables are directly related to my jewelry and hot glass along with majoring in the arts in college. It is all fun but yes, I do feel I have too many interests and now I recently added quilt making!
Yesterday I drove to a city 1 hour away and picked up a Necchi Supernova in a Necchi table for $10.00. I said no more machines but when something like that is staring you in the face....

SteveH

Ohhh nice! Sounds like a good justification to me!

tessagin

I was raised in a little town (Yoder, Indiana). We had the best blacksmith for many miles around. Enough miles that the Amish from 50-75 miles away had their horses reshod. It was fascinating. He did some welding also. Doc Rheinhart was like "Popeye". His forearms were huge. I remember an Amish brought his stallion and Doc let a couple families know "not to ride any fillies/mares" in town that day. It would just be total chaos. He allowed no one else in his stable/shop while he was working. One horse owner was being obnoxious and ended up getting kicked in the rear by his own horse. The last day his shop was open he was mule kicked in the arm. The owner just brought him in on his own which Doc didn't allow. He always put blinders on first to get the animal to calm down. That broken arm ended his career. He was in his late 60s. A blood clot took him to the pearly gates. His grandsons were the recipients of his anvils. I always marveled at their size and shape. It was amazing how he fitted the horses and mules. Always got them to fit just right. He had no problem telling some owners they had no business having horses either. He also made brands, also some gorgeous work!

Addiction

I read this thread before registering and had to reply an emphatic, "yes!"

Among other things, I fish, do woodworking, and shoot a little trap and skeet. If there is anything I've learned, it has been that good design, good materials, and good workmanship are the hallmark of an excellent machine. I've cleaned up or restored over 50 old fishing reels, and the ones that last a long time and still work well have all of the characteristics listed. I also appreciate that most of the older machines can be maintained and serviced with average mechanical skills, something I cannot do with circuit boards and computers.

Like many other tools, a sewing machine is both a creator and a fixer, and the combination is easy to admire.