DonnaQuilts

I saw a hand crank FW and wondered if anyone had experience with piecing with one. It would be handy if there wasn't any electricity. I need both hands and sometimes a third to sew though. Is it practical?
Hadn't seen a FW with a crank, only older machines. Need more encouragement to sew on a cranked machine.
What do you think?

miriam

There is someone on the internet selling little cranks to go on the FW.

lovelyl

I have a 201 hand crank and love it! I, too, thought it would be hard to sew with only one hand to guide the fabric, but it really isn't - the 201 sews so straight you don't need two hands to guide. I do find myself pinning a bit more, just in case. I made a purse on my hand crank and it came out great.

AnnetteB

I read somewhere that a woman took a hand crank machine to her husband's car shows so she could enjoy her hobby and he could enjoy his. She said it was the best of both worlds and she gets alot of looks and questions from ladies that are dragged along to car shows

jljack

Never saw or heard of a Featherweight with a handcrank. I put a handcrank on a little 99 last Spring, and I like it a lot. But never thought about a Featherweight with one. I'd like to see a pic if you have one.

Bennett

Found some info here: Hurkie, by Thayer Rags. I saw those cranks on Ebay. Problem would be the ratio of hand turns to needle ups and downs. One to one sounds pretty tiring! Also found this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/x75Pywf723s.

Saw this, with an improvised motor boss to mount one of the regular hand cranks. Looks like it would give a 3 to 1 of needle ups and downs to crank turns. Treadle On FW crank conversion.

jljack

Wow! That looks like a ton of work!! It looks kinda cute with that crank, though. I wouldn't tackle it, but for someone who wanted a people powered FW it is doable, looks like!!

QuiltingHaven

I found a 99 at a Flea Market for $54.00 in a tan case. I talked my husband into removing the motor and putting on a hand crank (Sew-Classic had the directions and the handcrank - very reasonable). I now have a cute little machine to take with me when I know that electricity may be a bit dicey to find. She is beautiful and after we cleaned her up - put on the crank - (kept the motor in case some one may want to revert it back) and purrs like a kitten. Sews very very straight so one-handed holding is a piece of cake.

littlesurfer

I never thought of adding a hand crank to one of my featherweights...great idea!