foufymaus

Hello again!

Yesterday I was cruising my local thrifts and I came across this beauty. Branded as a Good Housekeeper machine. These photos are taken before and during cleaning so... some areas are icky looking. lol



She's kind of a pistachio green color. There's a bit of wear and tear on her but I figure she probably earned her dings/nicks/scratches because she's an older gal.

For the low price of $7.00 It was quite literally a steal. So far aside from the build up of dust and a bit of old oil there is nothing major to be fixed. She came with a plywood case, part of the bottom was missing. That allows for easy access of the bobbin area. So i'm not sure if it was on purpose or not.

Her motor is a 1.5 amp motor, *nods* that's right this gal has power!
She's a basic zigzag machine. I haven't really tested all of her zigging and zagging capabilities yet. Wrong foot. LOL and all i have are high shank Kenmore feet and a couple slant shank Singer's. She does zig and zag when I tried 'darning' the old way, no foot and no feed dogs.
When you open the light area, you can see a clear red plastic insert that 'turns on' when the light is on.

I found this most amusing to me. As you can see from the imgur album her electrical cords are twisty.
As always for more photos here's the IMGUR Album link.: http://imgur.com/a/9k0jL

Sunflowerzz

What a great buy for you and glad she found a good home. I just love those pushbuttons.

oldsewnsew

it would be interesting if one could find how many different brand names, design modifications & production totals there were of the same basic zigzag design

foufymaus

Me too! I also have a Dressmaker branded machine that's pink, she has similar buttons. I'm currently scoping out Ebay for cams that goes with her. She's super quiet. I was almost giddy with happiness when i saw her tucked away. Normally the thrift prices their machines at $15 for working and like $8 if they not working. So seven bucks was a steal.

foufymaus

I'm thinking thousands. I love the colors, I figured i didn't have a pistachio colored machine yet, might as well sneak her in. haha i think i have a bit too many . *wink*

Sheluma

Nice find! I like the way the needle plate and bobbin plate have their markings inlaid with green paint. A lot of the Japanese machines have a presser bar release so you can darn with the SS foot on. You just push down on the top of the presser bar, and it may release with spring-loaded action.

Edit: You would push down on the outer ring to get it to release. Here is a video demonstration at about 7:40:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFSJSkx9zNM

miriam

Here is a link for some more: http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...s-t207877.html Does that one have a left hand needle default set?

foufymaus

Thanks for the video! I just learned a few new things! The foot it came with doesnt have the hole space to zig zag. It looks like a camel toe with a hole big enough for the needle. I could...oh wait! I think , why yes i forgot i had a Brothers Charger 651 also a japanese made machine hidden in my stash! Maybe that foot would fit this lady. :-)

Sheluma

If the presser bar releases you can do free motion with the SS foot ("camel toe"!). I think it's nice that it came with the SS foot. ZZ foot is easier to find. SS foot for ZZ machine is not easy to find. SS foot gives better control, especially for stitching close to the edge of fabric. Is this a left needle zig zag? That is, when it is straight stitching is the needle in the left position?

SNCarney

I have inherited this sewing machine from my Mamaw (only this one has a plate that says federal instead of good housekeeping, but it looks identical). My grandmother passed away, and I cannot figure out how to work the machine! I have it plugged in and the power works, however I don't know how to thread it, put on a needle, or anything! Any help would be appreciated.