NopahDesertRat

Any one out there heard of a Great Eastern Rebuilt Singer. SN is G6450762, which dates 1918 model 66. Here is a picture. Crinkle finish with electric motor. Any information about it would be helpful. I did find a manual that is dated 1941. Thanks for your help.

mlmack

Interesting. I've never seen a stitch regulator like that on a Singer machine.

Rodney

It does look like a 66 body. My best guess is your machine started out as a treadle machine and Great Eastern refurbished it in the 1940s adding the motor, modern hand wheel and newer style stitch selector with their own cover in the process. I have a 1948 Singer 66 and it's stitch selector and bobbin winder are different than what's on your machine. It could be your whole stitch selector is aftermarket, Singer stitch selectors and covers don't look like that.
Neat find.
Rodney

ThayerRags

You have a nice example of a rebuilt Singer Model 66.

I agree with Rodney, and think that Great Eastern was probably an independent sewing machine repair/rebuild shop. I understand that there were many shops that were involved in “electrifying” treadle and hand crank sewing machines in the late 40s and early 50s. Apparently, machine owners couldn’t wait to use electricity to power their machines, and I can understand why. Electrical tools and appliances were one heck of an innovation.

The crinkle finish was also popular during the time, and probably easier for small shops to apply than Japanning and decals. Decal availability was limited for small shops too. Singer didn’t share theirs.

You’ll notice that the Singer badge plate has been removed and the casting number and badge pin holes are visible. That was a requirement from Singer. The Singer logos were supposed to be removed from all rebuilt machines. Not all shops did it, but Singer saw to it that most of them did. They could get by with using the word singer, but not any logos or trademarks. It was, after all, still a Singer machine, but the logos and trademarks were off limits. Singer wanted to make sure that everyone knew it was no longer all Singer quality.

The small disc hand wheel and the stitch length regulator were non-Singer and added to modernize the machine. They were available from SM parts distributors, along with the motor, and an electric light that mounted in various ways, often by attachment at the rear inspection plate.

I have a rebuilt and electrified 1906 Singer Model 28, but they got by without removing the Singer badge.

CD in Oklahoma

mighty

Very cool machine.

J Miller

Here is my 66-1 allotted 4-28-1920, that was rebuilt by O.C. French in Lawrence, IN.
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It has a Revco Reverser stitch length and reverse conversion unit on it and came with an AC Delco motor.
This one did not get the crinkle paint, but it was repainted. It also retained it's badge along with getting an additional rivet on plaque marked SINGER.
It's got a spring loaded presser foot tension adjuster usually found on Japanese 15 clones. It was also converted to a low shank presser foot system.

I'm not sure when this one was rebuilt as the O.C. French company is no longer in business.

Joe

ThayerRags

It looks like it also got a new updated tension nut with numbers on it too?

Your “spring loaded foot tension adjuster” may be a Revco #1041 Patch-O-Matic Darner. They cost the rebuilder ninety cents each back in 1951.

Your Singer Metal Name Plate is probably a #1260 that cost twenty cents each, and were available for a wide variety of older sewing machine brands.

CD in Oklahoma

J Miller

The top tension nut was an ill fitting replacement for the original. It didn't work at all. I went to my LSMG and got a real Singer nut for it.

Thanks for the info on the presser foot adjuster. I've got several clones with that unit on them and they work quite well.

Where do you find all this wonderful information? Seems I can't find anything.

Joe

miriam

I've been squalling with a 'refurbished' Singer 27 I think... Anyway it was too good a deal for me to pass up. The refurbish job has not held up worth beans. When the guy plugged the motor in we just about had the 4th of July but at least we knew the machine turned just fine.... There was a lot of rust on the bed. I tried to wipe it off and all the paint came off - well an awful lot of it. I was too dumb to get a before pic... The upper part looks like they maybe painted it with an old brush. I ground off paint as much as I could on the base. It probably needs a day of paint grinding some time next summer... The slide plates had considerable rust. The rest of it is in good shape. The puzzle box had most of the stuff with it - you guessed it that was why I got the machine and I couldn't help but make the darn thing sew. The arm has considerable pin rash. The domed case is in need of some TLC mostly the finish. It is almost back together so I need to sew test it... but I'm out of steam for a little while. I guess I could put a motor on it or a steering wheel spinner - the HC attachment doesn't fit at all. DH tried - he wanted to see if it would work. He's kind of getting into the machines a little at a time.
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I've seen a couple other refurbished machines. One is a 66 with a little bit of the crinkle finish left on it... Pretty ugly - anybody need a tractor??? The other was a Singer 27 and it looks nice - sews ok but that is about it. Not much appeal. I think that small balance wheel ruined it for me - I like something hefty I can grab on to. Then they ground off the bobbin winder and put a belt guard bobbin winder combo that only fits that hand wheel.... No turning that one back. They did pull of the badge - I can see holes where it was attached.

miriam

puzzle box
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