Age?
 

How can I tell what year my machine was manufactured in? Miriam had a post for a generic manual and someone bumped it up in the thread THANK YOU WHOEVER THAT WAS but I do not know how to find out what year it was made? Any ideas The model number is: (I think) GT-n8013 or GB -n8013. There is no year on the plate.

Have you goggled the machine brand and model number? Maybe you can find something that way. I know it is a long shot, but mite work.

I wish!!! I had to print a universal manual and no matter what or how I put it in, nothing comes up for it that is basically the same. I am going to try again though. Thanks!

There really is not a lot of info on those machines for year. Look at a thread I started called the dark underside. Wealth of info was shared there. That bottom right knob would be for dropping the feed dogs, just a hunch. One direction drops the other raises. A generic manual is about the best I can do. Cari has pretty much moved over to Victorian sweat shop forum but she knows a lot about the dates etc on these machines.
I'm going to post about a mystery machine in a few minutes... It is already up at VSS.

This machine has no markings other than made in Japan. I have no idea when or what factory it was made. It is a simple machine to use. Now that it is clean it is a wonderful machine. It reminds me of a Raico I had a while back. More pics on VSS they just won't post here. This machine doesn't even have a badge.
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Could that be a Japanese clone (of a Singer machine) from the 50's? There were quite a few of those around at
one time. Good old solid metal, work horses they were. Mine didn't have anything on it saying what it was...no
brand of any kind. However, there were some clues on the bottom of the machine that the repairman spotted
when I took it in for a minor repair many years ago after using it for 35 years with just a bit of oil. :)

That one isn't a clone, it's somewhat of a copy of an old Necchi BU. A clone is a copy of an old black straight stitcher. This is a 15 class clone:
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As far as dating a Japanese machine, it's not easy. There are no searchable records. The only ways I've found to date one is to find the original sales documents with the machine, or search old magazine ads or catalog pages. I can guesstimate vintage Brothers going by features because I know when my mother bought hers and I have some old magazine ads.

Cari