Anyone heard of a NEW VALLEY treadle ?
 

Hello everyone

I have been given a NEW VALLEY treadle sewing machine, and cant for the life of me find anything about it or even photos, on the net!
I am hoping you good people may help me! It is black with a very faded words on the body, that says NEW VALLEY, it also says MADE IN GERMANY on the front right hand side and also says 'Valley' on both sided of the iron framework. It comes with metal 'rollers' on the legs.
It is in very old condition and looks as if someone has used outside to display a pot plant on, grrrr!
I will load photos should they be of assistance to anyone :)
The serial number on the front right side says 1419127.

Heres the thing to give you a laugh, I have never sewen in my life and really have no interest to be honest, I am a racehorse trainer by trade. However this old machine tickles me and I am fascinated with it, and the really weird thing is I have named her!! I would love to try and restore my Nelly and would love to hear absolutely ANYTHING about her!

Thanks ever so much.

first, welcome to the board.

Second, we are very visual learners here. loading the pictures would be the fastest way to get info.

Finally, this machine is most likely made by a major German maker and then marked as a "badged" machine. In the late 1800's and early 1900's it was common for manufacturers to try to build up their production volumes by offering to put any name you want on a machine if you ordered at leas a certain amount (some US makers it was as low as 5 machines) So we see machines that have names like Gimbles, or Macy's, or Bob's Hardware, even though Gimbles, Macy's, or Bob's hardware never made sewing machines.

We'd like pictures please!

Will do, later this afternoon, thankyou so much for your replies!

Unfortunately I am unable to load pictures from my laptop ?? Perhaps something to do with where I am located?
However, I have come across some more information which I believe I may be on the right track...

After fussing around the machine and taking dozens of photos and then loading them, I noticed it actually says 'The Valley A' on the machine. I only spotted this from the photos as its very very faint. Taking on the advice from above I looked up german machines and found one made by Gritzner that is very similar and is called Selecta !!!
This one is for sale and had great photos and the decals were similar as was where the serial number is and also 'parts'on the machine! So maybe i'm on the right track!

I will keep searching for a photo though so I can see what she is supposed to look like before I try to restore her.
Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated ! ( Shame I can't get the photos up )

Deb.

Well what do you know one appeared, hahahaha this is weird !

What is that kind of loop on the top of the machine? Not the spool pin, the other one. The one that got cut off by the top of the picture?

It is a pretty machine that I know nothing about. Will have to wait for the treadle experts to wake up. :confused: There is definitely enough of the original there so that it will restore well.

WOW, a little rusty but she can be made beautiful again. Have fun and welcome to the the board. You are going to find a massive amount of information here regarding older DSM.

We do have a couple Australian members here. Maybe one of them can tell you if there's any special tricks for loading pictures from there. They're likely to be more familiar with your machine too.
Rodney

I'm not sure what it is sorry, unless its got 4 legs and a tail, I'm hopeless! Have tried to load a better photo for you,it may pop up like the other one did.. There is definitely lots of original stuff, including a little tin with a picture of the gritzer factory 1871 on the inside of the lid and all sorts of bobbins and metal thingys inside. One appears to be like a key for locking the drawers and top down...

Hopefully another photo will pop up with this reply! Maybe its my connection out here?

Anyways, thankyou to all who have commented and welcomed me, I am so excited to read and learn from you all!

Its 455am here and I have coffee and are rearing to open her up and look some more!

I love her little like half castor rollers on her legs, as she is quiet heavy to move.

Did you open her up to see if she has the bobbin and/or shuttle? Maybe there were bobbins in the little container you got with it? Hope so! Not so sure that any horse sense will help with using this machine but certainly if you train horses, you have the patience to get this working. Good luck to you! Oh and I too am interested to know exactly what that u shaped piece is for.

Also wanted to welcome you to the Board from North Carolina. Others will be chiming in to help with all your questions. There are a number of people here who are extremely knowledgeable.

that "loop thing" is actually the spool holder for sewing. the right spool pin is for the thread to load the bobbin (so you can load the next while sewing)

That design for a spool pin holder was from the Wheeler & Wilson #9(later W9, than after Singer bought W&W (1905) the Singer 9w)

You sound like my daughter, never could get her interested in sewing. That metal piece that makes a big U reminds me of an attachment for a Pfaff 30 for putting a spool of thread on it. The old pfaff piece does not make the big loop, like this one though.

[QUOTE=KLO;7239373]Did you open her up to see if she has the bobbin and/or shuttle? Maybe there were bobbins in the little container you got with it? Hope so! Not so sure that any horse sense will help with using this machine but certainly if you train horses, you have the patience to get this working. Good luck to you! Oh and I too am interested to know exactly what that u shaped piece is for.

Thankyou for you welcome KLO, you sure do come from a beautiful part of our world. I visited a place called Raleigh a few years back on a bus tour from NY through to Memphis. Love the southern states :)

Have found lots of bobbins and dozens of needles in the tin, along with all sorts of metal thingys ! (Sorry bout the descriptions but needles and bobbins are my limit - hahaha )
I have been flat stick (busy) since early this morning but did manage to get to Bunnings (your Home Depot) and get some supplies to start cleaning.

Could someone please advise me on which to start on first.. The machine, the cabinet or the cast iron part? :)

Wheels only go sideways so wont move away fro sewer while treadling. Legs are gorgeous!

Yes, stonewoman (shouldn't your name be horsewoman?) Raleigh is only about 1 1/2 hours away from me going east. The southern states can be beautiful but it is only June and I am already tired of the heat. Can you tell that I am originally from a bit further north?

Good that you found bobbins included. Funny info. about the wheels. I never knew that they built some of these machines with only sideways going wheels so they wouldn't walk away from the treadler. Good idea!

So how does one put a spool of thread on the u shaped piece? I have to assume that the u lifts off somehow?

Oh! Yes of course that's what they would be for!! Hope I can do justice to the framework when I start cleaning it up. I have been reading the forum like crazy to pick up hints and tips :)

Good morning everybody

I have read and read and read Glenns tutorials on cleaning etc.. and have a few questions to ask if someone culd please help me ? I think I've attached a photo to show where I am at but wont know till I add this comment..

1) The 2 'plates' and 'disc' thing on the bottom left hand side.. How do I clean or what do I do to get them shiny (if they ever were) As you can see, I have a spare 'disc' from the little tin, so if i ever workout how to get it off shall I just replace that piece?

2) The 2 'prongs' and the round 'rusty' pieces on the same side.. What should I clean them with and can you please tell me what they should look like after?

3)The 2 very shiny 'plates' you can see.. Still have like clear sticky gunk I cannot get off, it was black gunk originally. Help please should someone have experienced this. Its on all the similar 'plates' and looks like it would just wipe off - BUT WILL NOT MOVE!

Thankyou, and I took the photo with the U shaped thingy on its side for those of you whom were interested in it. I don't know what is for, thinking cotton, but it moves nicely now its clean!

Heres another shot hopefully, and thanks again for sharing your knowledge and opinions, im so enjoying this..
And I hope I don't drive you all mad in the process :)

Hi - this is a lot of fun, seeing how you are exploring your options.

Definitely replace the needle plate once you remove the one that is on there. Here in the US we have a product called Tri-flow - something like WD-40, that will eat at the rust and loosen the screws that are apparently giving you trouble. It is typically used to lubricate bicycles.

The 2 silvery plates across the bed are slide plates and they slide off to the front and back. Apparently also rusted shut, so use the Tri-flow equivalent that you have available. They will polish to a shiny state, but may show scratches and pitting. I have several machines like that and those "blemishes" do not worry me - I see them as part of the machine's history.

You should not use any chemicals that are very strong since they may ruin what is left of the finish.

"Manicmike" is the other Australian here who is very knowledgeable and helpful - PM him to give you pointers regarding the specific products available to you in your neck of the woods.

The machine looks a lot better already - you did good! Have you tried to move the needle?

Keep posting pictures - maybe also of the tin and attachments.... Our curiosity knows no limits :o

BTW - the "2 prongs" are called feed dogs (not kidding!!) and they move the fabric along as you activate the machine.

Can you post a photo of the back end of the machine? I'm curious about the lever above the bobbin winder.....

Hello Sews

Thankyou for your help and suggestions, I will certainly get some WD40 to get things moving! I will also contact manicmike and ask him for help!
I hadn't tried moving the needle, but it looks rusted in, so I wll WD40 it with the face plates and try to get them open too.
My main aim is to get her looking as pretty as she can be, (with my no skills, but determination) so one day when I get finished and she is in the lounge, she will smile back at me!
Hopefully this photo will cure your curiosity and I will post another later this afternoon with the tin etc..
Have a great day!

Well that didn't work :(
Trying again

Hi -- pls don't use WD-40, it is too strong.

Ask Manicmike for the name of something like Tri-flow, available at bike shops. Beyond that, plain old Sewing Machine Oil is the preferred lubricant AND cleaning solution, inside and out, for the black cast iron machines like yours.

I was curious about the lever seen towards the top of this photo.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]523788[/ATTACH]

(Below it is the bobbin winder.) If you have time, I would n't mind seeing that lever from a different angle, like 3/4 looking towards the front so we can determine what it is meant for. I haven't seen anything like it before, but that of course doesn't mean anything :-) .

Getting the needle to move is usually surprisingly easy and the best part of fixing up old sewing machines -- making it useful again after it has lain dormant for 50 or so years, even if we don't use it at all or not much...
All it takes usually is oil in all the right places, where metal meets metal and should be moving...

TRI-FLOW is available in Australia:

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_f...+flow&_sacat=0

Hi again,

Ive since taken her out of the cabinet to make it easier ( I think) to work on. I will try and post 3 photos for you I took near that lever! Hopefully one will be right! I may have to do it over 3 posts, having awful trouble with the site.

Hmmm ok try again!

Gosh, the site is really playing up. Sorry about the ads all over the photos, dunno what to do about them ??
I wont use the WD40 thanks, looking forward to getting the needle moving, its the only thing stuck! Shall I put SMO in all the nearby holes?
Ok hopefully here comes another photo...

Things are going weird sorry, the site keeps conking out. I will try another photo with this message and then let it rest for awhile, the words are going weird as I type them and the screen is jumping all over the place :(

The lever moves up and down if you take out the long screw. Can you see the numbers on the dial thing behind the lever?? Ok here goes, hopefully you don't keep getting the same one !!!

Hmmm, will try again later Sew :)

Thanks for the photos - All of them LOL! Sorry you're having such issues with posting pics. I don't see any text or ads but I have "Ad block", that takes care of such annoyances. (It's a free add-on.)

So, the lever is the stitch length regulator.

If you want, go ahead and oil the machine, that is what most of the holes are meant for. Once you take a look at the underside of the machine, you'll see at least one bar going across from the back to the needle area - anything that moves needs to have oil. If there is black, hard stuff at those joints, use a good amount of Tri-flow to loosen it up - the hard stuff is old, dried up oil.
The silver disc in the back lets you access the innards, and there too are joints that need oil, as does what's behind the front plate; I'd assume it'll be a 15 to 20 min job if you are thorough and don't encounter major stuck parts.

Enjoy your machine! It'll soon smile at you :-)

Righto... got into its innards, oiled everything in sight, cleaned all the underneath parts ( thanks for the directions) and Manicmike gave me some tips on getting those plates moving! Its 4.24am and I'm on to it !!!

Gosh its so addictive - Imagine if I actually knew what I was doing - hahahahha! Thankyou Sew.

:thumbup: Did you get it moving though?

nope not yet...

Ok, tried to catch all the bits...

Nice collection. Good thing you have all those needles. For some machines it has become very difficult to find the ones that they need for them to work.

You have been busy :)

This is just about the darndest machine I've ever seen! The handwheel and treadle foot plate look very Singer, the thread holder is very Wheeler & Wilson, I've never seen a bobbin winder like that, I'm pretty sure the lever above the bobbin winder is the stitch length regulator and I've never seen one like that on a domestic model, never seen a presser foot lifter like that...

There where literally hundreds of sewing machine makers in the early days of sewing machines. Some made only one or a few machines. This could be one of them.

I'm looking forward to how she cleans up!

FQD where or what part is the treadle foot plate?

She's coming along good, I think. She looks a lot different with all the rust off. Having a few issues, like getting the face plates to move and now I've got the metal back to silver - some parts have black spotty marks and some have silvery smudges???

And then today I managed to stop the foot lever from moving the foot up and down? Any ideas anyone on what I did wrong???

Another question I have people is - Where the paint has been chipped off and its rusted, do I put rust remover there carefully, not touching the paint?

Thanks :)