Thanks so much for sharing. I always enjoy reading this.

bkay

I have joined the board mainly for the vintage thread here. I won't be able to attend your meeting this month as I have work this Saturday but would like contact info for future meetings I may be able to attend!

I currently have 3 sewing machines which all qualify as vintage. The first one I got last year from my brother and it is a Japanese made Elgin 2468 from 1958. It has all the cams and accessories and currently in a more modern plastic travel case. It runs well and weighs a ton.

The second one I bought is a branded Reversew Rex machine in its own cabinet. It is called a Coronado and does need some rewiring work as the wires leading to the knee pedal are crumbling apart. Fortunately it is an early enough model that the Chicago connectors will unscrew although it took me a while to figure out how to unscrew it. Other than that it needs a new bobbin tire and a new friction wheel as it developed a flat spot over the years. Cosmetically it looks great and should be easy to restore.

My last purchase is a 1924 Singer 15-30 in an non Singer cabinet. i have already put it in running condition. It does have some features that don't quite match what the Singer 15-30 is supposed to have. It had been converted to electric at one point but the handwheel is a solid wheel not a spoked wheel so not quite sure if it was converted from treadle or handcrank. Also the bobbin winding system actually has the worm gear drive cam on the underside instead of the front as in all of the photos of the 15-30s I have seen. It is missing the decorative backplate as who ever converted it to electricity did not install it over the light fixture plate. The Tiffany decorations are in great shape and I should be able to restore it to near new looking.

Welcome Jim. Nice start on vintage machines. Tiffany decals are my favorite. I'm wondering if you may have a 15-62 as seen at http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollect...es/image63.htm

PM coming your way.


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

It sure looks like a 15-62 which according to the link you provided is really a motorized 15-30 version that was sold by Singer with a solid wheel. The original motor is long gone and replaced with a newer one. Too bad the picture does not have enough detail on the bobbin winder assembly but it might look like mine.

January 5, 2019 - Colorado Get-together
 

The Colorado Antique and Vintage Sewing Machine Collectors Group met for the first time in 2019, on Saturday the 5th, ten o'clock at Perkins in Denver. With a recent arctic blast having left us, we were blessed with a sunny and crisp 30 degree morning which turned to a gorgeous, clear fifty degree day by the time our meeting was over. Dianne was there, along with Courtney, Carol, Dorothy, Janey and John.


Janey brought samples of some keys she is making for bentwood case tops that have lost their associated keys. She has several kinds she is experimenting with, some of which are shown below. One made from a fork, the one with purple plastic was actually made by locksmith, the other was a key blank that Janey's brother cut.


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Courtney brought sewing related Christmas gifts he had received. A 2019 calendar with vintage sewing machine ads , a miniature cast sewing machine (a little larger than the pencil sharpener type) and an old library book -"The International History of the Sewing Machine" to show the group.


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Dianne brought some ephemera envelopes from India -the envelope it came in and the envelope with a quote from Ghandi about Singer Sewing machines. She also brought each of us a printed picture of an antique sewing machine that she wanted called a Buckeye. It went for an outrageous amount of $$$$ (not to her) and was missing the bobbin winder.


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Carol brought an assortment of attachments that had been in the drawers of her grandmother's machine. Dorothy and Janey tried to identify as to their purpose and which machines they were for. Needless to say, a significant amount of time was spent going through them individually. The circled items - the small unknown item on top might be for ruffler?, the shirr plate and underbraider- should give some indication as to which machine they belong to.


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The numbered pieces belong to a tucker, the actual piece that attaches to the presser bar was there but not shown.


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And some actually for her grandmother's machine


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A good time was had by all and we plan to meet again the first Saturday of February, posting our meeting notes then.

February 2, 2019 Get-together
 

We were blessed with a beautiful Colorado day. Starting at about 30 degrees at sunrise, it was clear and comfortable by 10 o'clock as we met at Perkins.


We welcomed two new members to the group, James and Valerie. Also there were Dawn, Dorothy, Courtney, Paula, Carol, Janey and John.


James brought an Elna Supermatic that he recently acquired. The case turns into a platform that the free arm fits into, allowing a large work surface. This is the one that has the screw off knob for the cams. He's fashioning a handle for the case which had broken.


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Courtney brought a small Willcox & Gibbs chain stitch machine that has a stuck needle bar that normal solvents haven't gotten to. We puzzled over what to try and methods of applying gentle force. The machine fit nicely into in the tote that he had brought to the November 3, 2018 get-together.


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Courtney also brought a Singer 201-2, from which he removed the potted motor and replaced it with a hand wheel from a fifteen clone and a regular belted motor. It can now accept a hand crank or be used in a treadle. He did a very nice conversion.


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Carol brought the "Singer Needle Guide," which told about the die pressed method of manufacturing needles, as well as terminology of needles. Another book she brought was "Sewing Machine Attachments Handbook."


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Carol also brought a stack of log cabin quilt blocks that she had gotten at an estate sale. They were wool hand stitched onto a many different foundations and then basted. Perhaps it was basted so would hold in place so that wouldn't have to press after each seam.


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Janey brought the manual for an interesting machine called a Logica. It has a much different case and layout from most machines. A similar machine was also made for Kenmore, called a SensorSew. Only a picture can do the description justice. Some of the stitches were done on the felt were done with the circle stitcher.


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It was an energetic and interesting get together. Each new person that joins adds something of themselves to the group. We're getting more interesting and diverse.


We plan on meeting next month and we will post again then.

March 2, 2019 Colorado get-together
 

Saturday morning brought us a cold gray Colorado day, with temperatures starting in the high 20s, only expected to fall throughout the day, down into single digits, with several inches of snow expected. Fortunately the bad weather waited for us to have our get together here in Denver. A foot or more of snow had already fallen in the closeby mountains and it was already beginning on the other side of town.


We gathered at Perkins for our March meeting at ten o'clock. Cheryl and Chris were there along with James, Carol, Janey and John. The weather elsewhere and conflicting commitments prevented a few of our regulars from attending, who were missed.


One of our new members, James, brought a 3D printed Elna drive wheel that he got from a 3D printing company. Made of a white nylon material, it should be an excellent replacement. He fitted it with rubber O-rings to provide the friction surface needed. A picture of it is shown here.


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James also brought a Singer 15 with Tiffany/Gingerbread decals in very nice condition. He thinks it might be a 15-30. Janey thinks it might be a 15-62. Other opinions are welcome. Curiously, the decals showed the most sign of wear on the back of the pillar, underneath the space usually occupied by the motor.

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Janey brought a turfing implement, patented in 1891, that she recently acquired, a picture of which is shown below. She also brought a Wonder Hemstitcher, from the 1930s, and a fabric sample of the hem stitcher's use.


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We talked a little bit, particularly at one end of the table, about wood finishes, shellac in particular. Cheryl and Chris have quite a bit of experience with refinishing. There was also some discussion about the Revco reverse attachment and puzzle boxes.


We look forward to our next meeting in early April and will post here again then.

quote "

I think there are two 3D printing places that have these available, but wouldn't swear both do. I'll double check with John tonight. Otherwise I will check with James.

PM coming

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I purchased them from the Shapeways dot com website, the other website that offers them is sculpteo dot com. Just do a search for Elna at the market in Shapeways. I have the part bookmarked for sculpteo but a search of the main sculpteo site requires membership and the market is hard to find and did not show any search results so let me know if you want the link to the sculpteo part. To order the part from Shapeways I just signed in as a guest, no membership required.

Doing a sewing search at shapeways shows some tophat cams and one bevel timing gear. Not many sewing machine parts out there yet as people have to design and then upload them to the market.