Davis Vertical Feed
 

I have a Davis vertical feed treadle machine that was handed down to me when my grandmother passed away back in 1984. I learned to sew on it but am sad to say have not used it since I received it. How do I go about assessing its usefulness or value now?

Value I don't know, but I have been on the look for a vertical feed. There are some info on the Victorian sweatshop forum, a few videos on youtube and there is a couple of blog posts on the web. I guess there are a few threads on this forum too, but at the moment the search function doesn't give anything. The manual for the early version of this machine is on ISMACS.

I took an interest in this model because of the upper feed function, and I know it often needs some extra attension on the parts behind the face plate. From a couple of people ( probalby still active on this forum) I have picked up a bit of info regarding the roller action and movements of the parts connected to the presser foot movents. It seems to be a good thing to know in advance when taking one of these back in to use after years of storage. The rollers are suppose to turn, and all parts require a good application of oil and maby cleaning.

The blog post on this model are often from quilters who report the upper feed is ideal for quilting layers of material and cotton wadding. The presser foot lift and harp space is rather generous. I think someone managed to quilt with top stitch thread too and it gave nice stitches. The trick was to wind a few bobbins in advance since the long bobbins doesn't hold as much thread as round bobbin models.

There aren't many vintage upper feed models available, and no all metal machines except this model. Most machines need an additional walking foot, and in comparsion a Davis Vertical feed is more capable when it comes to feed and layers of material. A domestic sized machine is often preferable for home use, since industrial walking foot macines tend to be much bigger and heavier.

Some have found the Davis vertical feed too noisy, but those who have ended up using it have managed to quiet it down to acceptable levels. I guess it's all about oiling (teflon oil?) and the right kind of cushioning felt pads under the feet.

I love my Davis vertical feed treadle sewing machine. It is very nice for doing quilt bindings. I am in the midst of downsizing to an independent living apt and should probably not take this machine with me, but I've decided I'm just not ready to part with it.

I have a couple. So easy to treadle. Way advanced for the time they were built. Cherish it. The best thing is to use it.

The search function has had a glitch for some time. It will give links, but when you click on the link it will take you to the link, but does not show content text. You have to refresh the page. This can be accomplished in several different ways. The easiest for me had been to click on the refresh icon. The refresh icon is the circle arrow next to the address bar. The location depends on browser and/or device one is on. Someone posted another way that is just as easy. When the page comes up with blank posts, Click on the blue title of the thread. This is located above the first post on the left side of the page after
[h=1]Thread:[/h]
On a computer you can also use the "F5" key on the keyboard. On a laptop it is a combination of "Fn" + "F5"


Here are a couple from a QB search I did for "Davis vf" I think that since I went to the page and then copied the link (as opposed to coping the link from the search page) they should work without refreshing.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...f-t290541.html https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...g-t290314.html not the best.


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

Too bad so much great info has been lost.

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Donna, if you choose to take off the faceplate to oil the innards, it is not for the faint of heart. Well, taking it apart is easy. Getting the lift arm correctly into the other bits is a tricky thing and requires patience.