How Do I Tell?
 

I'm new here. Just signed up. Made my first quilt/blanket from tee shirts. I have two old sewing machines I've been trying to confirm models. Both are Singers. The "first' one I bought is a treadle machine. I am fairly certain it is a model 115 and was made in 1914. It does have a rotary bobbin. According to the serial number, it is a 115. Some have disagreed.
The second is my mothers machine. I believe it is, as the serial number seems to indicate, a model 28 made in 1912. This one is electric. I can remember my mother using this in the 50's ad 60's. I had always thought this machine was from the 30's or 40's. I replaced the power cords, electric motor due to exposed wires, a drive belt, and a good lube job. This runs well. Actually they both do!! I have had people tell me this machine is a 128. But I believe it is a 28.
So my question is where can I go to get confirmed information? Where can I get a correct parts list? I would like to buy bobbins for both machines. And the old style hand crank for the treadle machine.
Thanks for any advice.
Denny

welcome Denny, kudos for keeping family machines running and in current use.
We absolutely Love pictures!
If you can confirm serial numbers (sometimes easy to find, sometimes not)
https://sewalot.com/dating_singer_se...ial_number.htm is a big help.

I have a Singer 66 I turned into a treadle, I chose Singer because all the parts are still readily and economically available.

115 is a pretty rare beastie. How fun. I gave one to a sewing machine museum in Tulsa. from your name, you need to be looking for a Spartan...[ATTACH=CONFIG]611070[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]611071[/ATTACH]here is a view of a 28 blackslide in front and 99 in rear at a hand crank demo. Original handcranks are tricky to find. Prepro cranks do a reasonable job, but need maintenance more.

Denny,
The best way to have the people here confirm the model of your machines is by posting pictures. Plus we all love to see them, lol. Also, one way to tell if you have a 128 or a 28 is by measuring them. One is smaller. I forget which one, but there are many others here who have that memorized. So, I just think of it as not my department, lol. :)
Welcome, and I have to second leonf's idea about that Spartan, lol.

Welcome! Another helpful website for information is ismacs.net. Sew-classic.com has a good reputation when looking for parts.

Actually the 128 and 28 are the same size and considered to be 3/4 machines. The 27 and 127 are the full size machines. I was thinking there had been some discussion here on QB about the differences. I can't seem to find it now. I was thinking that generally it was thought the most visual difference was the location of the bobbin winder. I tried to find it as I think there was some crossover, I just checked the model lists on ISMACS (acronym for International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society) and see that the 28 and 28K were produced 1890- 1918 and 1890-(1943) respectively. The 128 and 128K were produced 1912-52 and 1912-62 respectively. So probably the serial numbers would be the best determination. (Although there have been discrepancies noted.)

A thread here on QB about the differences between 115 and 15 can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...e-t216990.html There was a later 115 that looks more like a 201 than the early 115s manufactured 1912-1935 The 1915 manual for the 115 can be found at http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_mach...ine-manual.pdf (Not affiliated with link) The one on the Singer site is for a different machine.

Leon is correct about the the reproduction hand crank are not the greatest, but can work.

I agree with KalamaQuilts "kudos for keeping family machines running and in current use."

I'll give another thumbs up for sew-classic.com about a good place for parts.

Yes, we like pictures.


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

ok.... I have pics but I can't seem to load them up. Is there a minimum number of posts I must do before I can do certain functions?

Haha.... I get the Spartan reference!!! I am not into collecting and restoring sewing machines. I am, after all, a die hard Spartan and a biker! Well at least i'm not interested in collecting them now! I am recently retired, and I don't mind sewing patches on vests, and I found the quilt/blanket making quite enjoyable. But that little tidbit will stay lodged in the back of my cranium.
I find that I like to hand crank the treadle 115 when I sew patches. Sew I will continue to search for one.
I

A handcrank will give you 3 stiches per revolution of the crank arm and it reverses the direction of the main shaft. The Spartan is a 3/4 sized machine with a rotary bobbin.