I had to go back and get it, and glad I did
 

I saw this 128 over the weekend, and I thought it was really nice but also thought the price was just a little bit too high at $65. I'm trying to only buy machines that are either super awesome or super cheap. :D

It wouldn't leave my mind though, so today after work (short day) I decided to go have another look. Turns out that today it's on sale for half-off! It was meant to be!

So, here's my newest lovely. I LOVE the motor & foot pedal on this thing, I've seen pictures of similar - this is not what this machine would have come with, correct? Is this the type of pedal that gets really hot? (I didn't get a very good shot of the pedal, it's the cast iron foot-shaped kind with the big round part you see in picture 2)

The motor isn't detached; it pivots around to this position so it can fit in the case.
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Top of the pedal, trying to show wire toastiness, sorry for the flash burn.
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Neat, I love accessories!
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Motor in working position; there's a spring dangling off of it, not sure where that hooks in yet.
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The wires are pretty toasty so I haven't plugged it in yet. Anything special or important I need to know about this motor? (It's a Hamilton Beach SewEZ sewing machine motor.) I'm hoping to keep it on the machine.

I looked up her serial number, she's from 1919. Everything moves really nicely, the decals are a bit cracked here and there but otherwise really bright and pretty and not much wear considering her age. She's a looker for sure. She came with a manual for a knee-lift 128, and a bentwood case. The case is locked and someone decided to just Hercules the lid off so the screws ripped out of the wood and some stuff bent but they included all the bits so I think I can fix it.

(Please ignore all the junk in the background...I just shoved the rusty 15 I have in pieces aside for some quick photos, LOL)

I'm no expert but I think you got a good deal.

Beautiful machine!! The decals are amazing and the finish too!

I think you did good ...wow, half price is really good..........she is sure pretty, the decals look nice..........good for you, I want one like her (here I am with 13 machines and still wanting more...what is wrong with us????)

You got a great deal! I would have been sorely tempted at $65. Half off was a no-brainer.
It's a great looking machine. I like the swing away HB motor and the foot pedal too. You should be able to open up the controller and replace those toasted wires.
Sundialwire.com is one supplier of new cloth covered wire to keep the vintage look.
Rodney

that's a nice machine (i got 3 of those) but i don't think that's the right motor for that machine. i've never seen a singer with that kind of motor (correct me if i am wrong).

Thanks for the link Rodney! I knew those were still being made somewhere, you just saved me a search. I was dithering at $65...but like you said, half-off made it a no-brainer.

I've been hunting around to try to get info on this motor (ending up back here at one point - seems like all sewing machine searches end up back here sooner or later). There ARE some older Singer motors that look just like this but have Singer branding. I'm guessing this one isn't original - maybe a dealer upgrade?

I was hoping to find someone's blog where they'd taken one apart and maybe talked about maintenance but no luck so far. I think I've found grease tubes on it but I can't tell if it has brushes or not or where those might be. I'm a little afraid to just start unscrewing stuff.

The tension on the shuttle is cranked down really tight and the screw is badly chewed up. It has an extra shuttle but it's the wrong type...fortunately it happens to be exactly the shuttle I need for my 28 so that worked out nicely! I will then steal the screw from the bad 28 shuttle to fix this 128's shuttle... I love it when things work out.

Sewnoma, my son took my 201 apart and re-wired the motor on it. He's good at that sort of thing, but, if there's one thing I've learned on this Board, take it apart, step by step, and take pictures as you proceed to take it apart. That way, you can be sure that you'll get it back together correctly. So, take pictures!!!!!! I'm just repeating what has been expressed by many of the experts on this Board! You really got a beauty!

Jeanette

Sewnoma, I have a Singer Lotus (127?) with a drop-in bobbin that has the same motor, attached the same way. It is badged as a SINGER motor. The spring is still attached - maybe I'll get around to taking photos for you tomorrow to show you how it is meant to work.

We plan to convert our machine to a hand crank since the wires are pretty much shot. The motor is supposedly quite rare.

I am drooling! Congratulations on your score!

I generally check out this section just to see what you crazy guys are up to, with these old machines and you devotion to them. But I am compelled to comment on this one. This one is a jaw-dropper. She is absolutely beautiful. The colors are so vibrant and the decal theme is different from most others I see here. I know absolutely nothing about these machines, except what you guys tell me, so I think I know about the Sphinx decals and Red Eye, but I don't think I have ever seen this one. Lovely and so glad you saver her. Absolutely a looker. Thanks very much for sharing.

I have a La Vinnie like that, I turned it back into a hand crank. Love it! Congratulations!
Mine has a nice case of pin rash but other beautiful :) lucky us!

edited to add that decal singer is La Vencedora to be specific.

Beautiful. I ditto on taking the pictures along the way... at each step. I just took mine apart, and I took pics, but not nearly as detailed as I should have and I am kicking myself for that. What a wonderful find. Love that swing motor.

She looks in pretty good condition. Congratulations.

I had this problem at first myself, but a friend suggested taking a picture of each part BEFORE removal. I was taking pictures like trophies of what I just did, not what I was about to do. I have referred to my pictures at least a hundred times since, to see how it was supposed to go back. I most cases it was because of a distinct element of a part or assembly that I did not notice until I was trying to put it back...

I have not missed a step since, and I am currently using that process on a car restoration, so it scales up well too!!!

What a lovely machine, I really love the decals and not many around with that motor and foot control so have fun with them and I hope that you can rewire everything OK.

Sewnoma, here are the photos of my Lotus and its swing motor. I hope you can tell how it is attached.

Motor tucked under the harp:
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Better view of how the spring is attached:
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Motor - badged Singer, patent pending by H.B.Co (Hamilton Beach, most likely)
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How the motor drives the hand wheel (without a belt):
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That is an incredible machine. It's hard to believe the decals would be so vibrant after all these years. I wish our modern machines were made to be items of beauty and art like the older ones were.

Thanks sews! I can see exactly where it needs to go. I just need to get out my beading pliers and bend the hook on the end of the spring back into shape, it's been pulled nearly straight.

Sews that Lotus is a model 66. 27s and 127s (full size) use a shuttle like the 28s and 128s (3/4 size).
Rodney

I think sews was just showing me the motor & spring, not the machine itself. :)

I do love those lotus decals, though. I'm very fond of all the Egyptian motifs found on these older machines. Sphinxes and scarabs and lotuses....some day I'm going to have to focus on those and collect up a few!!

General question out of idle curiosity - are 28/128's more common than 27/127's? Just asking because it seems kind of odd to me that I have both a 28 and a 128 but have not come across a 27 or 127 yet.

Rodney is right, the lotus is a 66 (I had posted 127?).

I was also getting confused about the numbers and looked it up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Model_27_and_127

Both 27 and 28 are vibrating shuttle machines, the 28 is the 3/4 size version of the 27.

127 and 128 are *later versions* and are also full size (127) vs 3/4 size (128).....

I think that it depends where you are. 27/127's were extremely common in western Canada; I probably see three 127's for every one other machine of any type. In the high arctic, on the other hand, the 3/4-size handcrank machines were the most common, because of their portability.

While the statement above is generally true, there are exceptions. These long shuttle machines tend to be very confusing, because Singer over-lapped production of the different models. And to add to the confusion, different factories were producing different models for export because of the coming of electricity not being uniform across the world at the same time.

The 27 & 28 models were developed in the 1880s, and were generally hand or treadle-powered. The 127 & 128 models were developed in the 1910s, and were changed primarily to facilitate the use of electric motors. The switch from model 27 to 127 was fairly clean, but models of the 28 were still being made up until 1940 (which had a high bobbin winder, BTW), thirty years after the 128 had appeared. There were even 128s made as late as the 1940s that had a low bobbin winder and no-ejection shuttle carrier (like a 28).

Add to this, the common practice of independent shops upgrading 27s & 28s in the 1940s to look and act like 127s and 128s, and you have a real free-for-all trying to figure out what model a machine is by looking at it.

Singer should have called these models their “HP Class” for “hair-pullers”....

CD in Oklahoma

I still get the 27 & 28 backwards until I pause to think about it. It's counter-intuitive to me that the smaller machine gets the larger number. It's the same with the 66 & 99 but somehow that's less confusing to me.

It is pretty cool comparing my 28 to my 128 though. I need to put them side-by-side and really look them over and see all that was changed. I love that stuff.

Shes a beauty...

Gorgeous! I don't need one, repeat, I don't need one, repeat...