I hate to ask...
 

but if I don't ask I won't know. I have tried searching but found nothing really defined.

What do the letters and NO letters stand for as in a Singer 319, 319K and the Singer 319W? I have seen all three on machines listed for sale. I have two Singer 306W's and I am really intrigued by the 319's but I want/need clarification before I buy.

Thank you

I think K means it was made in Scotland. Of course I could be wrong, but in the serial numbers for the featherweights I believe its true. There are a few machines that were smaller than the standard so they might have a letter for reference.

If you have a serial number you will find it's birthday here
http://www.singer-featherweight.com/...es/dating.html

Here is an opinion on the 319...
http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/...forgotten.html

SunflowerZZ,

See my post, #2 here: { http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...r-t239242.html }.
The first part of the text explains the letters.

Joe

From ISMACS, no letter, Elizabethport, W - Bridgeport, K - Clydebank

http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_...ist/index.html

read the first paragraph


Joe and I must both have that site bookmarked! I even have it bookmarked on my phone

Thanks guys, it's now bookmarked for me too!

:D :D :D :D yep.


Joe

Also guilty. :thumbup:

In most cases the letter is the initial of the town or country in which the factory is located. K for Kilbowie, A for Anderson, M for Monza, Italy, J for St. Johns Canada, G for Germany, etc. I think I once knew what the C in Brazil stands for but I can't remember now. I don't know what the U in Japan stands for, either.

The exception is W which denotes the former Wheeler & Wilson plant in Bridgeport.

Alex has most of them here (scroll down about half way):
http://www.sewalot.com/dating_singer...ial_number.htm

Joe I see your name on a lot of these questions so I am hopeful that you can help me out. My brother gave me a singer
machine. It says "99-" with AM266551 on the little plate on the front. When you lay it back on the wooden base you see Simanco USA 33611F on the base of the machine. I would love to find out any information about it . I am not even sure
I have threaded it correctly. Can you help??? Thanks, Joyce

4js - Singer Manufacturing Company (Si Man Co) liked to put numbers on each and every part of the machine (even attachments) so you can find numbers all over the place. AM266551 is the actual serial number for the complete machine, any number you find in a different location is possibly a part number for the item it's stamped on.

http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_...-database.html
This is another part of ISMACS to look up serial numbers, the other section talks about model numbers.

It shows that serial number was in a series of 25,000 allocated Oct 21, 1955 for use for model 99 machines. So your machine was probably made some time in the fall of 1955.

At some point, Singer stopped using "Simanco" and starting using "Singer" as the name stamp. I'd expect this happened after they changed the same from Singer Manufacturing Company to what ever they went with after that.