I'm the excited new owner of treadle machine- first timer ;)
 

We found a Singer 66 redeye on Saturday and brought her home.
I've named her Ellie.
According to the serial number she was manufactured in July 1919 in New Jersey.
I can't wait to get her cleaned up and learn to sew with her.
She came with the original instruction manual and all the attachments.(which were in great condition)
There were buttons, thread, and bits of fabric in her drawers.
It was the seller's grandma's machine. She had sold her house and no longer had room.


Janelle

A close up:

Beautiful, enjoy the start of your new adventure with Ellie.

Thank you :)

Sweet condition! She'll shine with some sewing machine oil inside and out. Enjoy!

Very nice - when you go to clean it, use sewing machine oil - not water. Water will damage the decals, so don't even use a damp cloth on them.

:thumbup: Congratulations, those decals look very good.

My sister learned to sew on a treadle. I had tried once and decided wasn't for me. Then.... my brother and I refurbished it for her. She was very appreciative and said how much she enjoyed sewing on a treadle. I finally got one and played with it. They really are fun.

My sister's is a back clamp too. As much stuff that was in the drawers, there weren't any attachments, but fortunately I had some that I had gotten years ago. I'd like to see what attachments you got with yours.


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

Thank you all for the great advice; I'm passing it all along to my husband. :)

Janelle

The picture is a little bit blurry, but I got: quilting foot, ruffler, tucker, shirring foot, binder, adjustable hemmer, and an under binder (not sure exactly what that one does without consulting instruction manual)

Janelle

Nice find and she's a beauty! All you need is a bit of co-ordination and practice. Have fun learning to sew on a treadle.

Thank you :)

Looks like it's a back clamp from the accessories. I thought they only had back clamps the first couple of years of production (1900,-)?

Either way, it looks very good. There is presser bar coverter available if you have side clamp attachments like buttonholer or picoting stitcher, or any basic low shank foot you like to use.

It should clean up nicely, you can gently polish it with a resin type polish for cars (the liquid type). Slide the bobbin cover completely off; if there's a lift up lever (slightly up and towards you) it will release the bobbin case for cleaning. If so don't touch the screw in center there, it will cause a lot of fuzz with thread tension and getting parts in alignment again. If there's only a bracked with a screw, it's the earlier type, and the scew is meant to come off.

Big sewing machine stores may carry treadle belts. You will need to shorten it and then punch a hole in it for the staple to go through. Be careful with the hole and don't have skin on the other side of the belt.

Sssshhhhh, don't tell my sister, but I kept the underbraider as I think they are neat. It works kind of like bobbin work. You stitch from the back side of the fabric. I think it works well with soutache and mini rick rack. The underbraider does not work well with metallic soutache, as the edges of the metal catch on the attachment. I also read https://vintagesewingmachinesblog.wo...-underbraider/ that it will clean out your feed dogs if you use white on white.

I haven't watched this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zIG9PEz4eE

Have fun.


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

Very cool. Thank you!!! :)

You were right. I took a photo of her serial number and looked again at ISMACS, and the manufacture date is 9/15/1910. Model 27

Oh, something is not right, it's definitely a 66 and a back clamp. Sometimes the embossing of the serial number is bit of a guess work, other times it just need cleaning and good light to be read. There's no hurry and it will be sorted out eventually.

No, your machine is not a 27. I'm thinking there were probably more mistakes in the "G" serial numbers, but there were a lot of them. I know I saw a 66-1 in a thrift store and knew of the problems. I unfortunately did not take a picture of the serial number and machine. I looked at serial number and checked several times and different numbers (like 7 instead of 1 or 3 instead of 8 & checking the number of digits) and kept coming up with serial number for a 27 when I knew the machine was a 66. I also know that I have had trouble with other serial numbers, but sometimes you get lucky and have some paper work that has the serial number printed on it.

According to http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_...sses-1-99.html the 66-1 (back clamp) was made until 1923.

Neat that you got the manual, too.

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

Thanks all. Sorry I am new to this vintage/antique machine thing but really wanting to learn and loving my new machine. This is my serial number:

Page 28 of the pdf - G- 7137601 7187600 66 50000 July 10 1919

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

Thank you! :)

Don't forget to oil the treadle works also. Light oil anywhere you have movement.

She is so pretty ...… just needs her face washed.

Great reminder. Thank you :)

Congratulations! She's beautiful.

Awesome tips from all these knowledgeable folks here. :)

What a pretty machine! I have a 1918 66-1 in the same No. 2 style cabinet. Mine had the same hazy finish on the bed (and got named Hazel!). I just used sewing machine oil to clean it, like macbaby said, and it looks great.

K

This is going to be a pretty machine. Please post a picture when she's done with her spa treatment.

My 1918 Redeye is a back clamp. My slightly newer one isn't.

Hazel is also a Redeye and still a back clamp. When was yours authorized? Mine is the February 6, 1918 order of 50,000 machines, the second of 4 runs for 200000 total 66s that year.

K

Beautiful machine, beautiful cabinet. Good score on that one! Pretty cool!!

:thumbup: Yep been there done that, I learned alot after that! My 2nd treadle was a Red Eye. After that one I was hooked.

I just drove about 250 miles yesterday to pick up my Singer 66-1 Redeye from the guy who worked on her. I bought it from a friend's yard sale and while looking good and moving well, the needle would hit the presser foot. This guy did the presser bar converter Mickey2 mentioned above, so now it is not a back clamping- it is a side clamping, like all my other machines. I traded my four or five feet/accessories for something else I wanted. This guy was incredible. He's 95 years old and has been restoring machines for 72 years....very, very interesting. My cabinet looks to be exactly like yours. Mine has the flip out/tilt out center drawer. I got a new belt and they showed me how to do it. I put it on last night and I think it's still too loose. i'm going to cut it a 1/4" shorter and try again. (Question for Mickey2- how to get the bobbin cover completely off.... it doesn't want to slide all the way off.)

I want to say this about treadles- since you haven't had one before- have you sewed on one? It's really important to grab the hand wheel and give it turn toward you to get it started in the right direction--let it go backwards can really cause a big mess. My parents bought my sisters and I a treadle when I was a girl- It was a Singer 128, I think, with a shuttle case for the long bobbin. Anyway- if you put one foot to the back of the treadle and one foot to the front...you can really get going. I ought to take a picture....

You really don't want to take the bobbin cover way off unless you are forced to. To take if off you should take off the plate over the feed dogs. To put it back, you must do that.

Great machine. I converted a newer 66 to treadle and love her. Treadle takes a little getting used to, but relaxing once you are into it.

I bought a belt for my treadle off Amazon

You are going to love this machine. Just the sound of the "clickity-clack" of the wheel turning as you sew will sooth your mind and your soul.