Kenmore SM Pictures and information
 

Well, I have a GS here holding my hand and working me through this process. We have looked up everything we could find on a sewing machine that was given to me last weekend by my cousin at our family reunion.

According to what we find, it is a 1938 Commander and I think I read something else that might mean it is a Singer clone. But to find this information, the little tag inside the machine shows it to be a Sears (117.300) (26770).

The tension seems a little tight, but I did get it adjusted enough to make a couple of quilt squares. It is very quiet and smooth, but HEAVY doesn't even begin to describe the machine. I have to call in a man to get it moved from Point A to Point B. It is in a rounded wood carrying case, but the handle is still intact. I get worried though, every time someone picks it up, because of the weight of machine inside of it. It has a veneer finish on the outside of the cabinet, so that makes me think it is real wood, rather than make-believe type wood of so many of today's wood products.

The 117 prefix might be for the machines that were made by White, and it looks similar to a White 77 I used to have.

The handwheel turns in the opposite direction than most of the later Singer machines.

It would not be considered a class 15 clone. The tension is different - does the hand wheel turn away from you?

Yes, I forgot to mention that the handwheel spins backward. My stepmother owned a Domestic during the early '50s that spun backwards; and that machine ran heavy and loud. It was nothing like this machine.

I also forgot to mention that the paint on this machine is a black crinkle; and seems like brand new, except where that Commander brand-name label is. It is speckled and beat-up; almost like someone sat and pock marked it during a boring moment in mom's or grannie's sewing room.

It is definitely made by White. The early Whites are some very excellent machines. White made them as Whites, Domestics, Kenmores and perhaps others. And yes it is a 1938 vintage machine.

Those machines like Tri-Flow and will run very quiet and smooth when properly cleaned and oiled. To keep the rubber on the drive wheel from flat spotting, I take a spring loaded clothes pin and take it apart, then put half the pin between the motor and the mounting bracket. This holds the drive wheel away from the hand wheel.

I like these machines and feel they are equal to their Singer contemporaries.

Interesting about the name plaquerd. My White DRESSMASTER is in really nice condition, except that placquerd is scarred up too.



Joe

I sure do love the simplistic look of that machine not to mention the black crinkle finish. It's a beauty and hope it sews that way too. What a great gift for you!

Thanks, Joe, for the effort of looking up my number information. I had a hard time finding anything at all on it, and finally my GS just lucked into a site that gave us some information according to the 117 number that we have. There is also a five digit number, but we couldn't find anything on it. I forgot if I gave my number info or not, but it is 117.300 and a couple of spaces over from that is 26770, and beside that typed in sideways is 115.

Except for being rounded off, it really does look like the older Kenmores and Domestics. I have only oiled it where I could find working areas underneath--it is so heavy that I have to get DH to lift it for me, then I braced it on something to keep it from breaking the hinges, and oiled it good. We were in a hotel room at the time, and had gone to Walmart to get cleaning stuff; but I did get a bottle of clear oil and a hair paintbrush for cleaning it, plus a couple of pieces of fabric and a pair of scissors. I was in heaven--the kids went to the pool, DH watched the ball game, and I made a couple of disappearing four squares. Doesn't sound like much, but considering I didn't have a rotary cutter, nor a cutting board, that's a lot.....

JoAnn,

There is a bunch of holes across the top. They are oil holes. Also on the hand wheel. Oil those too. Regular sewing machine oil is fine. I'm just fond of Tri-Flow.

White rotary machines share several design features that make them stand out. The hand wheel and stop motion knob are two. The tensions, the bobbins, are others. Some were rounded in shape, some squared, some faceted. But they were made by White.
The crinkle ones came in OD Green, dark brown, tan and dark brown bi-color, blue, black, a reddish brown, and maybe others. And don't forget the older White Family Rotary machines and their badged versions too.
There are many variations. One could make a really interesting collection just with the White made rotary machines.

Joe

The case is surely real wood and those handles can tear out. Advise other to pick it up from the bottom and also to lift with their knees. ;) I have a few machines with that crinkle finish and it sure held up well.

I have a machine that someone put crinkle finish on and it is a disaster.
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