You did a fabulous job, Joe! Congrats!

Great job..and it does sew great..was it hard getting used to pedaling?
Diana
Tranquil Quilting

When I first started peddling or treadling I had fits. I couldn't get the rhythm right. The machine ( Singer 66-4) kept stalling then it would spin backwards and break the thread. I think I sat at Treadle #1 for a month off and on trying to get the hang of working with the machine, just getting more and more frustrated.
Then one evening I was trying to sew something and after the third stall and broken thread I put my foot on the treadle and started spinning the hand wheel by hand as I let my foot set there. Then when I started to treadle it wanted to stall and I kept spinning the hand wheel to prevent it.
All of a sudden, and I mean that literally, my entire system got the idea. My brain and foot finally connected and I was treadling. It took a couple more days of doing it to get it down pat.
Now I just sit down and do it. The hardest thing to remember is; am I using a machine that rotates towards or away from me?

Joe

You did a wonderful job refinishing it. I have my mother's treadle Singer that my dad traded a shotgun for in 1917. I see a refinishing project in my future. I need the guide that keeps the belt in the track; it got broken or lost in its many moves by my daughter. When I am ready, I'll look for the part and see if I can fix her up.

Most of the old sewing books tell you to sit with both feet together. When I did that it seemed like it "loped." My grandmother taught me to sit with one foot toward the front of the pedal(away from you) and one foot on the edge(closest to you) That way you kind of alternated your feet and had a smooth rhythm. Still have slim ankles from all that treadeling. LOL
If the belt is tight enough you should have no problem with it coming off.
And, towards you to go forward and back for reverse. LOL

Glenda,

I've tried the foot placement you mentioned. Left foot still got ahead of the right so my two foot treadling is at best awkward, at worst unworkable.
The belt on this machine came from another treadle that I put the aquarium belt on as an experiment. It fits very nice. No problems there.

And the 9W-7 rotates backwards from other Singers. The hand wheel rotates away from you to sew, towards you to break the thread and snarl up the bobbin. LOL :D

Joe

Beautiful job. I don't see anything wrong with the top in your pictures. I wish I had your patience.

It's fabulous! I've always wanted a treadle in a cabinet, but have no idea where I would put it.

Karen,

In reality they are not that big. For instance my #2 Singer 66 treadle cabinet is only 18" deep X 36" wide. There are smaller ones too. Of course when you open it you need to have room for the hinged lid. One treadle doesn't take up much room.
The problem comes in when you have 2 treadles and 4 cabinet machines in a small room. Things get a bit cramped then.

Joe

LOL x 2

A couple days ago my wife wanted to know where the pics were of the cabinet and machine. I showed her and she put a Photobucket link for it. Turns out the link she put in gave access to my entire sewing machine folder.
Before she even sent the email I mentioned that M would probably want the machine back after seeing the pics.

Wife got an email last night and woke me up as I was just getting off to sleep .... SIL was asking if we'd be willing to trade it or sell it back to her. HA!!! No chance of that. I got way too much work in it.
Besides the machine she wanted to trade us for the treadle was a plastic computerized Singer. Not interested.

So then in the same email she asks about a 66-1 back clamp machine that's in MI. Nice machine, but it and the cabinet has issues.
And I'll be d@^*#d if I'm gonna drive all the way to NE IN to pick up the machine, bring it home and refurb it, then take it back.
Nope.

I hope she isn't a covert member here .....

Joe