I just bought a 1911 Singer 66K treadle with the lotus decals, made in Scotland. I found it on craigslist, and paid $50. It will need lots of work on the cabinet and head, but the treadle assembly is in great shape. I have taken the cabinet apart and started to repair the veneer. I think the head will need to be taken apart too - that will be a real learning opportunity!

If anyone has experience in refurbishing these old machines, I would love to hear about it. I'll post updates as the restoration progresses.

Great find.

Isn't that just a magnificent looking machine??? Wow. You only paid $50?!

That's awesome!!! I would love a treadle machine! I have an electric Singer that was built in 1911, built in Edison, NJ.

Good luck with it!!

That is a beautiful Singer! I love the iron legs. It will be great when you get it restored. If it was me I wouldn't varnish it tho. The original worn look gives it more value. The less you change it the more it is worth. My mom used to be an antique dealer. It can be tricky to restore without damaging the value of the piece.

Are the knobs porcelain? If they are they probably aren't original to the piece. In 1911 they probably used wooden knobs but I could be wrong. I don't remember when porcelain became popular.

I am envious!!

I collect the drawers and use them in various ways. I am looking for the frames that the drawers go into. I haven't searched for them online tho. I do look for them in antique shops. That is where I got these.
Here are my sewing machine drawers(not underwear!!)
I will have to check out Craig's list. I have never seen it.

what a beauty!! I found a nice 1907 Singer treadle machine last year (minus the cabinet) for $80 in the corner of an old antique shop. Mine too needs alot of TLC, but until I can afford to get it refurbished, I have it on display in my sewing room where I can admire it every time I'm sewing there!!!

Your machine is just gorgeous!

Just call me Copy Cat!!!!!

My mom has been an antique collector ever since I can remember. I have been in and out of antique shops for years! When I was a preteen I used to collect the postcards. I love to read the messages. I got into it for the stamps originally. I don't remember when I quit collecting them and moved on to other stuff. I have some post cards and letters my grandparents wrote when they were young adults. Those are fascinating to me.
I love to go antiquing and add to my collections. They are legion! I wish I had more room to collect!!

What a great, beautiful, awesome find :D :D :D

Beautiful! Someday I want to get one of those, and if I ever see one, I'm going to grab it ;)
Great find!

Beautiful machine. What a great find.

$50!?!?!?! Holy cow! :shock: Why can't I ever find great stuff like that?

What a great machine! I keep an eye out at my local flea market, and one day they will have one for me, I'm sure of it.

Oh, and Rhonda, I love your oil lamp collection!

Jan

What a gorgeous treasure you found!! And such a great price too!!! It was your lucky day.

Jan those are my husband's. He has about 40 or so of all differant sizes.

I just got my franklin all up and running with a new belt and 20 new bobbins just wait till you get sewing with that beauty its alot of fun and they make an awsome strait stitch.

It looks like mine except for the decorations......same cabinet. I have to put the new belt on mine and a few drops of oil and it is set to go.

Its so much fun to find these old beauties :D :D

Will you be doing the refurbishing yourself? I have a Singer treadle with a box cover. It's beautiful, but it has been used and abused. Much of the decals have worn away. It seems that it would be in working order if I had a belt and shuttle/bobbin. I don't necessarly want it restored, but I would like to be able to have it usable. The cabinet needs attention because some of the veneer is damaged. Where do I start? The date on the ironwork on the stand is 1889.

Hi Gail,
Yes I will be doing the work myself, hopefully with some help from my DH on the mechanical parts. I have found a lot of internet sites with information on how to do most of the repair. About a year ago I refurbished another Singer - will start another thread with pictures of that one - so I feel comfortable with the cabinet repair, which I'll explain in that thread.

For the treadle repair (if any), this site looks helpful:
http://www.treadleon.net/sewingmachi...gtreadles.html

And this site has a lot of information about repairing the sewing machine head.
http://www.tfsr.org/publications/tec...achine_manual/

WOW, great find and only $50.00! I have one similar to yours, it belonged to my Dear Mom. The machine doesn't have all that intricate paint work on it but the cabinet is exactly the same, except the knobs on mine are made of the same wood as the cabinet. The great thing is that my Mom kept it in good working order so it still sews great. I just love it especially when the electricity goes out during the hot summer months and I can still sew, which doesn't happen too often.
Have fun with your new machine :!:

Lucky you! :)

That is a beautiful machine. Have you visited http://treadleon.net ? There are many good tips and instructions for working over treadles. I love to hear the sound of the treadle. Reminds me of Grandma early in the morning.

I just refurbished one. You can get new bets off Ebay for under 10.00 I'll try and find the web site that gives a tutorial for restoration. They restore the machines and send them to Africa.

I think you have the rare "Brown" version of the lotus decals judging from what I can see in the one photo. If it is then you need to be super careful when you clean the exterior of the machine.

I will PM you some information about restoration of the machine, and before you get to far along on the cabinet I can give you a formula for a cleaner for the wood that actually repairs the varnish and makes the scratches/blemishes disappear.

Go here: http://needlebar.org/main/index.html and join the site.

They are the leading website for historical information of the vintage machines. The leading expert on the Singer Sewing Machine Co. is a member (Chrys Gunther), she can help you find out more about the rarity of the decal that you have.

Billy

When I try to register it tells me that registration is not possible at this time. Any tips to register?

Billy, I would love to receive any information you can send me. I will pm you my email address so you can send as an attachment. I did join needlebar, and there is some useful information on that site, but I find it a little hard to navigate. This machine still sits in my garage, untouched in many months, and what's worse I now have a second treadle sitting beside it. Now that spring is coming, it's warming up and I hope to get to work on both of them.

Carolj, thank you for the offer. I found this site also and think it will come in very handy.

Dunster, I'm glad you found it. We use Liquid Wrench on the gears and let it soak overnight, to get rid of the hardened oil. Also take a look at the needle shaft, these tend to stay stuck from all the old oilings. Singer provides free manuels for their treadels on their wed site.

What a neat project, I can't wait to see the completed works. I am going to clean mine up probably tomorrow. I need to make room for it in the hall and move the other treadle into the spare bedroom.

ahhh, space! That is one of the reasons I haven't finished my two treadles. The space where they would have gone is now taken up by the longarm. I'm sure I can find another place for them, but the house seems much smaller with that longarm in it.

Beautiful machine. I'd like to have one just to look at it, but using it would be even better.

Rhonda- love your 'drawers'. Never thought of putting one up on the wall like that.

Billy - would you mind pm me with the wood formula as well. I saw a sewing machine cover, vintage, wooden at a shop for a steal but it had scratches. Would go back and get it if I knew how to 'help' it out.
Thanks,
lots2do

What a steal! and for $50???? It's hard to believe but yes they are out there for sale at basement prices.

Lots to Do - have you tried QVC's furniture restorer? It's pretty nice. And I love your name...I'm always thinking about it too because of what I have left to do!

Rhonda, I love the color of your walls! What color exactly is that? Is it true to camera? I have my grandparents' oil lamps and my own family's antique lamps sitting out and filled for the moment we'll need them. I love the ambiance they emit.

:-) :D :D

Check out http://www.treadleon.net/sewingmachineshop
Lots of information on treadles.

WOW, what a treasure you found. Unbelievable what good shape the machine is considering it is 99 years old. And only $50.00. I'll bet you didn't waste a second to snatch that one up. I hope you will post a picture when you finish the refurbishing.

what a beauty

wow