Veinurse,

If you'll notice in the pic of my Minnesota B, the front slide plate is an accessory plate with the accessory removed. What happens a lot of time is the slide plates wear as they're used and eventually will get loose enough to fall out.
So then when the machine is lowered into the cabinet out it comes. We see a lot of machines with missing slide plates here.
If you find your front plate, clean it and the grove in the machine, then test it. If too loose, put the back end of the plate in a vise and carefully put a slight bow in it. Not a kink, but a gentle bow. This will keep it in place.
Do not attempt to peen down the edges of the slot on the machine body. That is brittle cast iron and the edges will break off.

Jon gave me the heads up for an eBay auction that had Minnesota B parts which included a set of slide plates. I won it and now Minerva has a real front slide plate. But I had to put a bow in it to keep it in place. Not a big thing, just a fix for old worn parts.


Joe

Thanks Joe! I love all this info. I now realize that naming her Zita this is probably my last machine. My first Featherweight is named after my oldest granddaughter, Ava. I now have them from A to Z!

Last machine ....... sure it is! We all have said that more than once. Then we find another one we just can't leave behind and start the last machine thing all over again. Sigh .... we're all hopeless sewing machine rescuers. :D

Joe

Your machine is beautiful. I would think that your aunt needs to downsize soon so you can take Zita home.

What a nice gift. Maybe if you find her a smaller table she will trade with you now!

We are on vacation in AZ. We were shopping Antique Malls. I found a Minnesota A head in almost as good shape as Zita's. $40!!! She is in the back of the van. I'm not really buying another sewing machine' am I?

l. LOL. Yes you are infected.... Sorry no cure....

Veinurse, you want to be sure you replace the "wick" in the port which is at the left edge of the slide plate. It looks so much like just another anomaly, but it's an oil port which contains the "wick" (I made my new "wick" from a couple of thicknesses of cotton batting) You can also use 2-3 layers of felt. That oil port is very important because it lubricates the shuttle carrier and shuttle! If I had a program that would let me do so, I would draw a circle around it!

Jeanette

Veinurse - what route are you heading home? I probably have a few I can sneak in your van!

Veinurse, you got a good buy on that head. I paid $65 for the one to refurb for my cousin. But, I didn't have to pay shipping -- it was about 60-70 miles away and I didn't want to risk shipping! Plus, the slide plate was there! There wasn't a shuttle, but I've bought a couple of them and some bobbins, too! If you've got all those things, you did very well indeed! Zita is a beautiful machine, in very good condition!

Jeanette

Macybaby! I just saw your post now! Where in SD are you? We took #81 to Watertown and I29 home. Maybe I am lucky we didn't stop. We did stop in Kansas and bought a 19-91 in a nice Bentwood box. It dates to June 10, 1936. I have nice 1954 15-91 in a cabinet with many attachments. My husband is the one who said we should buy this one.

I think my news is very interesting. Zita's serial number is D3657602, I think. (I took a picture of it and one number is hard to read. Yes, I found the plate in the drawer and it was not loose at all.) The head I bought in AZ it's serial number is, D363360. They are from the same production! The date is June 17, 1908. There were 50,000 made but I still feel that is some coincidence.