My sister's save - White VS 1
 

Score one for your sister.

Kudos to the dump guy that didn't burry it.


I'm jealous, everybody has a White treadle but me.

Joe

AWESOME Save!!!!

That's actually a beautiful White VS-2

The VS-1 Looks like this.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]483750[/ATTACH]

Great save! Amazing what people will throw out. The dumps (transfer stations) here don't let you take anything out. The only exception I know of is paint shack at the one here in Centralia where you can pick up free paint.
Rodney

Steve - does the VS 1 take a regular shuttle, or a boat shuttle?

Boat shuttle with a serious top arch.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]483763[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]483764[/ATTACH]

I don't have one either Joe! I'm happy to have the 2 I have though don't remember what they are but one's a new home and the other a singer and the lady I bought it from described her as 'common as dirt' but I'm happy and hope to actually figure out how to use them. She showed me but it's been a while and the new home was difficult even with her help.

Congrats to you sister, an awesome find.

"Common as dirt". Well, maybe in days gone by. But from what I'm seeing they really aren't that common any more.

Not to mention those of us on QB that are .... um ..... hoarding .... er I mean protecting them :D are diminishing the supply. :)

Joe

Joe- if you really want one, I'll bring you one next time I'm making a run for GA/FL. You may have to meet me in St. Louis since my DH doesn't want to drive into IL.

That's a gorgeous find! What a score!! A tad bit better than dumpster diving. :-) Caroline, have you seen the VS White I am holding for my niece? Sweet little machine. Even where the thread guide is a paperclip and nut/bolt set-up.
It's been cared for in loving homes for the last 40 years.

I hope I don't start hoarding...my mom passed in 2011 and had been picking up 'bargains' at estate sales - so far I've found a centennial featherweight and just uncovered a centennial 66 that has the rough finish and a black tension know(nothing else black like that though) so it's like Christmas right now LOL! and I already had a couple of 301's and I've seen at least 3 from my mom's stash. a friend was helping me pack them up to bring back home and said she wantd to buy one since I didn't need them all - but I'm feeling kinda defensive and don't want to part with any :-( I feel I have to protect them! plus they're all different - one is the first black one I bought and the first old machine I bought but its finish is a little dulled but it's my first..the 2nd is the ugly tan color or whatever it's called and my dad helped fix it so it's 'special'...my mom has a black one with a tan short bed in a cabinet so I think it was probably originally a long bed which I want but dont have the long bed for it...saw another black one in a case (case stinks) and there's a 2 tone one I'm pretty sure in another case somewhere...keep hoping one will be so icky with the paint but sew good so I can have it painted a cool metallic color (can't bear to paint anything that's still really good...sigh...)
I know my friend means well but I dont' think 3 featherweigths and all those 301s are too excessive...I'd have more treadles if I had the room!

Wow! What a lovely find! She was very lucky. Our dump doesn't allow things to be removed either. A group recently created a salvage shop where goodies from the dump are being sold and they are open once a month. So far, I have found the sewing machines to be priced too high. I think once they start piling up and see that no one really wants them the prices should drop.

I think your friend overstepped there. It's not really her business whether you "need them all" or not. If she was interested she should have said, IF you decide you don't want to keep them all, please let me know, I would be happy to have one. Given the benefit of the doubt, perhaps that is what she meant and just didn't put the words together well.

Of course you do not have to let any of them go. They are all special to you.

Christy I think that's what she meant and she did say at first 'if you decide to sell any' but it was with the assumption that there was no way I was keeping them all. I think all the stress and stuff is getting to me - my townhome has been in sad cluttered shape and she and a few other friends have been helping me so in her mind I need to get rid of stuff and in my mind I'm getting rid of what Iw ant to get rid of and the sewing machines aren't in my way LOL! I kinda started feeling pushed though - she's reminded me at least a dozen times not to sell anything until friends go through it first and I'm like 'yeh yeh yeh' and another wants a fw bobbin case if I have an extra then said this other friend told her she thought she saw one..um I have 3 fws and several 301s I might need an extra case if there's one - you never know! she did buy a lot of attachments at various estate sales/garage sales but I'm really in no hurry to get rid of them though I WOULD like to know what they go to, etc.

it's kinda sounding like I AM a hoarder hee hee...and sewing machines can fit nicely in at least 3 closets I have and don't use for clothing...

Cathy,

I can't blame your DH for not wanting to drive into IL. I live here and don't want to drive into the place.

Would that be a rotary or shuttle machine? I'm kinda looking for a rotary because I already have lots of bobbins and other White rotary type things.

Email me more details when you can.

Joe

Thank goodness the dump guy knew that wasn't garbage! your sister must be thrilled!

I completely understand. When I was just getting into this hobby I stumbled into a bulk buy. I am still finding things I did not know I had and am still figuring out what things are and what they go to. I wouldn't want to sell something off only to find out it is difficult to find and I have the machine it goes to! Take your time sorting through things and making up your own mind. Let your friends know you will keep them in mind when the time comes and the time hasn't come yet. There's no hurry.

quilt938,
You have a bad case of "SMAD" (sewing machine acquisition disorder). Lol :D :D :D
There is no cure, because none of us want to be "healed".

Sharon in Texas
runs a home for geriatric sewing machines

Update - First stitches White VS 2
 

My sister Emailed me pictures of her White VS 2 first stitches. Her comment was that this sewing machine
makes nicer stitches than her Husqvarna/Viking, LOL. She used one of the bobbins with some old thread on it, stated that she now needs to learn how to wind a spindle bobbin. I sent her the link to Muv's blog as it is rather hard to teach someone over the phone. I also suggested that she join us here on the QB. If all else fails, I may have to make the hour and half drive to visit and give her some vintage machine lessons. So far she is doing good. :thumbup:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]484355[/ATTACH]
Top

[ATTACH=CONFIG]484356[/ATTACH]
Back

Now that is a beautiful sight on a Monday morning, thanks for the positive start...

Indeed, that is a beautiful start. I'm thinking you may need to take a drive anyway. You are such a patient teacher, at least for me. For the two of you to have a positive experience, could be... positive! I'm waiting to get my White into the house now that it's done. Finally 100% stitch ready, and hopefully better than the Husq/Vikings I have too.

the dump!?!?? I didn't think there were any dumps left. Your sister made a great catch! Kudos!

Wow! What a find!
The dump up at the family place in upper Wisconsin doesn't allow anything to come out of it either...although my adult son pleaded ignorance. He is working on the house up there and when he went to the dump he found lots of wood for the remodel that had just been dropped off...he was loading it when the guy told him you can't do that.

Our local Land Fill (they don't call it a dump anymore) won't let you take anything, and they have an employee sitting there in a large loader to flatten and spread out stuff as it's dumped off. So that helps to curb any temptations to see what is under any "interesting" piles. Most items like older sewing machines and treadles end up going to the metal scarp yard. I talked with one of the local "repurpose" shops, and she said she is always looking for old treadles to use the cabinets, but never considered there would be anyone interested in the machines to actually use. She said she gave them to some guy that made tractors out of them . . .

This is a reply to Quilt938! I don't mean to sound so aggressive, but it forever hacks me off when people try to tell me what I want or don't want, or what I "need" or "don't need". I had inlaws who were forever more trying to tell me what to do, how to raise and/or discipline my son, etc. I'm past the point where I want anyone to try to tell me what to do. I'm 69, and I think I've earned the right to make my own decisions! Sorry!

Jeanette

I have a Low Serial Number White VS-2 ... just happened upon 08-02-14
 

I just bought a machine just like this except the Serial Number is printed into the metal plate behind the presser foot, it has a very low Serial Number (972930), and it has a full-circular cast "frame" (vs. semi-circular, bottom-only) that holds the bobbin re-threader.

The decals are not in great shape, the treadle and head are otherwise good shape, the wood is reasonably good condition, but is probably the weakest piece of the puzzle. Speaking of puzzles, it came with one shuttle and one bobbin and rectangular, unlabled tin box with some accessories, but I'm not sure if any of that stuff belongs with the machine. I thinnk the bobbin is, as it fits the spindles on the bobbin threader, but the shuttle looks like a Singer VS-2 shuttle, and doesn't seem to fit well at all.

But then, I don't know much of anything about any of this, either...I get all kinds of conflicting info online, and I have no experience with treadles until 2 days ago (2-days of internet research).

Are any VS-1 and VS-2 Shuttles interchangeable between any White and Singer VS-1 and VS-2 models? (If you are kind enough to answer, please be specific, explicit and clear about this).

Also, same question for White and Singer VS-1 and VS-2 bobbins (and accessories)...


If someone really wants an early White VS-2, I may be willing to sell or trade this one... :)

-Dave

White VS1 bobbins are NOT interchangeable with Singer VS machines for sure. I do not have a White VS2 to compare with but I believe they are similar to the White VS1 and so would not be compatible either.

the White VS2 are also not interchangeable with Singer. In fact, Singer was a rather unique looking shuttle, and shorter than most. Singer shuttles have an indentation in the middle (a waistline) so they are very easy to identify.

The White shuttle is unique in that it has a pin in the center and the bobbins are hollow. I've not gotten around to start experimenting to see if other shuttles would actually work - though the bobbin winder is designed to work with a hollow bobbin. In the early 1900's Boye examined the different shuttles companies used, and came up with 12 to cover the most common machines. I sort of take this as a good indication that a shuttle for one machine won't work in another or Boye would not have made different ones.

The Free VS machine does take the same shuttle as the Singer - however Singer made a change to it's shuttle carrier that resulted in a slight change to the shuttle - it's either downward compatible or upward (but not both) I don't' remember which way though.

this link is to a thread that shows all 12 of the Boye Shuttles - so you can see what the Singer and White both look like.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...e-t239625.html

and as to accessories - you can use any White top clamp if the machine as the top clamp part mounted to the presser bar. (if it doesn't, you can get one and put it on) They are both easy to find online (vintage, not new). but they do have to be for WHITE and there are a lot of variations out there that look similar but won't fit. If you have a set of side clamp feet - then they go with the Singer shuttle and don't fit this machine.

Thanks
 

Thanks, SteveH. Of all the sites I've found any info on the White VS's, you seem to know the most about them. Mine seems to be a little bit of a hybrid...though original. It has the circular bobbin winder frame, and it drives via a rubber ring directly off the Hand Wheel (vs the drive belt). It has no inspection plate on the front left side, and the Serial No is not pounded into the cast housing (under the bobbin winder like others), but just stamped into the back shuttle race cover plate (behind where the presser foot lands). It has the stitch length adjuster as a brass wheel in the base down below and near the bobbin winder assembly, and the little metal plate around it is not marked (like others), but instead the brass wheel itself has numbers from 0 to 9 stamped in it.

I saw two posts on this site which you commented on (including this one) where someone appeared to have a VS-2, and mine looked similar (but with some of these differences) to both of them. Interestingly, the Serial number on mine was about mid-way between both of them, and the changes were not all kept in later model VS-2's. So it appears they were either using up parts they had left over, or they were experimenting on production models during this timeframe.

What do you think about all this?

Thanks again, Dave.

BTW - If you know anywhere I could get a shuttle, I'd really appreciate it, as without one, this unique machine is a big paperweight. :)

Yes ... the shuttle I was given with it has a "waistline." It seems too long to fit in the White's shuttle raceway.
Thanks for the info!
-Dave

My bobbin winder on this White is not like most I've seen. It has a full circular frame around it (vs a half-moon/bowl shaped frame), and it seems to hold the bobbins I was given (which look like Singer bobbins...ie: bobbins have a pin on each end).
The bobbin winder also runs directly off the Hand Wheel via a small wheel with a rubber doughnut (like a tire in a wheel). The "wheel"part of it looks like the normal wheel of other Whites that run the bobbin winder off the belt. But it has this solid rubber "tire" in it (roughly same diameter as the belt), and the tire aligns with outer edge of the hand wheel, not the belt.

CORRECTION (to the bobbin part of my post above only) -
I take it back. The one bobbin I was given has holes in the center at each end (plus a single small hole in the "mushroom" part of the bobbin at one end). The Bobbin winder has little pins which stick into the center holes at either end of the bobbin, and a little pin (to be able to "spin the bobbin") that fits into the small hole in the "mushroom."

Kudos on the great save!!

early Whites have the full circle winder, later ones do not. And they are easy enough to swap around, so sometimes owners did that. When you have a machine that is over 100 years old, some parts could have been interchanged at some point in time - maybe 75 years ago so it's not like they would ever look like a recent change. However the full circle should be original to your machine.

There isn't a lot of info online about those much less common early White VS machines. Most found are the "next generation" that is quite different looking - however they take the same attachments, shuttle and bobbins.

oh - as to shuttles, I may be able to help you if the eBay prices are too steep for you. I'll have to look as I've parted with a few already, but think I may have gotten another one in set of non- White attachments. I end up with all kinds of interesting items that come with boxes of Attachments that I'm after (including automotive points). I'm not in the business of selling, but I don't need to hang on to all the extras either.