Nelco Amica
 

Picked this up today. Perfect condition, the foot control has no scratches on it. Bad news is no bobbin case. A Nelco Amica Maxi 3000. Had to plug it in and test it. The motor is so quiet. The quietest I have heard. I sure hope I can find a bobbin case for it. It's a beautiful machine. My sister found a cabinet today that she had to get. It had a Kenmore 158.1400 in it. Very dirty but runs very well, gotta get a power cord and control for it. Luckily I had one that would work to test it out. She gave it to me since all she wanted was the cabinet. It is going to a new sewer I met this morning. We met him to show him how to thread his machine and a few basics. His machine turned out to be a Sew-Simple. A tiny plastic machine. So he really needs a heavy machine if he's going to sew costumes, some with fake fur. Hopefully I can find a power cord/controller at a decent price for it.

I don't know much (next to nothing) about Nelco. Any chance it uses a class 15 bobbin case? It is a nice looking machine, as well as the Kenmore. It's also nice to see you're trying to get a beginning sewer off to a good start.
Rodney

In the photo of the bobbins, the one on the left is one I found in the Amica case. It is a slightly larger diameter than the class 15 that is on the right. It is solid on one side and "holed" on the other. The bobbin case is shown in the instruction manual and seems to be different than most. it has an additional hook to thread. I tried the bobbin case from my grandmothers case (class 15) and it did not work. I have emails out to quite a few parts sites. fingers crossed that I can find one. This thing is so quiet. and has a bunch of stitches. The needle bar does not change position but has a sliding plate on the bed. It's very interesting.

I may have one! One of the places I emailed says they have one. I just ordered it
I so hope its the right one.

the larger skinnier bobbin reminds me of the one from my 306 ( I was told it was a common commercial size ) also you might look to what the Necchi's used at the time I seem to remember a connection between Nelco and Necchi, and a dispute about the 206/306 class singer..... just an Idea .....

When I ordered the bobbin case last night, it said Nelco, Necchi, all Riccar Rotary and something else. It dawned on me today that I have a Riccar. Its put up because the timing is off and I can't do that yet. So future project. So when I got home from work I dug out the Riccar and tried its bobbin case in the Nelco. It works. That Nelco has a beautiful stitch and its so quiet. Its going to stay out where it can be used. So I am excitied to get it working. Though I still can't wait for the bobbin case cause I ordered a bunch of bobbins also. Right now I have one.

The bed of this one moves. It's very interesting to watch it as it does some of the larger designs. Never seen a moving bed before. Are there other machines that have a moving bed?

Ann,

We really like that Nelco Amica. Really curious about the moving bed, too.

John & Janey

the relation between nelco & necchi also includes elnas ..a bit of good old american fraud ....

from a necchi site ....
http://web.archive.org/web/200401122...x/History.html

"A man named Leon Jolson had represented Necchi in Poland before World War II. When the war came, he fled to the United States and opened a sewing machine repair shop in New York City. Mr Jolson thought that American women wanted something new in sewing machines and felt that Necchi was the answer. In February 1948, when Necchi debuted the first household zig zag machine (the BU), Leon Jolson and the Jolson Co. became the importers for Necchi, and began selling Necchis from a small rented office on Lower Broadway. It caused a lot of comment, but even though Necchi was a big seller in Europe and Africa, early sales in the U. S. were slow getting started. A few years later, the Jolson Company became distributors for both Necchi & Elna. (Stores called Necchi/Elna Sewing Circles). A few years after that, he started importing Japanese machines and stencil branding them as Nelcos, which he said stood for Necchi-Elna Co., which was what he considered his to be. Necchi & Elna did not see it that way, and both took their machines from him, leaving him with only the Nelco. Then Elna went with White and Necchi went with numerous regional distributors. Eventually, Necchi eased away from the regionals and went with Allyn International."

The new bobbin case and bobbins came in and I have been able to give it a workout. Took it to Guild yesterday. I'm impressed. It is very quiet, great stitches. The moving bed is amusing, but works. I believe this one is going to stay out for awhile, it may become my guild machine, even though it is a bit heavy.

Bobbins
 

The one on the left looks like a Featherweight bobbin. The ones on the right look like class 15, as they are not slightly rounded on the top. Try sending a picture of the bobbin case to Sew-classic.com and perhaps Jenny can help you. She has sources.
Donna