So then he sends me this picture!
 

Just when you think you're through buying another machine. He sent me a picture of this Sphinx. It looks immaculate from the picture. He said she wanted $40.00 but I'm really not in the market for a hand crank. I think this may be a replica. What do you think[ATTACH=CONFIG]570449[/ATTACH]

It looks like a repro to me. Is that a feed dog drop button on the bed? That's a dead give away, as well as any plastic on the machine. Is the upper tension plastic? Does the serial number start with NL? IIRC NL is the repro prefix.

Cari

from our friends across the pond ( at least from Kansas, USA) Singer Sewing......uk
[h=2]"Modern 'Nostalgia' Model 15’s[/h]From the mid 1970’s what are often referred to as ‘Nostalgia’ model 15’s were made in Taiwan and then later in China. These were made to the same design as earlier machines with the traditional black cast iron bodies and with the RAF or Sphinx decals etc. They were even supplied in the old style bentwood cases or treadle tables.
The machines built at the Singer factory in Taiwan were identified by the model No. 15NL, whilst the Chinese ones are model 15CH. Although these machine look like the originals, there are subtle differences and they have a poor reputation of being lower quality machines that tend to be very noisy in use."

Too bad, I wish my handcranks looked that good.

Thanks Leon, I remembered the NL but forgot about the CH. Haha, the words "subtle differences" made me chuckle. Subtle as a freight train once you know what to look for. The repros came as a treadle in a press board cabinet and either hand crank or electric in a repro bent wood case.

Cari

There isn't the usual serial number on the flat base. He didn't see a serial number anywhere. He'll have to go look when it's not so busy.

Sure looks like a replica to me. The decals are funny bright colors....

He said it has made in USA underneath in the cast iron body of the machine. If it's not the repop maybe someone just restored it?

I don't think model 15s with stitch length lever ever came in the more elaborate decals? When was the lever introduced? I don't think it was until the 201-2 and 15-91 were around 1930. Not any of the pre 1960 machines ever had a knob for the feed dogs on the bed either (it was a setting with a screw underneat). I can hardly see the knob, if at all, but if it's there, it's almost sure it's a later reproduction or a Japanese clone redone with Singer decals.

No Kathy, it's not an original Singer. It's a reproduction machine. I'd like to see a pic of the "made in USA". It might have had the final assembly(to be a treadle, hand crank or electric) done in the US but it's still a repro, not an original.

Cari

I think that it is probably under the front on the lip. If you raise the front I think it should be there. (I gathered that from http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...r-t247808.html ) I was thinking singerco had a page about where serial number was, but I couldn't find it. This page
http://www.singerco.com/support/machine-model-numbers shows where the model numbers are, but by the dates there it doesn't seem to apply to these machines.

I think the easiest way to tell that this is a reproduction is the the drop feed, as Cari pointed out. There are several differences between the original model 15s and the reproduction models. The site Leon referred to also shows original decals at http://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal12/ and comparing them you can see that the original had finer details and different colors. I also noticed the lever on bobbin winder is different. Most of the originals have a fancy nose plate, where the reproductions have the striated nose plate. As Mickey2 noted the round stitch length isn't seen until after they stopped using the original Sphinx decals.

A couple of other threads that talk about this machine -
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...a-t192988.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...l-t146352.html


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.