Sticking my toe in the waters of Vintage Sewing Machines
 

I thought I would start a thread instead of bouncing around as I've been doing. I'll still bounce around, but if anyone wants to find me, I'll be here.

I bought....I should say "saved" or "adopted"...my first machine last weekend. A Minnehaha treadle machine, for $5. I'll post a picture asap, but I have posted it in other places here, so I don't want to be redundant. I want to clean it up before I try to sew with it, but I know that it works, all the parts move, the treadle works, etc. The gears for the bobbin winder are a little gummy, so that might be a challenge, but I think with a little cleaning it might be OK.

I've watched the videos about cleaning, winding bobbins, etc and have enjoyed them and I have been looking at most of the sights suggested here for more information. I don't know what company made my machine...I've had a few suggestions of either a branded Standard or a National, but I've seen a Davis that also looks very similar, so that is a mystery I would like to solve. It looks a lot like the Minnesota that was made by Goodrich and sold by Sears. There are patent dates listed, and the last one is 1904, so...does that mean it was made in or around 1904?

I have other "new" machines. I have a Kenmore that I use most often. I have a Viking/Husqvarna #1+ that I've tried to like, but I keep going back to the simplicity of my Kenmore. I bought a Singer at the same estate sale, a 1969 Stylist in a cabinet that I thought would be a fun machine for my daughter to use. I also have a Nolting Long-arm machine for quilting.

Anyway, I thought I could post my progress here so I don't hi-jak anyone else's threads.

Thanks for all the welcoming words and advice. I really appreciate it!

Barb

[ATTACH=CONFIG]342115[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342114[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342116[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342117[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]342118[/ATTACH]I have the missing drawer front, but the rest of the drawer is gone. He was trying to sell them separately

Really kool machine!

Hi Barb...thanks for putting up pics of your machine. I don't think it's a Davis badge. Davis's have the tension pieces in different locations, and the needle plate is almost always square instead of round or oval. I would bet a National, but I could be just shooting in the dark!! LOL

Congrats on the 'toe' in the water. When you get swept up in the flood, give us a yell and we will through you a lift ring. LOL

:) You're standing on a mightly slippery band whilst dipping that toe!

(Psssssstttttt! Glenda is lying when she says we'll toss you a lift ring! We will however, cheer you on! :D )

Now you've done it! That treadle will send out a siren song to every machine needing rescue for miles around, and within a year you'll have a herd. The drawer front might fit other treadle drawers. If you post the dimensions of your drawers I'm sure folks can check those from other models, and maybe even find you a match.

ooohhh...I hadn't thought of that. I was planning on making another drawer box for my little drawer front. Its brass handle is bent, but other than that, the drawer front is fine. They were going to sell them separate from the machine and its cabinet. Silly estate sale man. Yesterday, I just cleaned it with a little mild soap and water and dusted the cabinet. It's looking better already. Some of the decals were already faded, so I don't want to do them any more damage. When I clean the insides, I will most likely leave it all intact...my reconstruction skills are minimal, so I don't want to end up with a pile of screws and no idea where they go.

I was just reading the thread about what damage GOOP can do to a machine's decals...glad I read that before I did anything more to this one. It really isn't that dirty, but the decals are faded. Chances are, someone along the line gave it a good cleaning and wiped them away...hmmmm.

I also bought a Singer at the estate sale. A Singer Stylist 457. I've been cleaning it up, it was a bit musty :thumbdown: but it's getting better...but it has a squeak. I haven't tried sewing yet, I wanted to oil anything that was metal against metal before I did too much. The plastic gears all look good, but I just can't determine where the squeak is coming from. It doesn't happen when I disengage the motor to run the bobbin winder. It seems to be getting a bit better as the oil gets into the joints, so I will see what it does when I thread it and try to sew tomorrow.

Great find! Enjoy it.

Awesome machine. Thanks for posting. Great job bargaining.

Welcome to the addicting world of vintage.....I got thrown in the pond just by reading the posts on this page!! I love these old machines....they are so sexy!

Wow!! What a great deal! I just priced a Singer in a cool cabinet that has several red eyes on it.....totally restored and working for $699!!!!! Then there was another Singer in a cabinet for $299!!! And the third one was $499 - not a Singer.... All were just totally maintained!!! Huge difference on price!! Have fun! I don't have room but if I did I would have to have one!

Really nice!!! There is nothing like vintage machines!!!!

I'll second that. Wonder how they got the name "Minnehaha", is a play off of Sears "Minnesota"? Noticed the center brace with Minnehaha was installed backwards at some point in time. Nice machine.

Jon

From Wiki:

Minnehaha is a fictional Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem The Song of Hiawatha. She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha. The name is often incorrectly said to mean "laughing water", though in reality it translates to "waterfall" or "rapid water" in Dakota.[SUP][1][/SUP] She is the subject of the poem, and later song, cantata, and painting, The Death of Minnehaha.


:)

It's also the name of a town here in Minnesota. There's also Minnehaha park, Minnehaha Falls, Minnehaha Ave...etc. (Lots of American Indian influence in the town names around here...I live in Mahtomedi) I thought maybe it was a branded machine with a local connection...maybe Montgomery Wards answer to Sears. I really can't find a definitive answer to who made the machine, where, when. If the last patent date listed is 1904, can we determine she was made on or around that date?

I was cleaning and oiling a Singer 185j, last week, and when I was done oiling everything that looked like it moved I plugged it in and started running it. It sounded like an animal was dying in there, the squeal was so loud. I finally narrowed down where the noise was coming from, added a couple of drops of oil and after that....no more squeal. You just have to put your ear near the machine to see if you can figure out the general area of where the squeak is coming from. Good luck on it.

I have a Stylist from 1975 that I used for many, many years. I had such nostalgic feelings for it that I couldn't bear to get rid of it. I still have it and I also started collection vintage machines almost 3 yrs ago. It won't be long before you find yourself with another beauty...heh heh heh....we are all enablers on here BTW!! :D

Oh, I've been listening. I can't find it, but I'll keep looking...er...listening. One good thing, working on the old machines has made me less nervous about looking inside and figuring out how they work. My bobbin winder on my main machine stopped working today...opened it up, looked inside and figured it out. FUN!

Friday I was so excited to be going to two more estate sales. Neither one of them had ANYTHING I wanted, no sewing machines, no fabric, no antique quilt tops ready for me to take home and quilt...What? A house with no sewing? Is that even possible? I guess so...I wonder how my kids will handle all my STUFF when I'm gone. I've already told them, my sister and my best friend should get first chance at all the sewing stuff. They'll know what they're looking at...not just a bunch of fabric, but POSSIBILITIES! (There was a dumpster at one of the houses. My 13 year old wouldn't let me look inside. She knows me too well.)

If all else fails...check on Ebay for some drawers for your new machine.
I sold some there years ago from a treadle cabinet that was beyond help....the base was fine, with a paint job....the drawers were fine...the top was water damaged and destroyed. So installed a piece of marble to the legs and wa-laaaa.... a new table for me.

Congratulations to your toe! BEWARE,!! We started with one working treadle in a cabinet (pd too much but sews like dream). We now have 7 different vintage machines! HELP we need a 12 step program for addiction to vintage machines. Luckily or unluckily DH is as addicted as I am. Looks like you have a fun project on your hands.

No. Patent dates are only good for saying that the machine was NOT made before that date. Some patented "things" were made years after their original patent dates listed. Seldom is a patent date for an entire machine, most often it's for one feature or another, i.e., the bobbin winder or handwheel, etc..

If you know that your machine was sold by Monkey Wards, try a Google search for old catalogs or newspapers in the "Google Books".....you might be able to get a good line on a date from there. :)

No, Charlee, I don't know where my machine came from. I'm just trying to figure it out. If it was a branded machine, made by "Company A" for "Store B"...and it's named Minnehaha...trying to guess what the local stores would have been that would have sold this machine. It's not top end fancy, in fact, it looks like the one "Montgomery Wards does not recommend" that keeps popping up when I do my search. It's charming, but not fancy by any means. Maybe I should concentrate on local department stores of the 1900-1920 era. I found a site that sells a manual for a Brunswick machine that looks very much like my machine.

I want to be an OSMG! The knowledge they have about these machines is amazing!

After looking at all the wonderful vintage machines here, I'm going to look at old machines at thrift stores and garage sales differently from now on. And next time I have a box of accessories in my hand, I'm not putting them back, even if I can't use them, someone here probably can!

Good girl Quiltingweb. You are getting good training. Sounds like the vintage bug is biting. Can't wait to see pics of the first vintage machine you find. We all know that should happen soon.:thumbup:

Oh Caroline, I have a Kenmore that looks like it's from the 60s or 70s and it works great, a singer from 1969 that needs a little attention and my treadle machine, oh and a Singer ( I think it's a 99) that my neighbor GAVE me. It was her grandmother's. It works perfectly. Yes, this bug is biting all right.

because of the badge on the upper right side, I'd guess it's made by national.

here 's a list of who made what .. I didn't see a Ha ha in this list ? you see many manufactors were only around 2 to 3 yrs

http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/american%20...ufacturers.htm

Yes, the Ha Ha too. So, it's likely a National machine? Interesting. This is why people like Singers...easy to identify, good information, manuals, attachments....Something to search for.

Can we talk embroidery machines? I feel guilty saying it out loud, but I really don't like ....ack...machine embroidery. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing what other people do, I admire their talent, their skill, their vision, but I just can't get into it. I want to sew. I just want to sew and quilt, make clothes. I like that I can now make myself some fancy labels, but what I think I like my old, hand drawn, hand sewn labels just as well. I don't think I have the patience. Maybe it's the machine I have. I bought a Husq-Viking #1+. I do love all its fancy stitches. I've gotten the hang of lettering. It's just that I don't LOVE it the way I like creating a block, designing a quilt, choosing the fabrics. Should I keep the machine, sell it? I guess I'll keep it, but is there something wrong with me?

So, today I felt like getting dirty...well, not really, but that's the way it ended up anyway. I got myself a good supply of sewing machine oil and decided to tackle the Minnehaha.

I oiled and cleaned. I watched videos and took it apart...not too much...and put it back together. Once I got it back together and well-oiled...maybe too much, but wiping it off is taking off a lot of grime...I wound the bobbin! I watched Muv's video and it worked just the way it's supposed to. I learned how easy it is to load the bobbin in the shuttle and the shuttle into the machine. And you know what? It sews! At first it didn't, but I remember what I've always been told about my other machines...check the way it's threaded! Yep, I missed one hole. As soon as I fixed that, it was sewing like a dream...or at least the way it's supposed to. It's amazing how smoothly it treadles. Each little victory put a goofy grin on my face. What a fun way to spend an afternoon in the garage!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150929619758802

Notice I'm missing the front slide plate. Any suggestions? What about a piece of plexiglass?

I may need an intervention. I found (an purchased) this today. I kept hearing such good things about them and...what can I say?[ATTACH=CONFIG]345893[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]345894[/ATTACH]

Your machine most likely is a National. The round access plate on the front is a giveaway. I have a 1928 Leader with the same shape, but more decals. Is this a full size machine? Mine isn't.

My first 301 had strange grumble/squeak until I oiled the cross rod and ran the machine standing on end to get oil under the area the noise was coming from. End of problem.

That's a good looking Necchi.

I'm hooked. At this point I don't know what I would be doing if I weren't thinking about the machines I have in the basement.

I don't think it is a full sized machine. 3/4 maybe? I think a lot of the decals have worn away, especially the MINNEHAHA across the front. I'm just thrilled that it works and that it's mine.

The Singer with the squeak most likely needs more oiling and I will try what you suggested to get the oil into all the joints. Thanks!

Ah...vintage...sweet machine and that Necchi looks wonderful. Love my 50's Pinnock which I use every week and must get to restoring my Singer Treadle...'til thats done I'm not game to sneak another in.

Quiltingweb...I don't like machine embroidery either (though the work people produce here is lovely). The only modern, upmarket machine I'm tempted to invest in is a Handiquilter Sweet Sixteen.