...and still more - what a weekend!
 

First there was a New Home treadle. Then a Stoewer hand crank:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...e-t204997.html

Sunday we planned to go look at a featherweight at an estate sale. It was long gone. Looking around further I saw a piece of luggage that looked odd. Went to pick it up and my first thought was that there was a sewing machine in there. Yep, a Red Eye - my first with low shank feet? Not in the greatest shape but for $12.50 it still went home with us, even if it only becomes a donor machine.

Later we had planned to go look at (and hopefully pick up) yet another Red Eye, though the machine wasn't the reason we were looking at it - the parlor cabinet was the real draw. Sadly the cabinet wasn't in as nice a shape as we'd been led to believe and Herself wasn't impressed by the color/grain pattern of the wood so we left it sit. On the way home we decided to try the antique store where we'd gotten our first hand crank machine (a Frister & Rossmann.) We looked at several machines there but only one followed us home: Sven the Svelt, little brother of Björn the Husky. Our second vintage Husqvarna, a model 21 with case, stitch wheel, attachments, etc....

Follow-up on Sven. Does anyone know where to find the serial number? It's not on the model badge on the back of the machine, nor was it on the bottom.

[Edit] Found the serial number. It's behind the faceplate (which swings out to provide access to oiling points.) In this case it's K212922.

Also, can anyone tell us where to look for Sven's manufacture date? Thanks!

pinkcastle, pinkCastleDH,

Those are some pretty neat finds.

There is absolutely NO reason on this earth to part out that 66-4. It's complete, it's in good condition cosmetically, (I've refurb'd worse) and I'll bet that machine sews beautifully. Get out the oil and cotton balls and clean it up, then oil it and use it.

Part it out ......... BAH!

The Viking? It's a neat machine, but I now nothing about it.

Joe

Joe - bit of misstatement on my part. I'm not so much thinking of parting it out as swapping parts from it to our other Red Eyes (which are in much, much nicer cosmetic condition) if needed. For instance, I might swap the presser bar with Colette's to make it compatible with the majority of the feet we have around here. Or the motor/electrical setup might swap with Claudette's since it's in much nicer shape than the one on that machine. Maybe turn the new one into a hand crank.

Or, you could just hunt around and find a set of back clamp feet and attachments ..... that would make the 66-1 even more unique. Of course I did it backwards, I got the feet and attachments first then hunted up a machine to match. :)

I am not a collector. Call me an amasser or a if you want to pick on me a hoarder, but I dislike the name "collector". A collector will take the best parts from several machines to make one really nice one. Generally degrading or in many cases ruining the donor machines in the process. Then the collector takes the one he built up with the best parts (which is no longer original by the way) and sells it for outrageous prices. I totally hate that.
Clean up each machine, polish the plated parts with the appropriate polish and make each one look their best. Each has their story. Switching parts around just confounds things to my way of thinking.

I have no problem with borrowing parts from one machine to make another one run while parts are being order or hunted down, then putting the borrowed parts back on their original machine. I've done that quite a bit. But I never switch parts around because they are prettier than the other one.

As for the motors, your 66-4 was originally a treadle machine anyway, ( note the spoked hand wheel) so no matter how nice it is it's not original. But motors are easy to refurbish. I've lost count of those I've rewired and cleaned up. I just finished rewiring my first 15-91 last night. Nothing to it.

Joe

We definitely have a different idea of collectors :) Most of the collecting stuff I've done is in the old tool world and, at least there, the originality of the parts is more important than the condition. In our case we're not thinking of selling any of our machines except possibly the Whites (freeing space) and even they aren't sure things.

In this case turning one of the other machines into a low shank is strictly for usability. As for the motor, again usability at minimal cost in terms of my time. Going hand crank would also give us one of each on the Red Eye front - treadle, electric and hand crank - which sounds nice. It would be better if Herself were willing to make Claudette the hand crank as it's the prettiest of the bunch and the hand cranks are largely on display at the moment - they're much better for display than electric machines and they take up so much less space than treadles that they win out there as well - but I doubt she'd go for that :)

pinkCastleDH,

I'm a member over at The Ruger Forum. And I've had many .... um discussions with the "collectors" that pretty much run that forum. They will buy a perfectly functional revolver, take one part off of it for one of their collectable guns, then just part the other gun out and basically destroy it. Collectors like this have made me despise collectors of all things in general. I have found they all do this. They have perverted the genre just to build themselves and their little fanciful collection of things up to the point they ruin it for those who want to buy and use the better revolvers.
Over time the better user grade of Old Model Rugers had diminished to the point they now command the same or higher price than a brand new one. I watched it happen.
If the "collectors" have their way with sewing machines, with Red Eyes or Feather Weights or which ever the next cult or fad machine is, eventually there will be only two grades of them left. Junk and mint untouchable machines. Normal people who just want to use them, will be pushed out.
Millions of Old Model Rugers used to exist, now try to find one. The same thing can happen to the old Singers too.

I better quit now, before I get chewed out on this forum too.

Joe

Machines that have donor parts are still in "original" condition if the parts are original manufactured parts and not repros. I don't agree with your definition of collector either. Many collectors of machines don't ever touch the machine with a screwdriver and enjoy the machines for what they are.

Joe - no problem. The things that I 'collect' tend to be items that would get a lot more use than virtually any firearm so it's no surprise that how collectors treat them varies. I fall somewhere in between the pure collector and pure user sides of things.

For example, we live in a beautiful Victorian home. The purists would insist that any changes be made with period materials (and, in the most extreme cases, methods.) Pure users would reside it in vinyl the first time it needed painting and replace all of the windows with vinyl at the same time. We've opted to keep the windows original and have it repainted (at some point), but when we decided to finish the attic we didn't do lath and plaster but sheet rock. We tried to keep the woodwork stylistically in keeping with the original even when it's not an exact match. It's a working/living entity to us and while we're its caretakers it will continue to live and evolve. Same thing with the sewing machines in our care.