Thanks for the picture Cathy, I'm not sure exactly what it looked like anymore - maybe that's it? Sorry. She's supposed to send me a picture. I'll post it when I get it.

Puzzle box - yeah, that sure sounds like a description of the box. it was way cool. It was hard to see the bobbin area on Skype but it looked round, like the type I'm familiar with. There was also a plastic box of filled round bobbins and a drawer full of more round bobbins, but a different size.

So tell me about these machines - I know they only have straight stitch. Do they have reverse?

I'm rethinking keeping it - I really have no room. But I am intrigued by a treadle. I may go back to my original plan of simply helping my friend get it into nice shape and helping her word her ad so she will get the highest possible sale price. IDK.....

CD,

Thanks, I learn something new every day.

Joe

If it is a Singer 15 series you might want to consider it for yourself. Parts for old Singers are easily available and Singer 15s are nice machines. There are reasons that design was made for so long both by Singer and by Japanese manufacturers after WWII.
Price? The best thing to do is start watching Craig's List in that area and see what other similar machines are being offered for. Ignore the big $ ads. Around here you can get a decent treadle machine for around $100, often for less.

KG2: I have a question about your avatar machine. The last time I looked there was one just like it in a local thrift store. It might be sold now but I'm wondering how you like that machine to sew with.
Thanks,
Rodney

Hi Rodney,

Thanks for the info about the Singer. Still mulling it over. My friend is in a different Craigslist territory than I am, but in my territory I can get a nice similar machine for about $100 too. I'm inclined to let her sell hers and pocket the money and then if I ever want one, I'll just buy one. Because.....

to answer your question about my avatar - I love that machine!! It is a 1958 Kenmore 117.841 made in Germany by Gritzner Kayser. It was my Mom's and it's my main machine. It sews through everything and is easy for me to maintain. I recently got a 117.740 on Craigslist. It's very similar to the 841, the front is cosmetically different. (I can post a picture if you want.) So that's one reason why I'm not sure I want the Singer. I already have 2 machines which I love and I can interchange most parts between them. I even have a spare 841 for parts too! The Singer would introduce a whole new set of parts into my life. After all - I am a KenmoreGal!!

I'm mainly a kenmore girl also. but..... my ex left his grandmothers treadle with me. A singer 66 from 1922. and I have another head for it, a 66 from 1924. So I am in the process of cleaning the treadle and I plan on turning the spare one into a handcrank. I can't wait to get these done. These 66's have a drop in bobbin type. I really like the looks of that. The only kenmore I have with a drop in bobbin in my 385.1960180.

I guess I am a big fan of the old 15-30s - I have one from 1902 and it is an ugly but well used old beater. You could sew about anything with that. The big hand wheel makes it turn real sweet on a treadle, too. It is simple to work on and parts are out there. It uses the same bobbins as your Kenmore - at least I'm betting so. It might be a very good companion. I don't see those all that often on CL.

Thanks Miriam. When I visit in Feb. I'll be sure to bring some of my bobbins and test out the fit.

Hey, curious about something. I've seen plenty of pictures of those old machines with a piece of cloth wrapped around them, like your icon. My friend's machine has that too, with pins in it. Is it some sort of homemade pincushion?

That's right! It was a pincushion. When I got mine, the "rag" was still full of pins and needles, and it looked like it came from the local service station after being used to wipe oil off of everyone's car. And, of course, the finish behind that rag was all scratched up. Deep scratches.

A lot of dress makers would put a cloth around the machine's arm to hold pins. Under there you will see a lot of 'pin rash'. It is a bit ugly so put a new cloth on the machine. That machine is one Miss L (in the pic) and I refurbished. She refurbished the bobbin tension and that tension you see - took it apart and I helped her put it back together. It is a wonderful machine now. There might be an after pic somewhere on QB. The finish on it was terrible so I used Glenn's method and got it looking a lot better.

Thanks Maviskw and Miriam. Now I know. I'll be curious to see how bad the finish on my friend's machine is.