Bradford Deluxe 850-Lightweight Model W.T.G. #850
 

I have the 850 model and it is very similar but I also unable to find any manuals or info on this machine or the company other than they are from Japan and went out of business in the mid 70's :( Any luck finding a link to some useful information on this machine would be most appreciated :) I think I have it threaded correctly and it is sewing well but not sure on what all can be done with it or if I really have it even threaded correctly without manual :) Thanks, Craig
[ATTACH=CONFIG]551650[/ATTACH]

Earlier Bradfords were built by Brother but I can't tell you who built that one. It looks like you have it threaded correctly. If it is sewing a good stitch, then you've done it right.

Cari

It is threaded correctly but you do need to catch the check spring in the tension as you go past. Some have a bar, some have a little path on the tension top.
The machine is a simple zz or ss.
It takes class 15 bobbins
The R button is reverse. Upper knob is stitch width.
The knob between the two and slightly to the right is your stitch length.
I know nothing about the many companies that made those machines.
A generic manual should be of some help.

Wow
 

I didn't think I was ever gonna come across another machine like mine entail now!!!
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Gorgeous! I love the pink ones :)

Did you know that each stitch on that dial may be 3 stitches depending on where you set the needle. Take care to clean inside the machine very well before you turn the dials. Any dried up oil can cause the dials not to turn or not to turn right. Once they turn you are in for some WOW. I love having the LCR needle positions on these machines. This will have more stitches than a Singer 401 and others.

this looks like the Montgomery Ward sewing machine that I learned to sew on about 50 years ago.

Thanks to all who post their awesome machines, they are fantastic! I have a question for you Miram, I thought I read it on one of your posts but can't find it. Is the little initial tag on the throat the company or person who painted it?[ATTACH=CONFIG]575904[/ATTACH]

Just got my Wizard about a month ago (April, 2018) and it is exactly like your picture. Except there is no motor on the back of the machine. Can you (or anyone else) give me some information on the motor for this machine? I also need to order the double receptacle/cord for it. Cannot find a manual. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Ramona in Mobile

I'm not gonna scroll through 7 pages of posts to see what machine you have, but there are many Yahoo groups and FB groups that cater to the vintage Japanese machines and would most likely have a manual you could use. If you can't find the right Wizard manual, look for a Brother manual that looks like your machine. Brother built the Wizard machines and there's always a Brother twin to them.
You can search Ebay or Etsy for a vintage motor if you want one the same color. If you're not picky about the color then Sew Classic has the parts you need. https://shop.sew-classic.com/Motor-N...s-SCE35L09.htm and https://shop.sew-classic.com/Cord-Se...143-SCE143.htm

Cari

You can paint a motor to match.

Have all the links on this forum been dismantled? Nothing works. There may be manuals on Victorian sweatshop forum.

Not all. These still work

I'm not sure about the youtube in the last one. If one can find a similar White machine, https://www.singer.com/support might have it. I have looked for a few White manuals on the Singer site that weren't there, but a lot are.

I was thinking I have found some manuals on manualslib.com but when I searched for deluxe zigzag manuals all that came up were for Singer machines.

I don't remember any Japanese manuals on VSS, yet. I have a couple that I should scan and have posted.

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

I have this same machine. I have it it since I was a teenager. Has anyone ever found a manual for it?

Welcome MBlair.

I just checked this thread and there are over a hundred pictures in this thread. Granted, there are lots that have multiple images of the same machine. Which machine are you referring to? Have you searched some of the sites for a manual? Many of these machines may have a different name on them, but are the same machine. Sometimes you will be able to find a manual for one of the other named machines that will work for your machine. Sometimes you can find a manual by looking at the images on some of the "manual" sites.


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

There is a FB site - Vintage Sewing machines (non Singer) that has a catalog of many manuals. Someone there was able to find a manual for the Universal I just gave away. It went to a young man who has never sewn so I felt good that I could print him directions.

Can you post a link to this group? I searched for it but there are several vintage sewing machine groups, and the one I thought is was has Singer in the description, so that wouldn't be the (non-Singer) group.

Thanks

Here it is if it works. It does have Singer in the name.
...

Do you know what type of cams this Capri uses. I have an exact same machine. It sews great! Very heavy.

Cams
 

do you know what cams that Capri uses? I have the same machine.

Manufacturer code
 

DOes anyone know what company JA19 represents?

If you are referring to https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...mg_1383-2-.jpg I had not seen a JA number that had three digits after. I thought TW was a machine made in Taiwan. However, there is a list that seems to indicate that JA 19 was made by Toyota,

Does your machine have a JC number cast or otherwise visible on the base?

We like pictures. In order to post pictures on Quilting Board, you will probably need to reduce or compress the picture to a file size that is smaller than 2MB. How to post images can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...020-01-17-.pdf
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I have found that only the big red "Reply" button or "Quote" work to give me the paper clip icon to work for adding pictures.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...p-location.jpg

Some additional info regarding reducing images at post #4 and images for the scroll and upload button can be found at #5 of https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...d-t312607.html

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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It has a JC-8 on it

Capri Deluxe Sewing Machine
 

Here is my “Capri” Deluxe sewing machine. It does zig zag and straight stitches. HAs a class 15 bobbin system. Castings on bottom are JA-8”, “ J-A19.878TW.54389”. Also has a symbol cast on the bottom.
It takes cams. There is a three position knob that looks like it raises and lowers the cam to one of three heights. There are two buttons near the cam section that are marked Automatic and Manual. They move a lever that engages the cam follower inside the cam compartment.

Does anyone know who made this machine and what cams it uses. I do not have any cams, or a manual for it.

Thank you for the great pictures.

There were many cams made for Japanese machines. It doesn't look like makitmama had cams for the Capri.

According to http://www.doubleveil.net/zssmp/resources.htm the JC-8 is attributed to Janome. I don't remember every seeing the logo cast in the bottom.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

I love machines like that. It makes my 503 Rocketeer look plain.

I just picked up this machine yesterday, for $15. I don't know if it sews yet, the seller told me an "amateur" worked on the tension assembly and it never sewed after that. I have been leaning towards these 50s/60s machines lately, not sure why.

They are fun looking and some can be handcranked, also

Automatic De Luxe Zig Zag 999B Japan, please help!
 

I just got this beauty today for $75 at a second had store with the table and everything. It seems to basically work except that the nob to change the size of the zig zag is malfunctioning and the needle hits the foot pad; it looks like the needle broke off because of this.

I haven't been able to find anything on it to look up a manual for it though!
The brand tag is for Atlas but I found a couple that look pretty much exactly the same with different brand names so that's not very helpful. Can anyone help me identify and fix it?https://photos.app.goo.gl/7wwVVX3Jz8hYsXT98

Welcome, Valinbean. I'm guessing that you have a pink machine. From my understanding these machines were made by Brother. There will probably be a "Brother" equivalent machine. These machine were made in the time where it was common to have many different names on the same machine. There is a facebook page for Pink Atlas Sewing machines at https://www.facebook.com/groups/544577085733663/ I used to belong to some Yahoo groups, that were quite helpful with my vintage machines. When Yahoo did away with groups, most migrated to either facebook or io.groups.

The machine will need a good cleaning and oiling. Sometimes that is all that is needed. It is possible that the machine has the wrong foot on it. How is the knob malfunctioning?

We like pictures. In order to post pictures on Quilting Board, you will probably need to reduce or compress the picture to a file size that is smaller than 2MB. How to post images can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...020-01-17-.pdf
Don't forget to scroll over to the far right to find and click on the "Upload" button.

I have found that only the big red "Reply" button or "Quote" work to give me the paper clip icon to work for adding pictures.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/attach...p-location.jpg

Some additional info regarding reducing images at post #4 and images for the scroll and upload button can be found at #5 of https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...d-t312607.html

Another way to post pictures can be found at https://www.quiltingboard.com/showpo...postcount=1143

Or simply - Make sure pictures are smaller than 2MB
Click on red "Reply" button
Click on the paper clip icon
Click browse - choose picture/s. (only 5 allowed per post)
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Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Actually it's teal, white, and chrome, not pink. I found pictures of basically identical looking ones with Belair and Modernage name tags online, but I still wasn't able to find any specific info like a manual or anything.
Also, I was able to get it working; the nob was just stuck because of the old grease and loose springs but idk if the foot is supposed to move for the zigzag stitches or what because it only works with the zigzag set to zero. It definitely needs a thorough clean and re-grease, but it's surprisingly clean tbh, just a little dusty.

I'm using my phone right now, so I don't think it will let me post a picture, but I'll try on my computer when I get a chance. Here's a link to a picture of the Belair one that looks identical (hopefully it will work):
https://images.app.goo.gl/5V8AHPsAzsgS4msK7


​​​​​​

Trying to find a manual can be a problem. The places that used to be recommended are no longer in business. You may luck out if you keep looking.

As far as the foot moving - no! A couple of possibilities as for why it will hit the foot in zigzag mode would be either the wrong foot or settings wrong. The foot could be for a straight stitch only, but if it is a zigzag foot then it might be a foot for a machine that is for center "homing" machine. Many of these machine do not have a way for the needle position to be changed and are considered left homing machines. If your machine does not have the silver lever on the white top like the one seen at https://img.5milesapp.com/image/uplo...55wqoe3jx.webp then more than likely it is a left homing machine.

Make sure you have a zigzag plate and a zigzag foot. The needle plate for a left homing sewing machine would look like https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1002...sewing-machine and the zigzag plate would look like https://www.etsy.com/listing/1002650...sewing-machine

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your machine.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Some of these machines are fussy about whether the foot is up or down when you try to change things like width. With mine, I think it is foot down. It may seem like the knobs move but they really don't engage unless I have the foot down.

As far as Ourworkbench said -- the machines do have different plates for the zigzag, a wider slit rather than the single hole. Sad to say, sometimes I have left my quilting foot on after zigzag and I have indeed hit the foot. You really don't want to do that for any number of reasons!

One other thing that sometimes trips people up is whether or not there is a "darning" feature on their machine. This raises and lowers the feed dogs, so if the fabric is not moving you might look to see if you have a button or switch or something. Other machines have an accessory "darning plate" that fits over the base.

I forgot to ask if there are any JA or JC with a number on the bottom of the machine.

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

I think it's the wrong foot, thank you!
The hole in the foot is just barely big enough for the needle itself actually and does not match up with the hole in the plate which is a pretty long oval. It does have the silver lever.

It doesn't have a J, but it does have a Japanese letter that's kind of like a J, a space, and then a C5

It does have a "darning" and "sew" switch, but I think the problem is just that it has the wrong foot on it. Thank you though!

Okay, if you move that lever to the middle "M" then you should be able to straight stitch. Definitely do not change the zigzag from "0" until you get a zigzag foot. Do you have the straight stitch needle plate or any other feet for your machine? Since you have the lever, the needle plate would be different from the one I linked to earlier.

A high shank zigzag foot looks like https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/zi...nter-5555.aspx There are several other feet that can be used, but I am fairly certain that you would need those made for high shank machines. If you lower the presser bar, the hole for the attachment screw will measure 1" from the needle plate.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Pictures
 

Here are the pictures. The color looks weird in the close up pictures, but it is definitely teal, not green. Also, I guess it is a weird J before the C, it just looked weird upside down and sideways when I was under it lol.

It does look like a high shank foot so the one you linked should work. I don't have any other plates or feet or anything, just what it had installed on it already.
As you may have guessed from my lack of knowledge, this is my first and hopefully last sewing machine (I say last because hopefully this will work for me for my whole life :) )

Thank you for the pictures.

You do have a "left homing" machine and the straight stitch plate would be like the one at https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1002...sewing-machine As you can see the feed dogs on the right side of the straight stitch presser foot.

It should last a good long while. Sometimes plastic parts become brittle and crack or break. Your machine looks like it has not been exposed to the heat and cold extremes that would hasten the deterioration of those parts

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