Originally Posted by BoJangles (Post 4664115)

I haven't had time to go back and read all the posts from the last couple days, but I have read a couple of the 'clones' debate.

If you do a search of 'Singer 15 clones" all kinds of stuff comes up. I printed out an article that I thought was really interesting on the subject of the 'clones' when I got my first 'clone.'

This article was written in 2006 by Ed Lamoureux and I found it explained the Japanese 'clones' very well. To quote from the article, "Shortly after WWII, Japan, with money from the US, manufactured a large number of sewing machines. The most common of these were based on the Singer Model 15, but there are also Singer 99 clones. Indeed many of these machines are practically indistinguishable from a Singer and use parts that are interchangeable. Often they were given American sounding names to appeal to the overseas market. Over 5000 different "brands" have been identified, manufactured by 15 or so companies. Unfortunately, records from these manufactures don't exist, so it is impossible to identify them further. Generally speaking, a machine will somewhere state "made in Japan" or have a "JA" stamped into the bottom of the machine. To further complicate matters, large retailers would purchase machines and have the company name on them: RH Macy, Gimballs, etc. Any retailer so inclined could have Sewing Machines made just for him or her (Sears Kenmore, Wards Signature). I've tracked Department Stores, machines with automobile names, female names, patriotic names, etc. The post war machines are generally well made, often quieter and smoother running than the Singers they were copied from. Japan also gave us many of our colored sewing machines, examples have been found in metallic blue, green, pink, yellow, and I have a Fire Engine Red one!~ In terms of collectability, don't be fooled by a claim of 'an extremely rare" Mitsubishi, Ford, Saxon, Stitch Queen, etc., the same machine could have dozens of different names. If it says Singer on the machine, it probably is. If it doesn't, it's not. The Japanese machines have not caught on with collectors (even the ones made in occupied Japan) and as a result retain very little value. They can be found at Thrift Stores for $10 - $20 and at local auctions for under $5. "

Anyway, since this article was written in 2006, I think very little has changed. The 15 'clones' are great machines. Whether they are in fact actual clones or not they have been called 'clones' for a very long time.

Nancy

Originally Posted by vintagemotif (Post 4664037)

Mine doesn't have the scrolled woodwork, but is instead "scored". :)

Originally Posted by mpeters1200 (Post 4663876)

So, I was playing on the new board and trying to get accustomed to the various search features. I FINALLY had the courage to read through the dismantling and cleaning tutes that Billy made.

I don't know a thing about these vintage machines, or well any machine actually. I posted the pics of mom's FW probably 20-30 pages ago. Do I have to take the tensioner off if I want to clean everything up? I roll the wheel towards me and the needle goes up and down. Everything seems to move smoothly, it just looks kinda gunky. I REALLY don't want to have to take off every single thing. I'm so scared of losing something. I can use a muffin tin or labels or something, but I'm just not sure I want to take off everything.

Also, if you take off the spool pin thing from the top of the FW and look in there, is there a way to get to those pieces in there? They seem to run the whole width of the machine, but the spool pin is only so big.

Also, what are inspection plates? I have a 66 that's very clean, but will occasionally need oil, then I have mom's FW that needs cleaned up.

Originally Posted by purplefiend (Post 4664142)

justtrish,
That's a Singer 101.

Originally Posted by Janis (Post 4664408)

I did watch the video, and I want one. Does anyone have a picot hemstitcher for sale??
I did read on the net that you need to have very stiff fabric to have it work well.
I also watched the video on the ruffler, and that is so neat. I do have one of those for my vintage Singers and will be trying it out soon. I think it would be great to use for making doll clothes for my grand daughters' dolls for Christmas.

Originally Posted by vintagemotif (Post 4663963)

Here is one of those Singers made in Taiwan. Depending on when the machine was made, call it either China or Taiwan. Mine was made in Taichung Taiwan in 1963, which was Taiwan (and is still Taiwan today, even though the Chinese want it back, but we won't get into politics now). This is one of my machines. I do have a cover plate for it, and I haven't used the machine yet. Another on my to do list.[ATTACH=CONFIG]286076[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]286077[/ATTACH]

Originally Posted by Charlee (Post 4664979)

Cool little tools when they work right! :) I'm sure the problems with mine are most likely operator error, and hopefully I'll get it figured out soon! I do have another one, that I *think* fits my 66-1, but haven't tried it yet. Let me check and see...if it's another for a 99, I'll let you know! I'd be happy to get what I paid for it and the shipping...

When you do buy one, you want to make sure that you can get the raised needleplate that will fit YOUR machine...in my ignorance, the first one I bought, thinking the plates were like the buttonholer plates and would fit any machine, didn't fit the machine I bought it for. I need to look for a plate for that particular machine....