He said it was dated to the late 1860s. He told me he had 300 in it, and it was in pristine condition. Once I see the photos I'll share and see what y'all think.

Unless it's pristine (or nearly) with mother of pearl inlays, I wouldn't pay that much for it. Would love to see the photos...

he said thats what he paid for it. I told him he paid too much :) I probably wont get a reply from him until after market is over on saturday.

Ok I will try again!
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Trying this one again![ATTACH=CONFIG]343846[/ATTACH]

Here is Laura's block! I hope all three of these went through this time! Thanks for telling me the attachment was not good Joe!

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I decided to spend some time on one of my early purchasing mistakes. It is a General Electric Model 5 Sewhandy machine with the paint peeling off. I am trying to figure out how to thread to see how it sews. Does anyone have a manual they can send a picture of the threading diagram?

The mistake was I paid too much for the condition. I learned about the importance of asking questions and for more photos. If it sews nicely it may become a repaint candidate.

Attached are the before and after photos.

You need to talk to Glenn about the finish - I'm betting his tutorial would be some help. Is that the stitch length on the bottom? I've never seen one there, but it makes sense. Is that motor in a cut out? Can you show pics of the back and the bottom? Wow that one is cool! Does it turn easy? Is it heavy? I would have made the mistake of buying it too!!!
To thread it just go across the top from the spool to the first thread guide, down through the tension, up through the take up lever and back down through the thread guides and to the needle. It should make a letter N. We can probably tell what way the needle goes in if you show the bobbin area with and with out the bobbin in the shuttle. Does the bobbin drop in or go in a bobbin case? Is it 3/4 size? Someone on here probably has one of those.

The paint is too far gone for Glenn's treatment. It originally just blew off in a few places on the bed and now if not careful it just brushes off if you touch it. Mechanically it turns really easy even before cleaning and oiling. It has a drop in bobbin case as shown in the these pictures. That is the stitch length lever on the front.

The question on the threading is the takeup spring on the tension disc, I am used to having something that the thread turns against after the disc and before the spring. I wonder if there is something missing.

Well darn, the motor was running fine last night but not getting anything this morning. And now I need to get to work. But just turning by hand it seems to make a good stitch.

Here are some more pictures.

When Glenn gets back from fishing pm him and see if he can help you with that finish. He knows his stuff! I love that nose plate - really pretty.

The thread should go across from the spool through the guide, around the tension & spring then through that bar next to the tension, up through the take up lever and back down to the needle. I think it is pretty cool.

Check your wiring to make sure it is plugged in and in good shape. If nothing else, it can be rewired and the brushes can be cleaned or replaced.