Vintage White Family Rotary machine
 

I have my mothers white sewing machine and I am trying to find out how old it is.
I understand Husqvarna bought out the white company years ago. I tried looking
up on the internet some info to no avail. Can anyone of you help me to determine
the age of the machine? The serial number is FR 194981. It is in excellent condition
and sews like a dream. The cabinet has a measuring tape that runs the length of the machine.
I will try and attach a pic. Thanks to anyone that can help.

I have no idea about her age. She is beautiful!!!

According to this research:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...62576881KNhqLm

Your machine is a 1908 model. :) She's absolutely BEAUTIFUL, love those decals!! And even more special that she's a family machine....please write down her history and tuck it in a drawer!!

she is beautiful! Lucky you for having a "family" machine, that is special!

My first thought when I saw her was 'What a happy looking machine!". Hope you get to enjoy many, many years with her.

best,
d

She is beautiful!

Lovely machine! The decals look like they are blue and red, which is neat. The ones I've come across have only been kind of a green and gold. White did some very nice cabinets; the measuring tape in front is a nice detail.

Thank you for finding out the year of this model. I must do something with the cabinet as it is peeling in many places.

Very beautiful machine. Glad you still have your family machine. That is priceless.

Gorgeous machine. A little polish on those silver plates & some sewing machine oil on her finish & she will "glow"

She is an oldie and a goodie! Congratulations.

I too have a White Rotory machine that was bought for my mother by my father before I was born. I have done alot of research and found that if you call Singer and give them the serial number they will tell you the exact date and location that your new baby was made. She is very pretty.

Thanks for the serial number link Charlee. I have a couple of old ones and had been looking for the manufacture dates.

White Family Rotary
 

I have a White Family Rotary sewing machine just purchased for 395 from an antique store. I’ve taken it apart to clean it. Now the needle plate just drops and won’t hold the needle in position. Any ideas what to do? Thanks for any help. Boy I sure wish I would have left it alone. So frustrated.

I would also love to know the year it was made. The serial number is FR 235549.

Thanks,
Mimmi

Do you mean the needle clamp drops the needle? I am not sure how the needle plate, the silver plate on the bed under the needle bar and presser foot, could drop.

Hi Joel, it is the whole bar above the needle, was dropping down. Late last night I figured out there was a screw that went inside to make it go up and down. I’m sorry this is all probably clear as mud, but I actually got it working again. Thank you so much for responding.

Another person right before me had shown a beautiful picture of her mother’s White Family Rotary. Mine looks just like that. It really has a beautiful cabinet and has been kept up by the same family and passed down for 3 generations. I wish I could add pictures but every time I upload it isn’t working. I’m sure it’s my error.

I’m still trying to figure out when it was made. The spinster sisters who originally owned it said it was passed down to them from someone in the family who owned it in 1896. However, I’m not sure how accurate that is. I’m still trying to figure out how to thread a bobbin as nothing I have found resembles this machine, instruction wise.

thanks again!

Welcomi, Mimmi. Here are a few links that may be helpful to you.
.https://www.treadleon.net/WhiteSM/whites.html
http://ismacs.net/white/manuals/white-rotary.pdf
https://www.quiltingboard.com/7854405-post2.html
https://www.quiltingboard.com/8464935-post7.html

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

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)
Once they show up as being loaded, Scroll over to the right side and click on "Upload"
After the pictures show up as being attached, you can close that window and go back to the screen to finish posting your post.

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

White Family Rotary
 

Hello Everyone! Thank you for welcoming me to this forum! It has taken me a week to change passwords, getting timed out and trying to figure out how to attach photos, thanks to the help of others.

This is the sewing machine i am referring to. I have attached names to the pressure feet i have found. If there are corrections please let me know.

Joel, I took off the part of the machine that is circled. I realized the arm that attaches to the pressure foot was not attached into a hole inside the machine for that part. (i know that is hard to understand, but i don't know how else to describe what i did) There is a screw that needs to go into the arm for it to rotate. I really don't want to take it off again as it was a nightmare the first ten times!! Anyway, it is back together and working! I am soooo happy!

I'm still trying to find the year it was manufactured. I called Viking and they said they no longer had the info.

Thanks for any and all input!
Mimmi

White serial numbers are a little harder to try to date than Singer for early machines. There have been some that have gathered information from warranty or other original paper work with machines. According to the link given above, an approximate date would be 1906 -1908.

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

Wow! Pretty machine.
bkay

I have removed that whole front end on similar machines and had the same problems trying to line up the connections. I'm glad you were able to get it back together!!

White Family Rotary
 

Hello Everyone! I am adding a couple of items from my machine that came with it. Also two pictures for you Joe, but I think you know what i meant about the the pressure foot bar going into the hole on that face plate.

Regards!
Mimmi

What a beauty. I have a 1921 White. It is one of the early electric models. I know how you feel about the beauty you have there. I hope you get many good years out of her.

[QUOTE=juliasb;8506249]What a beauty. I have a 1921 White. It is one of the early electric models. I know how you feel about the beauty you have there. I hope you get many good years out of her.[/QUOTE

Have you tried sewing leather with your machine?

Beautiful. Thank you for posting.