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Vintage Japanese 'Badged' Zig Zag and Straight Sew Sewing Machines

Vintage Japanese 'Badged' Zig Zag and Straight Sew Sewing Machines

Old 06-07-2015, 04:44 AM
  #261  
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Welcome. Neat looking machine. What's behind the bulge in the nose?

Sanshin would be the manufacturer. Japanese companies would put any brand the buyer wanted on their machines as long as they bought enough of them. That or leave the brand off and the buyer would put their own brand on. It could go either way. It's common to find several different brands on what is basically the same machine. The belt might be a replacement. I want to say Alphasew is still around. It's also possible the belt is original. Either way I wouldn't go by what it says for machine ID purposes. I think I read that there used to be a high tax on importing motors here, also not every country uses 120VAC as the standard voltage. Sewing machine companies would ship the machines without motors and install them where the machine was to be sold.

Japanese companies made a lot of Singer 15 clones. A lot of Japanese machines are descended from those Singer 15 copies. Your machine uses basically the same bobbin/hook assembly as a Singer 15 but the rest has been changed.
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Old 06-26-2015, 01:55 PM
  #262  
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(in response to a post from a yr ago - then I discovered other's had already posted much of what I had to say here. Ah, well.)

I know that machine! My own vintage machine is a SewMor 900 Zig Zag. Every detail is exactly the same, aside from the badge on the front. I picked mine up at Goodwill a couple years back for $10. I only just started using it, though! I had the hardest time getting my mom to teach me anything about it - she always had other things she wanted to do while visiting. So, I've oiled it, and found out what I could about it. For this machine, parts were apparently sourced from multiple countries in Asia, but the motor itself was from Belgium. And.... that's all I could find out. That, and the original sewing machine manual for the machine! So if you haven't found the correct manual for yours yet, I'll gladly email copies of it out. For comparison's sake, I'm including a photo of my machine. I had to replace the belts - the drive belt worked, but was showing it's age, but the bobbin winder tire was just missing. Good thing this machine takes the standard "singer" belts. She runs beautifully, and quietly, too. Forgive the surrounding mess - I've got her set up on the dining table, for the moment.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]523571[/ATTACH]


Originally Posted by Chris77 View Post
New to the forums, this looks like the place to ask about my new CL find. Seems to be the same as some of the models posted here, different badging. The only place I can find reference to country of origin is on the motor (which says Kitchener, Canada). The machine came with next to nothing though and I sadly discovered it's missing the bobbin holder. Anyone know where I can get one and what model I'm looking for. Would also love to find a manual (though it looks like the one in this thread may suffice) and a zig-zag foot, although that's not totally necessary as my wife intends to use it for straight stitches (shirring mostly). Finally, at the risk of being too long winded if anyone can offer cleaning tips I'd be really grateful. There appears to be a serial number stamped into the frame YZ9 2489, if that helps. Thanks!
Attached Thumbnails 100_0831.jpg  

Last edited by surelyujest71; 06-26-2015 at 02:07 PM. Reason: I was late. lol.
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Old 06-26-2015, 02:23 PM
  #263  
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Default SewMor 900 ZZ - How old is it?

As you may have gleaned from my (late!) post above, I picked up this SewMor 900 ZZ machine a few years ago at Goodwill. I just pulled it out the other day, and gave it a little oil, and "Hooray!" it works, and works beautifully. I replaced the drive belt and bobbin winder tire, as the old belt is showing cracks from age, and the bobbin winder tire was missing.

One of the main things that brought me to this forum was a search to discover just when my machine was made. If it was made over multiple years, then I'd like to know at least which time period.... Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything. I found the JA number - JA39 2988. So far, according to the "VintageJapanSewingMachines" yahoo group's JA number list, all I can tell is that it's a Japanese made machine; I already knew that!

I think it's beautiful, though, anyway. It's my first (working) sewing machine! (This, and a children's Singer that'll run on batteries....) This being my first (official?) post to introduce myself... my machine.... umm... so, anyway, this'll be the first "official" pic of my machine on here. The other one we can consider a product of enthusiasm.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]523588[/ATTACH]
New to the forum, but I've been immersed in all of your machines for days, now. Hello, everyone!
Attached Thumbnails 100_0831.jpg  
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Old 06-26-2015, 06:21 PM
  #264  
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Originally Posted by surelyujest71 View Post

One of the main things that brought me to this forum was a search to discover just when my machine was made.all I can tell is that it's a Japanese made machine; I already knew that!
This being my first (official?) post to introduce myself... my machine.... umm... so, anyway, this'll be the first "official" pic of my machine on here. The other one we can consider a product of enthusiasm.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]523588[/ATTACH]
New to the forum, but I've been immersed in all of your machines for days, now. Hello, everyone!
Hello and Welcome! We can't tell you too much about your machine, as there just aren't any records of Japanese machines to search like there are with other manufacturers. So the serial number is useless basically. Just by features, I'd guess mid-late 1950s to early 1960s. By the mid 1960s most bobbin winders were on the top of machines and most had larger upper tension knobs. Most levers had gone to knobs by this time also. For cleaning what I do with a colored machine like this is first go over it with baby wipes to get the dirt off, then I use TR3 Resin Glaze available at auto parts stores. It does a great job of cleaning what the baby wipes don't get and polishing/protecting the machine.

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Old 06-26-2015, 07:05 PM
  #265  
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Cari, Does anything get the yellow off those machines?
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Old 06-26-2015, 11:47 PM
  #266  
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[QUOTE=miriam;7239692]Cari, Does anything get the yellow off those machines?[/QUOTE

Honestly Miriam, I don't know. I've had a little success but not much with TR3, haven't tried anything else. Most of it came off my pink Select O Matic but almost none of it did on my blue machines.

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Old 06-27-2015, 03:56 AM
  #267  
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I had an Atlas that never did un-yellow.
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Old 06-27-2015, 04:28 AM
  #268  
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Originally Posted by miriam View Post
Cari, Does anything get the yellow off those machines?
It doesn't come out if it is in the paint. It is a stain. Much of it is from oil. Some seem to be more susceptible to this. Lighter colored machines seem to show it more. Rather disappointing, I know, but you have to just live with it some times.
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Old 06-27-2015, 09:35 AM
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[QUOTE=grant15clone;7239888s Lighter colored machines seem to show it more.
~G~[/QUOTE]

Yep, that's what I've found. Miriams' Atlas would have been much lighter in color than my Select O Matic, as are my blue machines I spoke of. They're actually two toned light blue/white machines. And you can always tell a machine that spent most of its' life in a cabinet. The ones with the yellow stains all over the front of the machine, around the edges of any plates or decorative covers.

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Old 06-27-2015, 10:19 AM
  #270  
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I just remembered what I did to get the yellow off of my pink machine. A big no-no. I went all out cleaning that machine, I used a lot of rubbing alcohol on the innards before I oiled it up and ran it, and I also used the alcohol on a Qtip cleaning the yellow crud on the outside. Most of it came right off so must not have soaked into the paint. Luckily I did no damage to the machine. I wiped it off right behind the Qtip, didn't let it sit there at all.

Cari
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