Vintage Sewing Machine Shop.....Come on in and sit a spell

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04-25-2012, 03:48 AM

#33881

MrsBoats

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Join Date: May 2011

Location: Western Tidewater, VA

Posts: 463

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candace

Poor Frankenstein 301. Why would someone pay top dollar for it...yuck. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singer-301A-...#ht_500wt_1221

And another... http://www.ebay.com/itm/SINGER-301A-...ht_2215wt_1389

Poor, poor things!!!

I actually kinda like the looks of the first one-it looks like a convertible with the tan top. But now I wonder...if he just swapped parts between two machines, does he have one with the cream body and black lid/front/light/handwheel? Or was this a rescue job and he had pieces from Machine A and Machine B, and stuck them together so he could sell a whole machine?

04-25-2012, 03:57 AM

#33882

jlhmnj

Super Member

Join Date: Aug 2011

Location: Millville, NJ

Posts: 1,835

Think it fell out of an airplane and was transformed int the Bionic Sewing Machine.

04-25-2012, 06:28 AM

#33883

Candace

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2010

Location: Outer Space

Posts: 9,319

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlhmnj

Think it fell out of an airplane and was transformed int the Bionic Sewing Machine.

LOL!! Maybe that's what happened! Or they're Cyborg machines, waiting to take over the Earth.

04-25-2012, 07:51 AM

#33884

jljack

Super Member

Join Date: Apr 2007

Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW

Posts: 7,940

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoJangles

Candace, I have to admit I am becoming a little fickle with my FW's now that I have started using the 301! The more I use my 301, the more I like it - so much so that I am now going to the 301 instead of my FW's when I need to use an electric machine!

Nancy

Nancy, all of us with 301s have just fallen in love with them. I took mine to my quilting group last night, and I was the only one sewing in a room full of ladies chatting away. It did not disturb anyone, and a couple of them commented on how neat it sounds just tick-tick-ticking away!! I just love my Ida. She is the best sewing machine I have, and I would encourage everyone to have at least 1 301.

04-25-2012, 08:00 AM

#33885

jljack

Super Member

Join Date: Apr 2007

Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW

Posts: 7,940

Quote:

Originally Posted by vintagemotif

Janice, I can see the photos now of your very lovely Davis NVF. Well, worth your drive down to LA.
If you use Glenn's method of cleaning the machine, I would go around the decals and then clean the decals up with just sewing oil. These decals can turn green with other chemicals, but sewing oil works great.

I would NOT use baby oil on them since baby oil has other oils, perfumes. The baby oil will be fine for the Singers and other machines with shellac intact, and babies bottoms, but not on these Davis machines.

With that stated, I wish I had bookmarked the blog of one collector that I found a couple of years ago. I can't find the blog now, but he stated that he only cleans his machines with sewing oil. And that it would take him weeks to get the crud off, but it would come off. He had the prettiest machines I have seen on a blog, a very beautiful collection.

Congrats again! You are going to LOVE this machine!!!

Thanks everyone!! Yes, I am really liking her dirty little self already!! She really is a pretty grimey mess, but I know she is going to clean up just fine. My DH is a wood guy, and he thinks the veneer under that pumpkin paint is pretty shot...there are tons of cracks in it. He said we will leave it as is for the foreseeable future. I am not offended by the color...it brightens up any room it's in, that's for sure!! And the treadle irons are very very smooth....it treadles really easily. I will be threading it up tonite if I get a chance. I've been busy with other stuff since I picked it up, so I'll let you know how it goes.

04-25-2012, 08:05 AM

#33886

jljack

Super Member

Join Date: Apr 2007

Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW

Posts: 7,940

Quote:

Originally Posted by melinda1962

I can see the orange cabinet. Maybe Glenn will have some magic answer for you.....gonna take a lot of magic to change that pumpkin. Great machine. I am on the lookout for one, but they are rare in this part of the country.

Melinda they are uncommon in any part of the country. Go to Searchtempest.com, which searches through all the Craigslist postings, put in your location, the item you are looking for and how far from your zip to look. Then hit search. I put in my zip, Davis Sewing Machine, 1000 miles, and came up with only 4 of them. That's in the whole western U.S. So, yes, they are fairly uncommon.

There are 4 of them on eBay right now, but none of them with a cabinet...only the head. I got my first one, a High Arm Vertical Feed 1, from eBay, and she came without a cabinet, but luckily with all her attachments. I was lucky with that. They usually don't have their attachments with them still.

Last edited by jljack; 04-25-2012 at 08:08 AM.

04-25-2012, 08:20 AM

#33887

jljack

Super Member

Join Date: Apr 2007

Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW

Posts: 7,940

Anyone in Nashville area looking for a 15 in that neat Singer cabinet with the curved front drawers? It even has the ink well in the top left drawer. It's at shopgoodwill.com

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=9847169

Here's another of the same cabinet, but a 66 or 201 in Savannah, GA. Boy, when they show up they show up in herds!! LOL

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=9846948

Last edited by jljack; 04-25-2012 at 08:27 AM.

04-25-2012, 08:27 AM

#33888

vintagemotif

Super Member

Join Date: Sep 2010

Posts: 4,972

Quote:

Originally Posted by jljack

I love how my Davis treadles! Those treadle irons are so smooth. Each time I treadle the machine, I'm surprised at the smoothness of the treadle. Now the machine itself, even after cleaning behind the face plate, is still one of my noisiest machines, but the irons are one of the smoothest.

I like that orange paint, a bit of a sassy character -or a don't forget me too.

Janice, I'm so excited for you!

04-25-2012, 08:29 AM

#33889

Candace

Super Member

Join Date: Jan 2010

Location: Outer Space

Posts: 9,319

Nancy, I'm not surprised you're now going to your 301 instead of your FW. They are a better quilter's machine, IMO. Larger bed area, not much heavier and excellent at FMQ and you don't have to worry about the feed dogs. And an internal belt/gear system that delivers more power than the FW. The ONLY problem I have with 301's is that there is not a walking foot on the market with narrow feed dogs that works like a walking foot is engineered to do. I wish some smart person would put a slant walking foot with NARROW feed dogs on the market. Yes, there are some for sale that have been modified to fit, but they're too wide and don't do what they should.... But, that's o.k. I just FMQ my life away and don't worry about straight line quilting on the 301:> I use other machines for that.