BoJangles

My DH picked it up, and he paid a whooping $8 for the machine! It is a 1931 White Rotary Electric Crinkle Embossed Black machine. It is actually very interesting looking. I wish I could turn it into a hand crank, but the hand wheel is not spoked. The guy took a sledge hammer to the cabinet after they got the machine so jammed up that it would not turn at all. My DH took the hook, race thingy off and took out a -- had to be about 17 -- weight thread jammed in there. Now it turns very nice, but with the cabinet wrecked we have no way to run the machine. It seems they run on some kind of cable with a knee control -- all part of the cabinet that we didn't get.

Nancy

Lostn51

Well it is nice to have you in the shop Beth!!! We would love to see photos of your machine (we always love the photos) and maybe we can shed some light on it for you. I know the plate that your talking about and through the years they came up missing or was just to loose to stay in place and the plates would be replaced.

But I think its funny that you found our forum and got sucked in the the Vintage Sewing Machine Shop Vortex!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Honestly its like the "Hotel California"once you check in you never can check out!

Billy

BoJangles

Beth, I also have a Singer Treadle that says "Patented Aug 2nd 92." That is 1892. Mine has the serial number 3171412, which would make my machine 1879 by Singer lists. This machine is actually a Singer 9W, which is a Wheeler & Wilson machine. Singer took over Wheeler and Wilson around 1905 and until about 1910 they used Wheeler and Wilson parts -- until the Wheeler and Wilson parts were used up, to make the machines. That is why the serial numbers are so confusing -- those are Wheeler and Wilson serial numbers not Singer.

I bet if you post a picture of your machine you will find that it is a Singer 9W like mine!

Oh and the belts are very easy to come by from most sewing machine shops or order from Billy, who heads this forum.

Nancy

Lostn51

Nancy you might be on to something there. I thought about it being a 9W after I hit submit.

We need to do a survey of the W9's that we know about and we can date them from a known machine. I know for a fact that mine is a 1910 (I forgot the month now) but if we can get enough numbers together and I can find the production numbers for the W9 then we might can build us a good reliable data base to work from.

Billy

Love my stash

My heart leapt when I read 1948. I was born in 1948 & would so love to have & care for her if you decide to let her go. She sure is cute, thanks for sharing.
Cheryl from Minnesota

AlwaysJustBeth

Thanks Nancy and Billy. I tried random manuals online to see if I might find one that fit my machine. Didn't try too many tho. I was looking for a threading map. This machine doesn't have a bobbin case. The bobbin sits on a little post that folds onto the bobbin to hold it in place. Also wondering about needles. The one in it is broken and bent. I've not taken it out yet. Beth

purplefiend

locally on Craig's list there was an ad for a Singer 15-88 and the seller wanted a mere $1500 for it. OMG who are they kidding???

Lostn51

Oh you get those pretty regularly here also. There is a guy that has been trying to sell a clapped out Singer 27 for the last year or so. He started out wanting $900 for it and I noticed that he put it on today for $175. :lol: Every couple of weeks he will drop the price and then he will post it pretty regular until he drops it again. I told him the when he was ready to sell it then I would buy it from him at a realistic price. But he got mad at me when I told him the most I would pay was $25.

Billy

BoJangles

Ok Beth, now I am convinced your machine is actually a Singer 9W. The bobbin on the 9W just pops in and you have to fold the post in. I actually have a bunch of bobbins for my machine, but Billy could tell you if you need special bobbins or just ordinary ones. He probably has the bobbins if they are something special. Mine look pretty ordinary.

As far as the needle, those machines take a special vintage needle that is like pulling teeth to find. I managed to find some on e-bay. You will need a 127X1 or Boye # 18 to use on that machine. Unfortunately, the 9W do not take a normal/modern needle. Billy and I think Charlee are working on finding a low cost modern needle that will work on the 9W machines.

I love my Singer 9W -- It threadles very nice, but also try to remember the wheel on the 9W machines turns the opposite of most other machines. You roll the wheel away from you to sew, not toward you like most treadles!

Please post a picture!

Nancy

BoJangles