Duzzy

Hi,

I'm new, and I'm hoping to pick some brains (if I may). I recently bought a Singer 533 Stylist, mostly fixed it, and then bought a new machine instead of getting the Singer 100%. I can't for the life of me find anything about the new one.

It's branded as a Premier Model 5700. From what I have found it's probably some form of Singer clone, it probably takes Singer/Pfaff parts, there are potentially thousands of 'badges' from a few manufacturers that are essentially the same machine, and there aren't any good records of anything that came out of Japan. It is currently sticking (motor runs fine when the mechanism is disengaged) and missing part of the tensioner, the bobbin winder, and the presser foot. It's currently soaking in oil, but I'd like to find a manual to make sure I've hit all of the oiling points, make sure the dials are in the 'correct' place, and then a place to source some parts.

I've seen the 'same' looking machine labeled as a Morse 5700 and a Dressmaker 5700, but the manuals I've found for those cost more than I paid for the machine, and I'd rather not pay for something unless I'm sure it's right. It looks exactly like the Morse seen on this manual. Kind of in pieces right now so I haven't taken any pictures.

I'm hoping to find what machine this was cloned from (if it is indeed a clone) so I can start fixing it up. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

-Eric

bkay

No, that is not what is referred to as a Singer clone. A "Singer" clone is referring to the 15 class machines that were produced in Japan after WWII. I understand that the US government gave Japan the plans of the Singer 15-88, so that they could re-purpose their factories from war time production and get their economy going again.

Your machine is what is referred to as a "badged" machine. Japanese (later Taiwan) manufacturers sold machines that had different brand names on them so that the same machine could be sold at different stores in the same city.

You have the same machine that was sold under the Morse and Dressmaker badges, so the manual is almost surely the right manual for your machine.

Whether you can find a source for those missing parts is another question.

bkay

Duzzy

Thank you for the clarification. It's not always easy to find 'accurate' information on the internet. One of the sources I read said that anything with a Premier badge was a post-WWII Singer clone from Japan that was compatible with x, y, and z. Without a knowledge base or any more context--I can only make assumptions. I knew it wasn't a Singer 15 clone based on other stuff I found, but I didn't know that it wasn't a Singer clone.

I found the bobbin winder inside the machine. The attaching screw is snapped so that will be a pain to reattach and fix, but hopefully not impossible. Most of the thread tensioner also appears to be there; I have the bevel washers, the slotted washer, little post that works with the presser foot--I think I just need the spring and end cap; and the foot post looks a lot like my Singer so... hope? (assuming I get the rest of it working)

Mickey2

It might have class 15 bobbin case. There are stores specalising in screws, bolts and nuts, they have any dimension of threading, widith, lenght, etc. If not they can usually make one.

There are a few intersting early Japanese zigzaggers, but a major part of them develps from a buy up or merging with the White or New Home company (if I remember correctly). I can't remember exactly (needs a bit of investigation). From these there's the Japanese standard evolved and I guess parts will be specific for these models, even if related models often shared parts. Presser feet are often basic low shank, a lot of Singer feet will be compatible.

These old machines are often stuck and sluggish, just take off tops and lids, and give it a few turns of cleaning, oiling and running the machine the next few days and it will run again. If not, inspect parts, you will find the problem area.

You can probably search up a replacement tensioner, it's hard to make your own part. If too many parts are missing it might not be worth the effort, but if it's a nice running model with all metal gears some are willing to invest some time and money to get them up and running again.

Duzzy

I bought the manual, which is nice because it came with a parts index/sheet in the back. So, I now know what parts I need assuming I can find them. However, it might be a moot point because I isolated the sticking problem to the hand wheel, and while trying to gently whack it off with a rubber hammer one of the cast linkages up front broke. So, even if I could find those other parts I'm pretty sure I just busted up something I won't be able to find. Such is life I suppose.

Mickey2

Very unfortunate. Some parts are pull off, some have a grub screw on the side, maybe accessaable under the top of the machine. With parts like hand wheels, knobs, and push buttons, they need a gentle approach, some times a firm grip, but still gentle. They are made to come appart for repair and service, and the main job is to figure out which method is used.

Duzzy

It was held on with a spring pin, which I punched out. But then it wouldn't come off, so I hit it with some oil and then started tapping on it. There's a set screw further up the linkage that's suppose to keep everything from slipping, but for whatever reason (wasn't tight enough, wasn't designed to resist the forces I was applying) it didn't. So, even though I wasn't hitting it that hard, every time I was hitting it the linkage was being banged into the main housing. I assume the cast part was either already weak, or was just a brittle material. Lesson learned, but still kind of a shame.