Best Singer machine?

ld have thought was

Does anyone know if it is possible to convert a Singer into a Sybian machine?

Interestingly, these represent the 3 different Singer mechanisms - vibrating shuttle, oscillating shuttle and oscillating hook - does anyone know why they produced the different kinds?

- Sally

Sally,

If you have the room - keep the 3 of them. I have found over the years that older machines are more solid. The ones now don't seem to last as long.

Katherine

I agree, but should admit that I have *cough* quite a few machines around here, including a few 99s, a 128, a 129, and a 115. I gave my 15 to my son. It is in a rather nice treadle cabinet and goes well in his

1915 house.

Sally, the hammerite finish is a souvenir of the IIWW I believe, and was applied around that time to "freshen" used machines to make them more saleable when the factory wasn't putting out new machines. it is often called a godzilla finish. BUT, the the 15 K is a modern mechanism and easy to use, easy to find bobbins for and easy to service yourself most of the time.

The model 99 is a smaller version of the model 66 which is also a modern mechanism, easy to find bobbins for if you look for model 66 bobbins.

The model 28 is a smaller version of the 27 and is not so easy to find bobbins for, and when the bobbin case starts to wear out your sunk unless you can find a donor machine which is a boat anchor, but this model does have the historic factor. If you decide to get rid of this one, send it to me. I've loved them for years since My grandma had one and had me doing all her mending on it since I was around

1. She didn't like to sew, I think. I'll pay shipping.

Now why they overlapped was probably a financial reason. the Model

28/128 was produced as the Low end model, the Model 66 and 15 were both higher end models but depended on what features you wanted which you would choose. The model 15 had a zigzag attachment you could buy, not to sure about the model 66/99 sure wish they had a smaller version of the model 15. I'd enjoy having one of those.

I've always found the model 15 to be easier to use, but some people swear by the model 66/99. oil that baby up and try it. see which YOU prefer. No one else can tell you which you will like better, it takes sewing on it to know.

Grandma Kitty

I have one of each... They'm ALL staying! Love the old black Singers! Love that clickety sound they make...

The 15 has a vertical oscillating bobbin -- so does the Featherweight!!!

What does a vertical oscillating bobbin mean?

The bobbin sits vertically, that is, on its side. In the 66/99 machines, it's horizontal, like you would put down a plate. Oscillating means that the bobbin does not spin in a circle, like in a rotary machine, but spins one way, then the other, then back again, without ever making a complete circle.

singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.milky-way.comhttp://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/yeah, what she said. I coulda, if I'd remembered it all. LOL Kitty

Thanks for the explanation. I have a Featherweight freearm but have never really bothered to find out how the bobbins on it or my other old machines work - so long as they work. Is it something that I should be trying to learn more about for the health of my old girls or is it just something that enthusiasts get interested in?

It's not necessary to know, but it helps to differentiate between the various models. All sewing machines today are either rotary or oscillating. There are some vibrating shuttle machines and transverse shuttle machines, but they are antiques now. It becomes more important when cleaning and adjusting and repairing, especially when looking for parts, but if the machine sews for you and you are happy with it, that's sufficient. After all, you probably drive a car, but don't know too much about what makes it go, other than a king's fortune in gasoline, right? Some people are interested in the details of the internal combustion engine and drive-train, others use them and enjoy them and don't care to know more.

You have a 222? That is a prized machine, far beyond just a FW.

Just a note: it's the shuttle hook that oscillates, not the bobbin.

gwh

Thanks. But it's still true that the oscillating motion has a bobbin that doesn't make a full rotary turn, isn't it? My 15 goes back and forth, but my 115 (which I originally thought was a 15) goes round and round.

Nope. The Featherweight uses a horizontal axis rotary hook. Not an oscillator

This is getting complicated for this bear of small brain. What does a "horizontal axis rotary hook" mean and how do I recognise one of these as opposed to a "vertical oscillating bobbin"?

That's a bit of a relief :-)) I'm not good with remembering technical words and descriptions but have no problems with figuring out the mechanics of how things work or go back together. I'm good at regular cleaning and oiling and keeping bobbins for different machines in the right place, but beyond that.......

After all, you probably drive a car, but don't know too

Yeah - I have one of those in the house already and can't for the life of me understand why my mildly expressed interest in what he's being doing in his garage results in detailed descriptions of the workings of the internal combustion engine or other old car crud :-))

Yes I have a 222. At the time when I got it, I didn't even know what I was buying as I was really buying another old machine, sight unseen, and it was thrown in with the description of "a little black Singer" and we didn't talk about it at all, only the other machine. I think I paid either $A100 or $A150 for the two of them.

I bought them off a male work colleague who was getting rid of his aged mother's "stuff" and he knew that the other machine had had very little use and was in pristine condition. He didn't mention that the Featherweight (which I think he didn't rate because it was little and didn't have many knobs or levers) was also in pristine condition. He loaded them into my car when he brought them in so I didn't even see them till I got them home.

I never have told him just what a gem he sold me or what it's resale value is as it was only when I got home that I recognised the black box the Featherweight came in (the box is also in pristine condition). I also don't feel guilty as he was delighted with the amount of money he got (and some time later even told co-workers how he'd done a good deal with me [meaning he thought he'd got eh better part of the deal]).

I know they are worth a lot of money in the US but I have seen them going for quite reasonable sums here in Australia so I suspect it's prized status may have more to do with its rarity within the US than it is here.

That is the best kind of deal that there is -- when both the seller and the buyer think they got the better half of the bargain. ;-)

Apparently the 222 was sold more widely in Oz and the UK than in the US. Graham Forsdyke of ISMACS has a nice little business buying 221s and

222s in the UK and selling them in the US. He's developed a packing protocol that will survive a 6' drop to concrete without damage to the machine.

But the reason the 222 is so prized is not just because it's rare, but because it is an outstanding little machine. I don't have one, but wouldn't pass one up if I found one I could afford.

Well shoot. That's what I get for putting my oar in. Now I'm an ignoramous. Maybe if I used my FW once in a while..... but wait. That would mean I'd actually get something done other than on this computer!