converting to free arm?

Probably. Griest and Singer both made buttonholers for the old Singers. It's a contraption that clamps onto the needlebar and runs off a cam in the body of the buttonholer. They make the *best* buttonholes (even better than the ones on my Viking #1).

I don't think they're made anymore, but I got one at a junk shop for $4 and one off eBay for about $10 including shipping.

I just wish they worked on the new machines. I actually bought an old Singer just to do buttonhole with the buttonholer.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

There is no reason the buttonhole attachments shouldn't work on new machines as long as the shank type is the same and you have room to mount it.

Well, to convert an old cast iron flat bed to a free arm you will need the following :

Hack saw, Welding equipment A full chest worth of mechanics tools etc.

get the picture ?

It isn't that your request is silly, it isn't But, sewing machines ( like most other equipment) are made one way to stay that way. Ever notice that when there is a choice the free arm version is always slightly more expensive then the flat bed ? that was nothing to do with the " extra feature" that is the free arm.

Flat bed machines are just easier to make. Various parts can be spaces out more freely, push rods can be straight, and so on, which also makes the thing easier to assemble. And so more affordable.

Free arm machines need to have their parts fitted in a much smaller, narrower space. and conscequently are "twisted" to fit, since more parts occupy a smaller volume they also are mode difficult to assemble.

Ever notice that there realy weren't that many free arm machines before electronic machines became popular ?, that is because electrnic machines usualy come with multiples motors ( one for the feed dog, one for needle going up and down, one for the needle going side to side). All these motors are controled through wires, Older mechanical/electric models were driven by one motor and all the functions were there results of cams and pushrods and power trains, all these had to be position relative to eachother. In an electronic machine each motor can be where ever regardless of the position of the others and each is independently controled by a computer and connected by wires, So they can be fitted any which way the maker chooses.

so there you go , I hope I didn't bore you but that is, in a nut shell, why you can't do what you wanted to do.

Sorry

Jean

I would like to chime in on this buttonholer thread, since I was actualy considering getting one just yesterday.

I was thinking of getting one on ebay, but most of them say "Singer" and seem to be made for 300 and 400 series machine, and I know that those machine were slanted ( my brother has a 401). My machine isn't slanted, ( I would tell you the model but I still haven't figured out what the american equivalent is). I have a straigh perpendicular shaft, the machine uses low presserfeet has a side loading bobin and drop down feed dogs. So I was wondering it there was a specific model I should look for or if just any old buttonholer will do.

Jean

Yes, there is a model for that. I have two. One is for my 401G, the other for my 99K. They are not interchangable. The one I have for the 99K fits low shank machines.

So what is then name or number of the 99k buttonholer ?

Jean

"CW" a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Yes, actually, there is. I've tried it.

The buttonholer clamps to the needle bar at the screw. On all of the newer machines I've tried it on (a simplicity, a white, and a viking), the needle screw comes unscrewed and the needle falls out about halfway through the buttonhole.

I happened across a 1947 Singer (in a table!) for $40 at a rummage sale. Bought it, had it tuned up at the shop for $75.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

"Jean Péloquin" wrote

LOL, I figured it wasn't possible, but was hoping against hope. Oh well, you can't have everything ...sigh.

Cindy

The box says "Singer Buttonholer". No model number that I could find on it but the manual is for #489500 or #489510.

No. But there are some old ones that were made as free-arm machines. The most famous (and expensive) is the Featherweight Model 222, but it is a straight-stitch machine. The one I covet is either a Singer 411 or 413, IIRC. It's essentially a 401 (love that machine!!!) with a free arm.

Your machine is a slant-needle machine? Yes, you can use a Singer buttonholer that comes in a maroon plastic box, or the one in the pink space-age case. The green ones are for straight needle, low shank machines. Then there is the Singer Professional, which has plastic templates instead of pot-metal ones. You get about 20 templates with the buttonholer. These come in both straight needle and slant needle configurations, so look at the attachment, the block of metal that attaches to the presser foot bar on the machine. There will be stamped the word "straight" or "slant". With buttonholers, finger-tightening the screw is usually not enough. Use the screwdriver. That attachment vibrates a lot!

"Pogonip" wrote The one I covet is either a Singer 411 or 413,

Thanks for the great info! I'll have to check out the 411...I really want that free arm! My sewing machine collection keeps growing and growing and the DH grimacing.

I believe the 237 is a low straight shank. I've ordered about 10 feet online and can't wait to get a buttonholer, and maybe some other fun gadgets.

Tonight I stitched up a sewing machine cover and embroidered a little sewing machine on the front. I figured the machine's staying out on the sewing table more than in its case, so it needs proper protection :) It stitched through very thick intersecting seams like hot butter. My way-too-expensive sewing/embroidery machine would have choked and sputtered on that! Don't even think my 99K would have done as well.

Cindy, in WV, who can't WAIT till flea market and yard sale season ;)

Did you even read what I wrote?

"the buttonholer clamps to the needle bar (shank) at the screw". I didn't say that it was clamped by the screw, nor that it clamped the screw.

Yes, it did ride on the screw housing. The vibration is enough that the screw unscrews itself as the buttonhole is stitched.

And right here you agreed with me that it doesn't work on all machines. You had to modify your Kenmore so that it would work. I don't modify machines (OK, I took the needle threader off the white).

At the time I wasn't sewing enough that it was worth the time and effort to figure out the mod and find someone in a town of 10,000 who was willing and able to do the work. The built in buttonholes on the machines were acceptable until I found an old Singer that the buttonholer was built for.

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

You said "The buttonholer clamps to the needle bar at the screw". In proper opperation, the actuating fork doesn't clamp to anything. When you talk about clamping, it would give the impression you are using the screw to clamp it.

It's not clamped at all. It rides on the housing. Has nothing to do with the screw.

This is likely do to sloppier parts in newer machines. A piece of vinyl tube as a lock washer will fix this problem.

No. Actuator bar. The buttonholer. Not the machine.

Your helplesness is not my problem. Took all of 2 minutes.

.net

I can't find this model. If you find it, could you let me know? It's not a 411 or a 413; I have checked pix of manuals for both.

Try looking at 421G. There's one listed FS in this week's FWF list. The other 4xx series ones I've seen with freearms have been German made, too, I believe. Possibly

Okay, I found a picture of a 421. It's an industrial machine; no wonder I couldn't find it.