Category Archives: Vintage Sewing Machines

Completed Machines

Vintage Sewing Machines

Singer 66 – SN AA748769 (SOLD)

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspects, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Installed and adjusted for replacement parts: bobbin wheel, bobbin case, bobbin winder, bobbin pin, and felt
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 66 – SN AC464228 (SOLD)

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspects, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Installed and adjusted for replacement parts: bobbin wheel, bobbin case, bobbin winder, bobbin pin, and felt, new Alpha-Sew motor, electronic control, motor belt with brushes.
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 66 – SN AC881797

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder, new spring
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure
  • Installed and adjusted for replacement parts: bobbin wheel, felt, bobbin

Singer 99 – EF625174

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Installed and adjusted for replacement parts: bobbin wheel, felt, motor belt
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 99 – GO343605

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 201 AL807241

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

New Bobbin Wheel, thread pin, thread pin felt, LED bulb $12.95, Power cord with foot controller $60.00

Singer 15-90K JC275701

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Installed and adjusted for replacement parts: bobbin wheel, spool pin and felt
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 15-91 – AK951495

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

New felt, thread pin, bobbin wheel

Singer 15-91 – AK951495 (Pending completion of cabinet restoration)

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

New felt, thread pin, bobbin wheel

Singer 301-A – NA440839 (SOLD)

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 306 EK016242 – (Pending power cord, cam 1, for final testing)

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 758 Touch N Sew – AS434940

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control and lower fork
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted feed dogs and timing
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure

Singer 99-K EK742209 – (Pending write-up and photos for this machine)

Singer 9W7 – SN 3175760  (Rebadge Wheeler & Wilson)

Hobbyist and Vintage Machine Conservationist – Machine services performed:

  • Body cleaned
  • Cleaned, inspected, adjusted bobbin case
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted upper thread tension
  • Clean, inspected, and adjusted handwheel
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted bobbin winder
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted stitch length control
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted presser foot rod
  • Cleaned, inspected, and adjusted needle bar, and take-up mechanisms
  • Cleaned, inspected, and feed dogs (see comments below)
  • Performed stitch test for – upper tension, bobbin tension, stitch length, presser foot pressure (see comments below

Vintage Singer 306K

Vintage Sewing Machines

The Singer 306K sewing machine was produced at the Kilbowie factory between 1954 and 1961. They were finished in either black or a tan colour, but a few were made with a tan crinkle finish to the pillar, top arm and top cover plate. This machine uses a removable bobbin case that mounts vertically into the hook from the front. One of the draw backs with this bobbin case is the necessity to tilt the machine backwards to access the bobbin case underneath the bed. To make this easier, the base is provided with a latch to support the machine in the tilted back position.

306K reassembled: Cleaned, oiled, greased, timed, and stitch testing done. Awaiting ‘zigzag’ cam to preform final stitch testing and bight control function.

The correct needles for this machine are 206 x 13, a shorter length than other machines. Our machine came with the alternate bobbin case, with a hemi-sphere cut out, allowing for the ability to use standard 15 x 1 needles found on all other Singer vintage models.

Bobbin case providing ability to use 15 x 1 Needles

Our 306K is also known as the ‘Automatic Swing-Needle 306K’ . This provides the ability to automatically produce different stitch patterns by mounting plastic pattern discs (cams) into a holder at the top of the main pillar. The engineering for this machine is different than it’s earlier vintage ancestors. The new mechanisms are a ‘swing mechanism’, a ‘bight control’, a ‘cam follower’, and a specialty ‘drive belt’.

Bight control
Swing needle mechanism
Rear connecting rod for swing needle mechanism
Rear front connection for swing needle mechanism
Cam follower upper, front, right, and drive belt feed
Change in needle bar to provide ‘swing needle’ movement
Machine fully stripped
Parts ready to be cleaned

Another 15-91 ready to go..

Vintage Sewing Machines

My Sweetie picked up another 15-91 yesterday. In need of a little love and service, it got my full attention today. Here is the machine being broken down. As I separate the parts, I place them in containers with a little simple green. They then go into my ultra-sonic cleaner. Once they are finished, I dry and separate into small container drawers. Next I clean, service, oil, and grease the machine (including the motor). Then begins the process of reassembling, polishing, and finally testing. Below is a picture of the finished machine. The next series of photos are the process I use to clean and keep organized. Finally, you can see a video of the stitch test and the bobbin winder test.

After servicing and ready for new life…
Stitch testing for tension, length, and reverse
Bobbin Winding

My Singer 301-A

Vintage Sewing Machines

I started restoring my Singer 301-A this week. It was recovered from a home where it had long been forgotten. It will be a few more weeks until it is fully restored, as I gather and install some missing pieces. That said, it cleaned up and sews beautifully. Here is this lovely beauty’s current cleaned and serviced state. Beginning with picture two, you can see the process as I disassemble and begin to clean this machine.

First Singer 301 Restoration

Vintage Sewing Machines

This machines has a unique history that you can read about at Singer301.com here is a small excerpt:

“The new Slant-needle sewing machine would not only be marketed as a “Family Sewing Machine” but also as the “Slant Shank System” to educators and high schools that wanted the most reliable machine able to withstand the daily abuse from high school students. Singer felt that the education system would produce a new generation of sewers raised on the slant shank or Slant-needle sewing machines.

It would be the first family sewing machine ever made that was a cabinet and portable all in one. You can raise the handle and lift the machine out of the cabinet and carry it anywhere. The first family sewing machine to sew up to 1,600 stitches per minute. Singer craftsmen took 100 years of engineering knowledge and built an amazing machine that represented the ultimate in sewing machine design and styling. This new Slant-needle sewing machine would be known as the revolutionary “Singer Model 301”.“

The 301 would be the last machine Singer still offered in classic ’Black’ found on all earlier Singer models. It also is a close relative to the very popular Singer Featherweights. They use the same bobbins, much of the engineering in the needle bar and drives are very similar, and they also have a ’fold back’ arm to more easily access the bobbin area.

When I restore the machines, I tear them down. I clean out all the old grease and oil, internally and externally. The removable parts I run through my parts washer so they look new again. The first six pictures below are of the machine once I restored and cleaned this 301. Those starting with picture 7 show the state of the machine when I began, along with how the parts look once through the cleaner.

If you look at the very last picture in this post, you can see the type of grunge that often exists that prevented a machine from working. This machine had so much compacted fabric fuzz it created an entire 1/2 inch thick piece of felt. There also were multiple types of thread wrapped around the bobbin case as well as the machine wheel. I take great joy in giving a machine back it’s original beauty and a new life. The video directly below is the final stitch test after restoration.

Two new machines finished..

Vintage Sewing Machines

With the holiday season winding down, I had a chance to finish up two more vintage sewing machines. One is a Singer 15 and the other is a Singer 758 Touch-‘n-Sew.

I have refurbished a few Singer 15-90 and 15-91 machines. My Sweetie refurbishes the cabinets. This particular cabinet is very unique from the others we have gathered. It has a curved door, that when opened, provides storage drawers. It also has a sewing bench that provides even more storage underneath.

The Singer Touch ’n Sew series is the most ’modern’ of the vintage machines I have restored so far. This style machine has a unique bobbin system. The bobbin is wound directly into the bobbin case. The upper area, where most would assume is a ’tension’ guide, actually is a specialty thread guide. The trick for good tension is in threading this piece correctly. If you end up with large ’nested’ loops, this is the number one place to look. It is the only machine I have restored that also has built-in buttonholes, along with several decorative stitches. The machine has several cams that are interchangeable.

Helpful resources for VSM…..

Vintage Sewing Machines

Several of my followers have asked about the resources that I use to learn about my vintage sewing machines. I have always been a tinkerer and love to learn. (I also am a retired teacher). As a visual, auditory learner myself, YouTube is a treasure trove for me. Below are some of my favorite Vintage Sewing Machine resources: YouTube, Blogs, and Parts Resources: