Singer 29K53

It has been a long time since I posted.  There are reasons, I've been busy, stressed and a few other things as well.  I have acquired a few new machines and done a little sewing but I haven't really had the time or inclination to post about any of it.  Until now!

A few months ago I was trawling gumtree (why are the machines I like always in a different state?) and I came across an advert for an industrial patcher, a Singer 29K53 from 1920.  I have been looking to add to my industrial collection for a while now, not in the least because I wanted a clutch drive motor to set up at Grandma's.  Not that Grandma is aware of my plans yet, she does not approve of my machine obsession.  After a bit of negotiation the machine was mine, for $300 I think.

Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to work on it, so this post is not going to include dizzying instructions for dismantling it.  The first thing I checked when I went to look at it was that it had a bobbin.  Although I think they are still readily available, I didn't want to go to the bother of buying one without knowing if my machine worked.  Sadly I didn't check that it had both steering handles.  It doesn't.  I would have asked for a 'bit off' if I had noticed that before I got it home.  Still, it's not the end of the world, just irritating.  Anyhow, I'll show you some pictures.

I hope to have more posts soon!

Singer 328P sewing Machine

One of the many machines I have acquired recently is a Singer 328P.  When I first started at work we had a Singer 327 that I loved.  Unfortunately it had a cracked zig-zag cam and 327's are straight stitch and zig-zag only.  It was a beautiful chocolate colour and quite a streamlined shape and I set my heart on getting a 328, as they took interchangeable cams and looked the same.  When I saw this machine for sale I knew I had to have it, even though it was grey instead of chocolate brown.  It came with its instruction manual and some of its cams.  It takes the same cams as the 306 and 320 though, so I have plenty of cams that will fit it.  Apparently the previous owner had about 7 machines which her grandson found in various wardrobes, I bought the last two.  I wanted the 328 and got the other one (a Stylist I think it is) thrown in for a reduced price plus all the random bits he had left over.

This is how it looked when I brought it home

Just look at that streamlined shape!

There are unfortunately some chips on the paintwork but they are not rusted so do not look too bad.  The bobbin area was very fluffy, just about solid with lint I think. Cleaning bobbin arrangements like this is not my favourite pastime as they are very awkward but it is pretty good now.

Bobbin area before cleaning.

I have not taken the base off a machine like this for a while and I had to guess with it, you simply unscrew the screws circled in the below photograph.

Base, showing which screws to remove.

Under the base cover is fairly typical for a drop in bobbin with oscillating hook.

Bobbin area from underneath, before cleaning.

Under the base cover, showing bobbin and feed mechanisms.

Under the face plate was not too dirty but was very dry.

Under faceplate before cleaning.

The gears under the top cover had been very well greased and the surrounds were liberally sprayed in grey!

Finally I wiped the machine down with a cloth dipped in methylated spirits.

Beautiful 328 after cleaning

Showing cam mounting and follower.

The machine is very quiet when it runs and it stitches very nicely.  I cannot wait to have enough time to be able to sew something on it!

Singer 320K Machine

I have acquired rather a number of machines over the past few weeks, it does not matter how hard I try, I always find more to buy!  One of these machines is the Singer 320K, a free arm version of the Singer 319K (which I also own).  Getting this one was an incredible stroke of luck as the vendor told me it was already sold, before contacting me a week later to say I could have it.  For $25 complete with instruction manual, all cams, all throat plates and various feet, I was extremely happy!  Today I got around to looking at it.  It was very dirty, particularly on the outside and had some damage, mainly from misuse.

The wooden base forms the flat bed.  This is before cleaning.

The bobbin area was very felted and I took the whole hook assembly apart.  When I re-assembled it I retimed the hook for a standard needle, thus doing two jobs at once.

Bobbin area before cleaning

Bobbin assembly dismantled before cleaning

The cleaned bobbin area and feed dogs reassembled

The outside of the machine was stained with lots of old oil.  I have found methylated spirits to be very good for cleaning machines, so long as you check you are not removing the colour as well.

Cam selection keys, before cleaning

Zigzag arm, before cleaning

The back of the machine after I took the motor off, before cleaning.

The zigzag arm and back of the machine arm after cleaning.

Under the faceplate was not too bad, the worst bit was oiling everything with my wayward spray lubricant.  I was getting more oil in my face than the machine was.

I always remove the needle, foot and bobbin/bobbin case before I begin to clean any machine.  Consequently they are the last items I clean and replace on the machine.  When I cam to clean this machines bobbin case I was horrified by the number of needle strikes on it.  It has at some time been incorrectly positioned and the needle has struck the case about fifty times.  As a result the case was misshapen and starting to fracture.  We carefully beat it back into shape and filed the sharp edges off and it seems to work okay.

Bobbin case showing the needle strikes

The pedal innards also required some work, as they had at some stage been assembled incorrectly.  However when I got this machine up and stitching I was very pleased!  It is very quiet, other than the clacking of the throat plate (I must see if I can quieten that down a bit as it is rather irritating) and put up with been run at top speed backwards and forwards without skipping a single stitch.  No mean feat for one of these machines, which tend to be super sensitive.

Lovely and clean, showing fee arm

Clean back of the machine.

All in all, not a bad days work and a very worthwhile $25 I think!

Style 4424 Trousers

It has long been an ambition of mine to possess a pair of high waisted trousers.  However, it would seem high waisted trousers are hopelessly out of fashion and I haven't even seen any at work.  Quite by chance I happened to mention this to my mother, who said she had just the pattern.  I actually wanted fitted trousers but I figured that once I had tried these (flares) I could adjust the width on a second pair.  They are remarkably 70's, in fact the pattern is dated 1974.  Without further rambling I will present you with a photograph:

I am making them from a grey heavyish drapeish material.  The instructions gave me multiple headaches, as there is no instructions given for inserting the zip, it just says 'insert as per instructions on zip and zips (these days anyway) do not have insertion instructions on them.  I did a typical centred zip application, which unfortunately is not perfect.  I also managed to interface the waistband facing instead of the waistband itself, which was rather annoying!  Below are some pictures of the sewing process.

The zip, pinned and tacked.

Stitching the waistband facing over the seam.

The finished zip

When it came to taking them up I had a bit of a problem as there was no-one who could help me mark them up.  I ended up taking photos of them at various lengths and judging from that (there's no mirrors either).  Once I had done one leg, I folded the trousers in half and attempted to make the lags the same length.  They are not perfect but I think they will be fine.  I trimmed the excess (quite a lot, even though I shortened the pattern by 7.5cm when I cut it, I think they were designed for a giraffe) to an even length, then overlocked the raw edge and folded it under and stitched.  I then stitched the main hem by hand.  Although I say it myself, I think I did a good job of the hems.  All I need now is a couple of hooks and bars for fastening the waistband.

Trimming the excess

Completed hems

I used the Singer 201K mounted in the Singer 206K table for these.  I had to swap hand wheels to make the belt fit but other than that using the 201 is now a breeze!

The Singer 201K in the 206's stand

When I was (unsuccessfully) looking for some hooks and bars, I came across a card of buttons and some large snap fasteners that I had to share photos of.  They are both English made, something that one can only dream of now!

I love these, I'm not sure I will ever use them, they are too pretty!

I do not know if some snap fasteners still have holes for aligning but the ones I buy do not!

Hopefully I will have hooks and bars soon and then when the weather cools down can wear my new trousers!

Singer 201K

Quite some time ago I bought a lovely Singer 201 from work.  However with study I never got around to cleaning it.  On Sunday I was bored and decided to get it out and play with it.  Every time I get this machine out I sit and look at it for a bit because it is just so beautiful and sleek.  This time was no different and afterwards I set in to cleaning it thoroughly.  There is no rust on it, excepting the hand wheel but a lot of caked on oil and dust.  This I set about removing, before oiling it and trying to set it up.  I started under the bed of the machine, because I always do.

Packed in its crate with its motor, as it has been for a year.

Under the bobbin area

Gear cover, to remove, remove circled screws.

Bobbin gear cover, to remove, remove circled screws.

Lovely metal gears.

Once I had finished under the bed I did the rest of the machine, starting with under the faceplate and moving through to the bobbin area and finally all the 'cosmetic' work, which isn't necessary for the efficient functioning of the machine but I like to know it's all shiny.

Under the faceplate, before cleaning

Bobbin and needle area, before cleaning

Hook, after the removal of the bobbin case.

Clean bobbin area

After some cosmetic work 

At the moment I have it mounted in the Singer 206's table, running off the industrial motor as its own motor needs a lot of work.  I am very pleased with it, it is very quiet and stitches very neatly.

Reassembling the Singer 206 Motor

As you may remember back in December 2013 (here)  I took the Singer 206 industrial motor apart in order to replace the bearings.  It sat around in pieces for a year (just over actually) before we got around to removing the bearings and replacing them.  I wish we hadn't put it off so long as it only took 2 days to do!

First we removed the outer, easier, bearing using a gear puller and then we removed the shaft, this left us with one bearing lodged inside the casting and held in with a circlip.  We ran a screwdriver behind the circlip and then we had all three bearings out.  It cost us $35 to buy replacement bearings but I figured it was cheaper than buying another 206.  Below are images:

First bearing removed, second still on shaft

Arrow pints to the circlip holding the bearing in

Using the gear puller to remove the end of the motor and the second bearing

The shaft of the motor, without the casing.

When it came to reassembling the motor and attaching the wires, I was glad I had taken so many photos before but I still could never quite find the right photograph!  While we were doing electrical work on it, we decided to shorten the power lead, so as to cut off a damaged bit.  This resulted in having to rewire the switch on the table.

Switch inside

Despite our concerns the motor now works fine and is MUCH quieter than it was before.  We are considering putting rubber washers on the bolts that hold it on to the table though as the table is hollow and acts as an amplifier.

In other news, I have been quite busy and managed to miss Tallulah Bankhead's birthday, however I thought I would still post a couple of pictures of her.  I love many of her quotes as they make me laugh.

When I stop being so lazy I should have a nice post about the beautiful 201K I acquired a while ago.