Frister and Rossmann Transverse Sewing Machine

One of the machines I have recently acquired is a Frister and Rossmann transverse shuttle machine.  It so happened I was talking to two very nice people about sewing machines and they offered me the machine they had never been sure what to do with.  How could I say no?

At this stage I didn't know what make the machine was although I was assured it was German, which covered a number of possibilities.  I then received an email telling me it was a Frister and Rossmann with a 'horizontal' shuttle, which was a particularly useful piece of information and made me very excited to get my hands on it.  Unfortunately its owners were about to go away for a few weeks to Ceduna so I had to bide my time.

I was not disappointed.  It is a lovely machine, although it shows signs of wear and comes with its shuttle and a whole host of feet, the whole thing being carefully ensconced in a coffin top box.  Just goes to show, sometimes sewing machines really are appropriate dinner-time conversation, for me at least!  In another two weeks I get a three week holiday and I am really hoping to work on  number of machines, including this F&R, the Singer 12, the Borletti 1102 and another new purchase that shall remain unnamed for now.

The F&R from the front

End on, apologies for bad phone pictures.

The pillar with badge

Finally on a completely different tack, I was sewing a skirt for my mother a few months ago using the Helvetia (another machine I really need to get around to posting about) and was really struck with the colour combination as shown below.  I love the colour of this machine, when I discovered they were made in this colour I knew I had to have one.

Sewing a skirt on the Helvetia

Kitchen Towels

I have been far too busy to do anything remotely interesting recently, although I do have some lovely new machines to post pictures of.

However, I had to make some simple kitchen towels for a birthday present and, probably because I was in a hurry, they took four times as long as usual and every machine I touched threw a tantrum.  Needless to say, frustration is not the word.  I thought I would post pictures of the completed towels though.

Decorative stitching on the bottom edge

The tops, complete with buttons

Novelty 'dress' towel, I do like making these.

The buttonholer was by far the best behaved machine, it took me about 10 minutes to set it all up and do all three buttonholes.  I do love that machine.

Singer 12 Sewing Machine

My latest purchase is a birthday present for a family member similarly interested in sewing machines.  I won this machine on ebay (my first foray into the world of bidding) for the sum of $70 but only paid $60 as I had an ebay voucher.  I did not know for certain what the machine was when I bid on it but trusted my memory and instinct that it was a 12 and I was correct.  The listing also said that it was missing its shuttle, which it isn't, I was ever so pleased when I discovered that.
I have limited time to look at it as I have to wait until its intended recipient is out for a while.  However, in the two brief looks at it that I've had I have ascertained that the belt guard is sheered on the front (I have no idea how that is possible without it being severely damaged in some other way.), it is completely seized and I can't get a single screw undone.  I am doing well!  It will now have to wait for another few weeks before I get an opportunity to investigate it again but here are some pictures to be going on with.

Belt guard showing broken section in front

Bobbin winder detached

Underneath

White Family Rotary

One of my most recent purchases was a machine that I have wanted for a very long time - ever since I passed up on one in a scrapyard, a White Rotary.  This beautiful machine comes in a lovely cabinet, unfortunately slightly water damaged, with a fantastic mechanism which lifts the machine as the top opens.  I have not yet found the time to work on it, other than removing a large thread lock from the race but I am looking forward to it!

From the back

From the front, unfortunately the word 'White' has rubbed off

The decal on the inside of the pillar

Showing faceplate and tension assembly

Patents are stamped on the uniquely shaped plate.

The latest patent on mine is 1913 so it could be almost 103 years old.  Not bad condition for a machine that has been around that long!

How is it possible?

I had a bad feeling about the coming year already, this hasn't helped.............

Butterick B5920.....

....my new favourite dress!  For the past few years I have made myself a dress in late November to wear to an end of year function.  My previous favourite was the rose pinafore that I made a couple of years ago.  However, I think it could have just been eclipsed by my latest creation.  I was short on time and even shorter on motivation when I started making it but it went together like a dream and fitted wonderfully.  I didn't take any construction images (too much of a hurry) but have some completed images.

 Instead of fussing about with a sheer and probably difficult material (and then having to make a slip as well) I went for a sensible cotton printed quilting material.  It happened to be on clearance when we bought it, fortunately given the price!  I made the belt from a scrap of red poplin I had over and used pretty bright red shank buttons, although you can't see them in the picture.

From the front

From the side. I'm in love with those shoes btw!

Collar detail before buttons added

I used my Singer 66 (not yet posted about here) for the general construction, set into the 206's table so I could use the clutch motor.  However, my 66 is one of the earlier ones and has the earlier presser bar which requires special feet.  As a consequence I did the buttonholes on my industrial buttonholer, the 71-30.

Finally, today is Loretta Young's birthday and I cannot resist a few lovely photographs....

Those sleeves.....

Oiling and Cleaning a Vibrating Shuttle Sewing Machine

Recently I have acquired a number of new machines, including two vibrating shuttle machines.  I decided to create a post detailing how to oil and clean one, particularly in the case of the machine being seized through being left to sit.

From the front

The machine used below is called The Valley B.G. and is made in Germany.  I suspect it could be a re-badged Vesta.  It should be noted not all machines are identical although most parts operate in a fairly similar fashion.  A White vibrating shuttle, for example, has a different mechanism for operating the shuttle movement.  If the machine is seized, gently clean the oil holes to try an reduce the amount of dust likely to fall inside and apply oil to all oil holes on the arm of the machine, see below:

Oil holes on arm of machine

There is another oil hole just out of frame which lubricates the main shaft as it leaves the head and is attached to the hand-wheel.  This machine had no oil holes on the bed but some machines do, so check yours and oil if need be.

Now turn the machine on its back so that you can see underneath.  Referring to the diagram below oil the machine, applying grease to the roller and its track (see close up below).  Use all oil holes but if there doesn't seem to be one just drip or spray oil into the join between two moving parts as much as possible.  The top left hand arrow in the picture which says 'grease' should actually say 'oil' instead.  Using steel wool and oil, you can clean all the rods, being sure to remove any rust and wiping the parts clean with a rag afterwards.

Underneath of machine showing oiling and greasing

Oil hole in shuttle mechanism

Showing where to grease roller for shuttle mechanism

Remove the back plate on the machine and thoroughly grease the cam and fork and the rocking mechanism, as indicated in the image below.

Showing greasing under back plate.

Now remove the face-plate, needle, foot and throat plate.  Take note of which way the needle was inserted and if in doubt about whether it is a standard size, hang on to it for later comparisons.  If the machine is still seized and with the needle down, removing the needle may be impossible, in which case the throatplate will not come off either.  However, if you have oiled the machine as above, some gentle force may help your cause.  Sometimes you will have to repeat oil them and leave them to sit for a few days before they will yield.

Shows screws to remove throatplate, needle and foot

Now turn your attention to under the faceplate (the metal cover that sits on your left if you are facing the machine).  Underneath you will have the needlebar, presser bar, take-up lever and other delights which won't concern us yet.  Clean the needle and presser bars well with oil and steel wool and then evenly oil so that they glide smoothly up and down.

Under the faceplate

Both the take-up lever (seen above) and the needle bar are moved up and down by a cam stud roller following a cam.  These rollers and cams need to be well greased so that the move freely without dragging.  The rollers are supposed to rotate as they travel around the cam so they do not drag an wear it.  This can be hard to test though, watching closely with a torch is your best bet.  Below are close-up images showing these rollers and their cams in relation to the surrounding parts and showing where to grease.

Take-up lever operation from under face-plate

Take-up lever roller and track from front

Roller for moving needlebar up and down from under face-plate

Now turn the machine upside down again and clean the arch of the shuttle's track well with steel wool and oil.  Once clean, smear a film of grease across it using your finger.  This is to lubricate the shuttle as it runs across.

Shuttle track, clean and grease.

Shows shuttle sitting on its track

 Now dismantle the tension assembly carefully.  Remove the thumbnut all the way and then carefully take the pieces off, laying them in order so that you know how to replace them.  Leave the take-up spring on the shaft and clean the threads with a soft wire brush and some oil.  Clean the tension discs well so that they don't snag thread and ensure the tension spring is put back on with the final loop facing downwards.

After removal of tension assembly

Parts of tension assembly in order of reassembly

Showing correct placement of tension spring

Now turn your attention to the shuttle.  You should remove the tension spring and clean it well with steel wool and oil and clean the shuttle thoroughly in the same way.  Tension on the thread is adjusted using the screw you remove to take out the spring.

Removing tension spring

Tension spring and screw, before cleaning

Showing lint under spring which will interfere with tension regulation

Once reassembled, grease flat edges of shuttle lightly.

Where to grease shuttle

Now you can thread the shuttle with a long bobbin.  Using two hands, hold the shuttle in one ( the left if you are right-handed) and the bobbin in the other, so that the bobbin thread is across the bobbin and the end is on the right, as below but I only had one hand spare!

Showing bobbin thread direction and cut in shuttle.

Now drop the bobbin into the shuttle, dragging the thread down the cut in the side until it reaches the end and moves up the other side.

Thread at end of cut

Now pull the thread to the left until it goes under the finger on the tension spring.

Showing thread under finger

Bring thread back to the right over the finger and your shuttle is ready to go into the machine.

Finished threading

To insert the shuttle into the machine, place it point first into the shuttle carrier and drop the other end gently guiding it to sit straight and evenly into it, as below:

Inserting the shuttle

Hopefully the above can serve as a starting point to anyone wishing to work on a vibrating shuttle sewing machine.  Any questions feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help.