Kenmore sewing machine question
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Sacramento County, CA
Posts: 302
Going by the marks on the needle plate, the 148.1217 IS going to be a left homing machine. But the blind stitch is not working right now. Instead my cousin found out that the blind stitch knob plus zero stitch width puts the needle to straight stitch at the center. I might not fix that. It is convenient.
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Sacramento County, CA
Posts: 302
Also I was wrong about the name. Someone scratched "Marc" into the case. I just had not seen it under the dust.
Since the machine was made for '71-'72 I will guess it was Marc Bolan of T-Rex. I will play the music at it once the oil soaks in and see if he likes it.
Since the machine was made for '71-'72 I will guess it was Marc Bolan of T-Rex. I will play the music at it once the oil soaks in and see if he likes it.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Sacramento County, CA
Posts: 302
It IS a left needle machine. A surprise for a Kenmore. I have no idea why the presser foot release popped out while I was setting up the picture but I put it back down right away.
Right now the blind stitch gears do not come together. Instead turning the blind stitch knob to ON puts the needle almost in the center position. This straight stitch foot came with a generic box of Kenmore attachments in a case of the correct unlovely green color. See how the needle is too far to the right in the foot.
The name on the case.
Right now the blind stitch gears do not come together. Instead turning the blind stitch knob to ON puts the needle almost in the center position. This straight stitch foot came with a generic box of Kenmore attachments in a case of the correct unlovely green color. See how the needle is too far to the right in the foot.
The name on the case.
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Sacramento County, CA
Posts: 302
I did more cleaning. Down by the light switch in a different handwriting is the name Patsy. Now the cover says to me Marc Bolan but the machine says Patsy Gallant and I am so very not able to decide which one is better.
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Spring Hill, Tennesee
Posts: 497
Joe is right. There are left and right pointing fingers on the bobbin cases. I bought an old Singer 15 and it took a different one, a left finger. My SMM had to even look it up on the computer to make sure which I needed. I have other machines that take the right pointing finger, so I keep everything. I even kept a badly rusted bobbin case and rehabilitated it to use as an emergency spare. It surprised me because it looked awful in the beginning. Lots of TriFlo oil and rust remover and it works now. I even polished some of the shine back. It is a shame an old machine and its bobbin case are often parted. I keep looking for them everywhere. Sometimes, at thrift shops, you will find the occasional box of SM attachments with a bobbin case inside. The FW bobbin cases are getting hard to find so we need to look for those in all the unusual places. They start at $30 on Ebay and may or may not be original Singer parts. The Chinese replacements leave a lot to be desired. One SMM said he only gets about 8 good ones in every 12 he orders, so what does that tell us? Kenmore parts are harder for me to find. I had to get a foot controller from a SMM and it cost me $20, which was more than I gave for the machine. If anyone knows where to find Kenmore parts, please let us know. Keep looking and may the force be with you.
Last edited by DonnaMiller; 05-30-2015 at 07:22 PM. Reason: sp
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Spring Hill, Tennesee
Posts: 497
Joe is right. There are left and right pointing fingers on the bobbin cases. I bought an old Singer 15 and it took a different one, a left finger. My SMM had to even look it up on the computer to make sure which I needed. I have other machines that take the right pointing finger, so I keep everything. I even kept a badly rusted bobbin case and rehabilitated it to use as an emergency spare. It surprised me because it looked awful in the beginning. Lots of TriFlo oil and rust remover and it works now. I even polished some of the shine back. It is a shame an old machine and its bobbin case are often parted. I keep looking for the everywhere. Sometimes, at thrift shops, you will find the occasional box of SM attachments with a bobbin case inside. The FW bobbin cases are getting hard to find so we need to look for those in all the unusual places. They start at $30 on Ebay and may or may not be original Singer parts. The Chinese replacements leave a lot to be desired. One SMM said he only gets about 8 good ones in every 12 he orders, so what does that tell us? Kenmore parts are harder for me to find. I had to get a foot controller from a SMM and it cost me $20, which was more than I gave for the machine. If anyone knows where to find Kenmore parts, please let us know. Keep looking and may the force be with you.
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foufymaus
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02-05-2014 11:15 AM