oldsewnsew

Neat one CD! Imagine one of those angular black Kenmore/Whites! Handcranked. Then you could crank the "right" direction

ThayerRags

My wife and I were Vendors at a local Quilt Show this past Friday & Saturday, and I took along “Hurkie”, my little hurricane ravaged featherweight handcrank machine to piece quilt blocks with during the show. (It came out of MS shortly after hurricane Katrina and appeared to have been submerged in water for some time, so I guessed that it could have been a victim of the hurricane. I removed the rusty motor and installed a handcrank.) We like to have some sewing going on in our booth to help create interest and entertainment, and Hurkie takes up the least amount of space in the booth. It has a 1:1 crank ratio, and I have to crank it “backwards” for a Singer.

Well, a fellow that I know from up close to OKC was there selling featherweights, some with new paint and some with nice original paint. I really liked his Blackside Singer 221, and he even had along a Singer 404- that has the bobbin winder on the top like a 404G, but has an Anderson SC serial number on it, so we’re not sure what it really is. Anyway, he noticed my Hurkie and commented that the 1:1 ratio was just too slow for him. It takes too much time to sew anything with it.

I looked him square in the eye, and said “And that’s a problem?....when we’re going to be here until 5pm whether I sew anything or not?”. He got my point. If all you have is time, it’s not a problem!

CD in Oklahoma

Mrs. SewNSew

I've been avoiding this Kenmore for awhile now but after so many comments on how great they are I pushed myself to get a start on it. No offense to those who love Kenmores, but for me they are just so ugly and plain. They are like the orthopedic shoes of footwear. Of course it didn't make it any easier that the case is a shattered thin plastic mess, damaged both on the top and the bottom. Even after convincing myself that the machine had much to offer I longingly thought of sledgehammers.

It was firmly wedged in the case probably from the melted bumpers and taped cord but I pressed on. Once removed from the case I found it could not free stand due to the fact the motor is on the bottom and the cord is smashed to the table when I tried to set it upright. Gah! Poor design! ~ And once again I am thinking about sledgehammers!

Even without some standing ability, I decided the case was trash and grabbed some scrap wood and a drill to make pedestals for the feet.

Once I got the mousie poo washed off, I started into the deeper cleaning and oiling and lost all track of time. It's clean, it remembers how to zig-zag and it's making happy noises.

The cord needs work, the motor needs a good cleaning, the gear box some fresh grease and I still need to work on the needle sway but I'm "into" it now and she's coming right along!

miriam

Christy, does the reverse button work on that machine???

Mrs. SewNSew

Reverse? Ummm I haven't found one. What you see on the right is a button switch to turn on or off and a toggle to lower the feed dogs.

miriam

On the very front of the machine that top button on the right that you turn to do zig zag - next to the big rectangle thing that says Sears Kenmore should be your reverse - raise your pressure feet, push that button in and see if the feed dogs move.

Mrs. SewNSew

Yes! It does work. Very cool! I don't have a manual for this machine and NEVER would have found that. Thank You!

miriam

You are fortunate it works! I have one of those and the reverse does not work.

ThayerRags

Not really a machine, but the cabinet that one goes into. This one had an unnamed HA-1 machine in it. Well, actually, it’s named, but I can’t read it.

This little cabinet is only 21 inches wide, 17 inches deep, and 31 and a half inches tall. The seat and storage bin slides out during use. The stool seat portion measures 15 inches wide, 12” deep, and hinges on the front, so I’d say that unless you’re really small, sewing on this unit would mean “Gitter Done” with no dilly-dallying. As in...set down, shut up, and sew... and try to get done before your hinny gets to hurting. I spent an hour or so sorting the sewing notions, tools, and junk that was in the (full) storage bin. I got lots of nice old class 15 bobbins, a pair of Wiss scissors, and a yard of nice fabric. There was also a nearly full can of Coop oil that is recommended for sewing machines, amongst other things!

I’ve seen other cabinets like this called “Hollywood-style”, and I don’t know of any other name for them. Anybody know any other name for them? I had one for a while that was sold by Pfaff and came with a 230 in it. Singer sold one too, I believe, and I think that’s where I got the name Hollywood from.

My friends with the Junk Shop that called me and made me a terrific deal on it (so that I would take it) said that they could have sold it 10 times in the 2 days that they had it, but everyone wanted to buy the “little chest of drawers”.

CD in Oklahoma

SteveH

Stealth Machine..... So burglars will not know to steal it.... hehe