quilt938

As I've posted before since finding this awesome board (esp the pictures) my mom had bought several old machines- mostly Singer- in the 5 years or so before she passed. I finally brought them down to my home and am trying to find space for them all. One I saw briefly and thought 'yuck' and again last night when I was taking its cabinet up and realized which machine had been in it. Turns out it's a Singer 66 with that rough finish- godzilla? I also noticed it has a black tension know - thought maybe I had one of those blacksides I heard about recently when I saw the know but the other stuff is regular looking. I guess maybe they replaced it or were using up leftover parts as they had them? I'm still trying to adjust to this machine's appearance - it doesn't look 'friendly' like the nice shiny black ones - it looks 'mean' - I know I know doesn't make sense but this machine intimidates me more than the others! It also has a centennial thingy on it - badge? I'm wondering if this finish is popular? I'm not planning on selling it and I know tons of 66s were made. I hven't tried sewing on it yet - so far I've only tested a few of her machines and reallly love the 15-90 - it's so beautiful - but need to read up on cleaning and all that maintenance stuff.

so is this finish popular?

also looking through the photos in the different stickies I saw an awesome machine - think it was a 28/27/127/128 and had yellowish flowers seems like - in another place the same machine showed up and someone said it was called 'dogwood' or some other kind of flower. I looked up on wikepedia and think the same design had 'roses' in the name. I'm guessing that's a pretty rare/expensive machine since I've never seen that design? I only know of one place to buy old machines and they mostly have featherweights though she has a book and tries to keep track of what people are looking for. otherwise ebay is the only place I know to look and of course everything is 'rare'.

oh and another question/thought - how good are these screws at holding a machine when it's folded down in the cabinet? if it folds and doesnt' drop out does that mean it's probably okey dokey? I'm on night shift so was sleeping today andwoke up as usual and saw my dog lying on the floor with her entire head under godzilla's cabinet! I freaked and found a chair to put under it just in case - of course it blocked where she wanted and she was a bit miffed at me but I had this horrible image of waking up to find her crushed by a machine :-(

quilt938

cabbagepatch I think is the one who had posted the pic of the 128..really pretty one! :-)

J Miller

quilt938,

The crinkle finish is quite durable and was popular with the manufacturers back in the 40s and 50s. Not so much with the consumers I've been told. I like them. They are easy to keep clean and are less prone to scratches and nicks. Not to say they are impervious to such damage, just a bit more resistant to it.

The crinkle machines are exactly the same thing as the shiny ones, so forget the emotional factor and sew with it. I have two 66-18 crinkles and they both sew most excellently.

Some crinkled Singers were remanufactured machines with the crinkle paint applied over the original paint. Others are OEM Singer. The factory ones have a much better appearance.

The black side parts can be hit or miss. Some of my machines have a piece here or a piece there, but none of them are completely done that way. I have no idea why.

Joe

Rodney

There's a screw under the machine on each hinge holding the hinge pins in the machine. As long as they're tight the machine won't fall.
Can you post pictures? The remanufactured machines generally had a metal tag instead of decals for the Singer name.
My Singer 66 is still one of my favorites to sew with.
Rodney

quilt938

thanks Rodney I'll try to get pics - haven't tried uploading any but I'll try. I can't wait to sew on these machines but probably better read up on where to put the oil and stuff first - the 15-90 I've sewn on (didn't think about the issue of oil!) and it did ok even though I found out it needed a new belt. it's set up in another cabinet I bought specially for it since I liked it so much. I can see this one being tougher when it comes to scratches - the shiny ones show so much. don't remember if this has a badge of not - think Singer was writting out with decals but not sure.

Cari-in-Oly

Joe, it wasn't just the godzilla machines that got make overs, any treadle or handcrank could and did get repainted and electrified after the 30s, but it was a big deal during WWII when new machines weren't being made. Also, did you know that up until I think the 1940s(don't quote the date but story is true), any machine taken as a trade in at a Singer store had to be taken out back and immediately destroyed?

Cari

Rodney

That was Isaac Singer's idea. The purpose was so there would be less old machines for his new machines to compete with. Whether we like that idea or not Singer was a marketing genius. He pretty much invented payment plans too.
Rodney

Cari-in-Oly

I just wonder how many went out the back door into someones truck, lol.

Cari

manicmike

According to an old Singer employee I met last year, the process was very strictly controlled and three people were involved in the destruction. All three had to sign a document that stated they witnessed the machine being destroyed (apparently with a sledgehammer). He said some of the older machines he destroyed were in mint condition and that it almost made him cry.

Cari-in-Oly

It would have made me cry. I've got an old White that's not even good for parts it's so rusted up. I just can't make myself scrap it so it continues to waste away on my carport. I had a Necchi that was almost as bad and I gave it to the guy who bought my good one, just so I wouldn't feel guilty any more about wanting to part it out. I wish we could save them all, except when I need a part.

Cari