J Miller

We were at JoAnn Fabrics and ran into a guy who said he had or worked at a sewing machine shop in or near Divernon, IL. When the subject of plastic gears came up he told us that Singer is now using spiral cut gears instead of the straight cut gears and that although they are still plastic they are not prone to breakage like the old gears were.
Since I don't have a new(er) sewing machine to look at I was wondering if anyone here had seen the insides of a newer Singer to confirm or deny what this guy said.

Joe

Candace

Elna and other manufacturers used those in many of their vintage machines. I don't know if their new machines have them or not. The do seem to hold up better. It would make sense Singer is doing this. I imagine they picked up lots of tricks due to the merger with Pfaff and Viking.

J Miller

I looked at a parts source today and some of the gears they showed were spiral and I know the originals were straight. The Singer 538 is an example, the feed dog gears are straight I'm sure, the parts place shows spiral, same with the bobbin hook drive gears.

If this is true, perhaps retro fitting some of these machines might increase their longevity.

Joe

miriam

Singer would never retro fit the old machines - they are in business to sell new machines.

J Miller

They sure wouldn't do it deliberately. What I was alluding to is that some of the later Singers use the same gears as the older ones. But they are now spiral cut rather than straight cut and are being sold as replacement sets for the older machines.

Do I need to post links and pics to illustrate my point? I'll work on it.

Joe

deedum

I would love to get the Singer anny machine. I am concerned with whom would work on it if needed. My old vintage machines, but DH works on them.

J Miller

To find a technician to work on the Darth Vader machine you'll have to go to the Empirical Directory and look for a retired Imperial Battle Cruiser Crewman Uniform Repair Machine Tech. Or EBCCURMT.

They can usually be found in small cubicles with signs that that read: Sewing Machine and Vacuum Cleaner Repairs and Sales.


Je

donna13350

I have a Singer "Perfect Finish"...it's about 3 years old and it does have the spiral gears. I was told that my machine is the same as the " 2010 Professional"...in case I ever need parts..so yes, the spiral gears have been around for a while now.

J Miller

Donna,

Thanks for the confirmation. I'm not really into the new machines. I like the old ones so the only "newer" machines I have any experience with are few. We've got the mid 70s 413s, 538 and 518, the mid 90s 4622A, and the 2001 vintage 3810. That is the extent of my plastic gear machines. I know the 4622 has the same basic design as the 518 / 538 for the feed dog drive, all three have straight cut plastic gears.

Glad to know that Singer is doing something different. I hope the spiral gears hold up better.

Joe

redmadder

I saw the Black Singer 160th Anniversary today, my first sighting. Its like a small boat! I envisioned something the size of my 15. The 15 has more harp space! Would love the see the gears, spiral or otherwise.