J Miller

I have this "thing" for ugly machines. I like them. Must be a personality disorder or something.

We saw a Kenmore Electric Rotary Sewing Machine on GW with a starting bid of $6.00. I commented to my wife it was ugly as a mud fence ...... that would be neat to add to the collection.
It's got a bunch of attachments and it's owners manual.
The text says the motor runs but the needle don't go up and down. Pics look like the friction drive wheel has lost it's rubber.
I commented it should be an easy fix.

Wife put the minimum bid on it and we won.

So it will be here tomorrow. And I'll have another machine to add to my collection. I have three Kenmores now.
One's a find.
Two's a coincidence.
Three's a collection.

Here's the GW pic, hope I don't get in dutch for stealing it.

Joe

lfstamper

Nice score!

SewExtremeSeams

Ugly, but attractive at the same time!

$6, you must be paying more in shipping. Not bad.


"three's a collection. C'mon, Joe, you have more than 3 don't you?

wesing

Nice pickup. Someone else on the board found one about a year ago. I remember seeing it and commenting that it looks like Jane Jetson's sewing machine.

Yep - here's the thread:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t123832.html

Looks like you paid about the same price too. You'll have to start a club! Enjoy your new machine.

Darren

quilt addict

Good for you. Now that you have a collection you will have to try harder to get these "ugly" machines.

J Miller

Linda,
Only have three Kenmores, but we have lots of others.

Darren,
Nice yard sale score. We should pay more attention to the yard sales around here.

Lisa,
I got lots of them that are ugly. Some for the abuse heaped upon them, one for mouse damage, one from rust, and some for the design.

Joe

MrsBoats

I've got one in that same family! Kenmore definitely had a kink for friction drives.

I was looking for information on the one I have (mine's a 120.71) and ran into this quote on the Threads magazine forum. http://forums.threadsmagazine.com/ga...oebuck-kenmore) But this was the most info I could find on the aluminum-bodied friction drive Kenmores.

Quote: There were 3 models of Kenmore with the 120 source #, which told you that it was made by New Process Gear corporation, a division of Chrysler back in the middle 1950s. Sadly, they were pretty much a disaster, and most of them were junked within ten years, so don't put any money into it. The problem was that they used plastic (nylon?) for bushings, to supposedly eliminate oiling. The plastic would swell and contract with humidity or friction from running, and cause all sorts of problems. The most common was that the plastic ring within the hook assy would drag so badly that the tension would change with the speed of the machine. Your 49 was the first of the series, and was followed by the 120.71 and the 120.76. They weren't heavy enough to make a good door stop.

Bill Holman

When you get yours, take it apart-they're absolutely fascinating inside. The aluminum outside of mine comes off like a clamshell, and the main drive rod hangs underneath the arm skeleton, instead of riding along the top of it.

I do agree that they're (mine, anyway) worthless to sew with. As soon as the machine starts to get warm, the wonkies start. Before I found the above comment, I spent one afternoon, sewing, unsewing, and fiddling; repeatedly. Nothing helped, including the fact that the machine would cool down just enough while I was unsewing/fiddling that it would behave...until I sewed again.

Mine came in a white suitcase, with a box of accessories and the original receipt; if you're interested, I'll go dig it out and take pictures.

Candace

Yup, that's sure ugly. I have an ugly White Rotary that was gifted to me.

J Miller

Mrs. Boats,

I have no idea what it's model # is, but you're saying it's a 120-49? If it's like you say, I'll probably keep the attachments and gift the rest back to GW. One of my foibles is: If I can't use it, I don't want it.

Thanks for the info though. And I will take it apart.

Joe

Dee

I'm still looking for the 1966 model, with the cams.