TheMountainsAreCalling

Thank you, Miriam!
More questions about the history: how are the Japanese badged deluxe zig zag machines related to the singer 15 clones? I understand after WWII the Japanese started producing the clones. Then was it just a matter of the Japanese engineers continuing to innovate, which led to the Deluxe Zig Zag machines? Or were these loosely copies of other American machines? Were they produced at the same time as the clones, or were they innovations made a little later? Thank you for your wisdom!

Rodney

I have an Ambassador that's a slightly different model than yours. Mine was made by Toyota.
It's cast into the bottom of the base. Your machine might or might not be.
I think the Japanese just kept modifying the model 15 clones until they became unrecognizable. About the only similarity left after a few years was the base size and the bobbin and hook area. If you stare at pictures of machines every day like I do you'll see basic clones with more square modern looking sides and lights cast into the housings.
Rodney

miriam

The 15 clones have that side tension. The Japanese also made other copies. I don't know exactly when they started in on zz machines.

TheMountainsAreCalling

Thanks for the info, Rodney! Mine has nothing cast into the base, just a C39-77287 serial number. Is yours a left homing machine? I need to get a presser foot, as something is clearly out of whack with the zipper foot it came with, and I'm just casting in the dark trying to order the proper thing. I'll look up a generic manual now, as Miriam suggested. Hopefully that will set me on the right track!

TheMountainsAreCalling

I just wanted to repost Miriam's helpful link, as I've been having trouble finding a manual for the machine that's free! I can't purchase a manual from sewusa.com or tias.com since I don't know what machine might be its equivalent... it took me a lot of searching to find Miriam's generic manual link back on post #80. Since this thread is up to 31 pages, I hope you won't mind if I repost for someone who might come along later seeking the same info! Now to find out if this will help me with my apparently left-homing machine...
http://www.dontai.com/wp/images/imperial-535-manual.pdf

Cari-in-Oly

I don't know if your machine is left homing or not, but in your pic the machine is set for zigzag, not straight stitching, so the needle will not come down in it's natural straight stitch position anyway. The zipper foot should have a screw on the back of it to adjust the position of the foot, but you need the machine to be set for straight stitch to use this foot. What you need is a zigzag, or all purpose foot. Left homing or center homing won't matter for this foot. If your machine is low shank, you want this foot:
http://shop.sew-classic.com/Low-Shan...t-SCF55614.htm

If your machine is high shank, you want this foot:
http://shop.sew-classic.com/High-Sha...ot-SCF5555.htm

You can figure out whether your machine is high or low shank on the website. It's easy.

Cari

miriam

no problem. I just didn't have time to look it up.

TheMountainsAreCalling

Thank you everyone so much for your advice, on both threads! Cari, those links are invaluable and I appreciate the time you and everyone have taken to guide me in the right direction.

Incidentally, I have to drive in to "town" (3 hours away) next week. When I first got my Morse, I was afraid to use it in case something was broken, so I dropped it off at this dusty little shop where the 80-year-old repair man said, "Well, that's an old one!" He cleaned and inspected it for me for a small fee. I'm going to bring the Ambassador to him next week, and he said he probably has a presser foot "lying around" for it (and a belt, and some other goodies). Whether he does or not, I'm excited to go in and see all the machines he's got for sale. Now that I can identify some of them and their features, it will be fun to view the treasures!

Cari-in-Oly

I love the repair shops where they have the OSMGs. They are getting fewer all the time. I'll just bet he does have everything you need. I have a favorite shop about 30 miles away. When I lost my job and couldn't afford to pay him any more to service my machines, he helped me learn about doing it myself, along with everyone on the internet. Now whenever I go see him all we do is bs the day away and neither of us get anything done!

Cari

Notwendy

From the similar thread about vintage Japanese machines with fancy stitches: post 134 by Susanmarie shows a picture and offers some info about a Coronado badged machine.

She pointed to a free manual (thank you!) on the Singer site (White 231). It looks VERY similar to the following pictures on this thread if anyone is missing a manual:
165 Lew Schiller Universal
234 LynxSS Sewmatic
287 Soman2 McKee Dressmaker
301 Manalto Rotary Electric

I was interested because I have an American Beauty that is also a match (doesn't take cams - like the Rotary at 301). The manual for the White 231 shows cams so I'm not sure if mine is an older model or maybe at a lower price point. But the rest of the pages seem relevant. I can't use mine until I replace the cord. : (