Posted 2 years ago
michelleja…
(2 items)
I was gifted this lovely Singer Sewing machine but know nothing about it. It's non-electric / hand crank.
Serial number is: Y4398616. I've looked for similar but haven't been able to find it anywhere. I'd love to know the year and a bit more about it.
Many Thanks
Hi, michellejames. :-)
Per the serial number tables at the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society (ISMACS) website, serial number Y4398616 was one of a block of 25,000 consecutive ([Y]4392452 through [Y]4417451) serial numbers allotted by the central office to the Kilbowie factory (the "K" suffix on the model number is the tip off that the factory was Kilbowie) February 2 1927.
All were destined to be stamped into the beds of model 28K sewing machine heads. Yours probably rolled off the assembly line some time between the allotment date of its block and the allotment date of the next block destined for model 28K machines (August 1, 1927):
*snip*
Y- 4392452 4417451 28K 25000 February 2 1927
Y- 4964414 4989413 28K 25000 August 1 1927
*snip*
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-y-series-serial-numbers.html
That your machine is a Singer vibrating shuttle checks out visually:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Singer.Model27.IdentificationGuide.jpg
However, that high-mounted bobbin winder makes me wonder whether it isn't actually a 128K. I'll give you links for both.
About the model 28:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/28
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/128
Here's a manual for the 27/28:
https://www.zelfbewustleven.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SINGER-27K-28K.pdf
A manual for the 127/128:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/127-128.pdf
Your decal set is called Victorian:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal08
I can't see your faceplate or the rear access panel, but here is a gallery of them for you to browse:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/gallery_faceplates
Your case is probably one of these:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/gallery_cases
*snip*
197 PORTABLE CASE
Base (83317) and cover (83320) with winged ends and lock
Superceded by set #198
For machines 28
Available in Oak (AXNEJ), Walnut (AXNIK), Nyssa (AXNOL) case #197
198 PORTABLE CASE
Base (83512) and cover (83525)
For machines 28, 128
Available in Oak (ATSUN), Walnut (ATTAK), Nyssa (ATTYP)
*snip*
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/tables
About the Kilbowie factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/kilbowie
A Google Satellite view of the area that once hosted the Kilbowie Singer plant (there is still a railway station called "Singer" on the northeast corner):
Singer
Kilbowie Rd, Clydebank G81 2JN, United Kingdom
https://goo.gl/maps/ckxa4RrU85UBHXHs9
August 1934 aerial photographs of Singer's Kilbowie (Clydebank, Scotland) factory:
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1257700
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1257701
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1257702
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1257703
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1257704
A circa 1934 documentary made at Singer's Kilbowie (Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland) factory:
https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1592
In case I'm forgetting something, here is my collection of vintage sewing machine links:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/285089-help-for-vintage-sewing-machines
However, it's a lot to sift through, so if you have any questions, just ask them here in a comment on your post.
Hey Keramikos,
That's amazing! thank you so much :) that will definitely keep me busy for a bit.
It does need a little TLC but otherwise it's in pretty good condition, I just thought it was a shame I had no info on it...I can see it's very old but that's all I know!..it belonged to a good friend' mother - he gave it to me when she passed.
Thanks again - that's so kind of you.
Best
Michelle
Nice...
Any attachments with it?
A hand crank singer is very cool. I am having some issues with the serial # but looks to be over a century old.
mrcolorz,
No attachments with it sadly - a few spare needles that's about it.
fortapache,
Yes, I believe it dates way back - it does need some tlc though.
michellejames, You're quite welcome. :-)
I took a closer look at your machine, and I think that, despite the high-mounted bobbin winder, it is indeed a model 28K rather than a model 128K.
Some model 27 and 28 machines did have the high-mounted bobbin winders. It was an 'evolutionary' feature, models 127 and 128 being replacements for models 27 and 28.
A models 27/28 feature that your machine has that models 127/128 don't is the thumb plate on the tension disc assembly. It's that little doodad at the six o'clock position that makes it look like the tension disc assembly has its tongue hanging out.
You can see a drawing of one in "PLATE 46 FULL SIZE" of this parts list for models 27K and 28K. It's part number 08237:
https://www.universalsewing.com/images2/parts_lists/all/lor9pa02.pdf
As to your observation that your machine needs some TLC: these old cast iron sewing machines are tough. Sometimes all they need is a little cleaning and lubrication, and they'll sew like a dream. They were build before the planned obsolescence era.
You can ask CW user Watchsearcher. She has a 1902 vintage Singer vibrating shuttle machine that she refurbished and uses:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/297921-1902-singer-treadle-machine-and-2021-sew
Here's some advice for cleaning, etc. of vintage sewing machines:
https://www.recyclart.org/diy-cleaning-up-your-vintage-and-or-antique-sewing-machines/
Here are sources for parts, should you need any:
https://www.vintagesingerparts.com/
https://oldsingershop.com/
keramikos,
Brilliant, thank you very much - I have a tonne of info to digest now....so lovely.
Yes, I agree re; durability - they definitely don't make em like they used to...it's a shame really, I think...there's always something really satisfying about fixing something and seeing it run smoothly again...a long lost joy.
michellejames, You're welcome again. :-)
I'll stop inundating you with information now, unless you ask for more. };-)
keramikos
Not at all, I requested it! - I couldn't match it up with anything I saw on the internet...so thought I'd ask here....strange I couldn't find anything - maybe not looking in the right place?....anyway, if you do think of anything you've missed, by all means send it over. Best Michelle
michellejames, I suspect that the problem many neophyte vintage Singer sewing machine owners have with Internet research is that they try to use the actual serial number on their machine as a search criterion.
Unless that particular machine has already been posted somewhere on the Internet with supplemental information, or its serial number happens to be at either end of the range of its block (e.g., in the case of yours, if it were either Y4392452 or Y4417451 ), that approach is probably doomed.
Singer has the most comprehensive, surviving records (for over 96 million sewing machine heads) of any vintage sewing machine maker , but the information pertains to groups of machines (e.g., yours was one of a group of 25,000) , rather than individual ones.
If you need more needles, you're in luck, because the Singer model 28K takes a pretty common variety, the 15 x 1:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/model-list/classes-1-99.html
The shuttle (bobbin) is more difficult, unfortunately. It's not even the same model for all of Singer's vibrating shuttle machines. The model 28 needs the wasp-waisted SIMANCO part number 8327:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Model_27_and_127#Shuttle_changes
I tried to find a free soft copy of the adjuster's manual, but I must not be holding my mouth right. Here's a non-free one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/113931160299
If you run into difficulty with getting your machine in shape, there are forums that are dedicated to vintage sewing machines, e.g.:
https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/
https://www.victoriansweatshop.com/
https://leatherworker.net/forum/forum/50-leather-sewing-machines/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VintageSewingMachines/
https://groups.io/g/ISMACSDigest
If you run into so much difficulty that it just makes you throw up your hands in despair, you can always contact a sew & vac shop in your local area. If they don't personally work on vintage/antique sewing machines, they might know somebody who does.
Good luck. :-)
Whoops, I finally held my mouth halfway right. Here's an adjusters manual for models 127/128, courtesy of Mr. Peabody's Wayback machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180713070829/http://parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/127_128.pdf
keramikos,
Amazing!, you are indeed very knowledgeable...thank you so much...I wouldn't have thought about the serial number as the issue - that's exactly what I did, that approach usually works for the more modern items, but clearly not for Singer....I am astounded at that number! (96mill)!! I had no idea....what an amazing company
michellejames, I'm not really a vintage sewing machine expert; I'm just an old Internet surfer with a somewhat peculiar interest in old sewing machines.
This is why I tend to give links to the forums that specialize in them, because if somebody needs help with the minutiae of tuning or restoring one, I have no expertise myself.
I have exactly one sewing machine, and it's a cusp of the 1970s/1980s economy Bernina. Not that I haven't been tempted on occasion by the sight of a particularly beautiful black and gold cast iron one. };-)
FYI, that ninety-six million figure I cited is based on a totalling of all the allotments in the Singer serial number tables at ISMACS.
There are many missing serial numbers, because of factors like the loss of the information for the Wittenberge factory, or the sad case of the St. John factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/wittenberge
https://singer-featherweight.com/blogs/schoolhouse/singer-sewing-at-the-st-johns-factory-quebec-canada