Posted 2 years ago
StitchWich…
(2 items)
A couple years ago, in the midst of the pandemic, my mother bought me this beautiful singer treadle sewing machine and I have gradually been researching it and finding what I need to bring her back to her former glory.
With the help of user, Keramikos we determined that she is a model 66-1 and was likely made in Elizabethport, NJ on December 18th, 1906. (Happy 116th birthday!) She has a No 2 cabinet style, Lotus decals (that I now have recreations of and will add to her soon), and her faceplate style is 66K Simanco 32506.
I won't be able to do any major work on her until the spring when I can open windows again and not worry about fumes while staining and recoating her cabinet's wood. I do, however, have a new belt on the way for her so we'll at least get her functional.
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She's in remarkably good condition considering she had been packed away in a storage unit for several years before coming to me. She still has her original cabinet and all her mechanisms still work.
We don't know all of her history but the woman my mother bought her from said she belonged to her grandmother. The grandmother was born in 1926 so we're guessing she either bought it secondhand or inherited it from a relative. I am still attempting to track down any more information on her possible history.
Hi again, StitchWichery! :-)
Happy Birthday to your sewing machine, and thank you for coming back to give us an update.
I'm going to link your other post about this machine here (and I'll put a link for this post in the other one for good measure).
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/289927-new-to-me--1906-singer-sewing-machine
I don't know why I was being so dense about the factory of manufacture two years ago. Had your machine been made at the Kilbowie factory, the model number in the serial number table would have had a "K" suffx (i.e., 66K).
I'm going to give you links to some more resources. This person has refurbished many vintage sewing machines:
https://pungolivinghome.com/
He has a couple of important caveats for restoration newbies:
https://pungolivinghome.com/2022/02/02/a-tutorial-one-very-important-disassembly-tip-for-your-sewing-machine-restoration/
https://pungolivinghome.com/2020/01/22/a-tutorial-replacing-the-bobbin-hook-race-felt-on-a-singer-model-66-and-99-sewing-machine/
If you need further advice, he has a contact email address:
https://pungolivinghome.com/home-2/contact-us/
Good luck, and Happy Holidays!
There is a product, Restor-A-Finish, that can help with the damaged areas. Antiques do not need to be refinished. That tends to decrease the value or require more work that it is worth. Usually if I see something is refinished I move on. It is only in original condition once,
Thank you, fortapache, I will certainly keep that in mind and look into that product. I have no intention of selling this though so I am not as worried about affecting it’s value outside of to myself and I’m certainly not one to shy away from hard work. It has warped wood (I’m guessing water damage) on the cabinet that quite frankly needs to be taken care of before it can be used regularly. There are some purely aesthetic touches I intend to make but that largely ends at adding the decals I previously mentioned.
Hi.... Happy Holidays! (2022)
I've been unable to find where my Singer treadle sewing machine was made or when. The serial no. is L631925. There is also a plate by the presser foot with the following info:
PATENTED
Oct 16, 1886
US PATENTS
Oct 8, 1878
Jul 6, 1880
Sep 22, 1885
Jul 10, 1887
I'd appreciate any information anyone has. Thanks!
Hi, Kate66. :-)
Happy holidays.
You really should create a post of your own with pictures of your machine, because without pictures, I'm kind of flying blind, trusting that (1) you correctly transcribed the serial number (2) the serial number table entry is correct.
Also, we just like to see vintage sewing machines here. :-)
With those caveats in mind: the pertinent International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society website serial number table indicates that serial number L631925 was one of a block of 5,000 consecutive serial numbers () allotted January 2 1901
Ugh. Somehow, the CW S/W decided that I was done. >8-0
We can't edit comments on somebody else's post, so let me pick up roughly where I was cut off:
The pertinent International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society website serial number table indicates that serial number L631925 was one of a block of 5,000 consecutive serial numbers ([L]628001 through [L]633000 allotted January 2 1901 by the central office to its Elizabethport factory.
All were intended to be stamped into the beds of model 27 sewing machine heads cast at the Elizabethport factory and assembled at the Montreal factory, probably some time between the date of its particular allotment block (January 2 1901), and that of the next block of serial numbers intended for model 27 sewing machines cast at Elizabethport and assembled at Montreal (May 18 1901).
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-l-series-serial-numbers.html
If you want to sanity check whether your machine is indeed a model 27, you can walk it through Sandman-Collectibles' Singer Sewing Machine Identification Template:
https://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm
If you want to know anything else about your machine, it would be best for you to create a post of your own, keeping in mind that this is the eve of a holiday, so there might be some lag time before you get a response.
Also: if you value the information you've received thus far, you probably should save it offline, because the creator of this post could delete these extraneous comments.
I have a 1902 model that I restored and actually use occasionally. My cabinet looks almost identical to yours. If you need a replacement key to give it a final special touch, let me know and I’ll give you the name/order info to get the correct key.
Thank you to Keramikos for this info. 'Way more than I had before. I'd actually love to post pictures somewhere but, unfortunately, I'm technologically 'challenged'! Just don't know how or where to. :-(
Also, thank you to Watchserver for the key info. :-)
Hi again, Kate66. :-)
The way to post pictures here at Collectors Weekly Show & Tell is to create a new post of your own. As soon as you log in, on your profile page there should be a pick called "Post an item."
Select that.
Here are some recommendations for the pictures:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/285089-help-for-vintage-sewing-machines
Good luck. :-)