Posted 1 year ago
Rajvirjawa…
(1 item)
Antique 50 years old singer table and machine has original accessories with it also a manual of machine.soo many different stitches and settings.
Antique original sewing table and machine | ||
| Solved mystery items121 of 11848 |  |  |
Hi, Rajvirjawanda. :-)
I spy a label on the sewing machine bed that reads:
SINGER
QUALITY CERTIFICATION
SERIAL NO. X 324797
(Where "X" represents something I can't quite read.)
It's unclear to me exactly what this serial number represents.
The specifications for the two variations of the model 514 at the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society (ISMACS) website (scroll down):
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/model-list/classes-500+.html
A Worthpoint listing for a Singer Stylist 514:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/singer-514-sewing-machine-1861095464
You can download a free soft copy of the operator manual from Singer:
https://res.cloudinary.com/singer-sewing/image/upload/fl_attachment/Singer-Website-Library/outdated_product/SINGER_514_Sewing_Machine.pdf
What's interesting to me is that your Singer model 514 is mounted in a Singer Cabinet Table No. 2:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/cabinet_table_no_2-3.html
That cabinet is a classic from Singer's heyday. :-)
Hi again, Rajvirjawanda. :-)
I decided to revist your vintage Singer cabinet and sewing machine post, because it only caught my eye yesterday when I was about to log out and take care of real life concerns, so it probably didn't get quite as much attention as I would have liked.
I tend to doubt that the serial number listed on that certification label is the manufacturing allocation date. If your Singer Stylist 514 has one of the latter, it's probably somewhere on the underside of the sewing machine bed. However, it's probably of little consequence in terms of dating your machine, because the 514 was only made for a couple of years (1973-1975).
Indeed, insofar as I know, there are only serial number records through about 1971-1972:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-sewing-machine-serial-number-database.html
https://s-ish.com/dating-information-for-singer-vsms/
You yourself are probably in a position to narrow things down further, and not by finding a manufacturing serial number, but by considering the voltage/amperage.
If it was wired for the USA, then it was probably made at the Elizabethport factory, if it's wired for the UK, then it was probably made at the Kilbowie factory.
It's interesting to note that the descriptions at ISMACS for the 514 and 514K vary a bit in ways that have noting to do with voltage/amperage:
*snip*
CLASS/VARIETY: 514
DATES: 1973-75
USAGE: Domestic
DESCRIPTION: 'Stylist'; tan; zigzag; horizontal rot. hook. Built-in stitches. Flat cams.
NEEDLE: 15x1
CLASS/VARIETY: 514K
DATES: 1975
USAGE: Domestic
DESCRIPTION: Zigzag; Apollo hook; 7 built-in stitches & 4 step buttonholer; Flexi; encl. motor; beige.
NEEDLE: 15
*snip*
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/model-list/classes-500+.html
I'll give you links for both factories, as well as for the big cabinet factory in South Bend, IN:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/elizabethport
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/kilbowie
https://orangebeanindiana.com/2019/06/12/south-bends-singer-sewing-machine-company/
Why was the Singer model 514/514K only made for a couple of years? I don't know for sure, but I suspect the answer is that Singer was really struggling by the 1970s.
After WWII, the Japanese started making a lot of sewing machines for export. Not only were they making relatively inexpensive machines, they were making excellent quality ones, and Singer (as well as many if not most other non-Japanese sewing machine companies) could no longer compete.
It's a bit ironic, considering that a lot of the early, post-WWII Japanese sewing machines were designed using the Singer model 15 as a last.
There are a lot of theories as to why and how the Japanese came to use the Singer model 15 as a 'pattern,' e.g:
https://www.victoriansweatshop.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1312658359&postcount=354&forum=501752
It strikes me as possible that some enterprising Japanese engineer or machinist got their hands on a Singer model 15, and reverse-engineered it.
Why didn't Singer pursue it legally? Singer might have thought that the model 15 was some creaky antique not worth bothering about, and they were busy with what they were sure would be a major seller:
https://www.singer301.com/about/default.html
What Singer probably didn't anticipate was the sheer ingenuity and drive of the Japanese, who promptly began to improve on the model 15 (which was far from perfect), and eventually move on to better things.
As to your sewing machine cabinet: it must be a retrofit, because the Singer Cabinet Table No. 2 was designed as a treadle, and your machine is electric.
Yours is missing the foot bed, but that might have been removed by the person who did the retrofit. If it were mine, I would think that was a shame, but then that's probably because I personally am short of stature, and I would have liked a foot rest. };-)
If you yourself revisit your post, there are a few things you might consider adding/changing that I'd appreciate:
1. Add the voltage/amperage of your machine
2. Add the dimensions of the sewing machine bed
3. Change the category of your post from Furniture to Singer Sewing Machines