Ins and Outs

Yesterday I said goodbye to an old friend. That's right, I sold one of my first treadles that I never thought I'd let go but it was time to say goodbye.

Minnesota S treadle

I have loved this 3/4 sized treadle and its compact cabinet but I found I rarely used it and I'm not a fan of the vibrating shuttle type of sewing machine. Because it was in such good condition I thought it might sell easily but I got a phone call only 5 hours after posting plus she wanted the sewing box I just listed, too:

Sewing box opens up to 52 inches!

The buyer came over after work, at least an hour away, and just loved it. She was looking for a treadle with a cabinet that was in better shape than one she already bought and this one certainly was in good shape with no white rings on the top or chipped veneer. There is a bit of raised veneer on the top but I think glue in a syringe could fix that.

All closed up

Note in the first photo there isn't a leather belt but it sports one of the plastic tubes I have used on treadles and still prefer. They easily pop off and on, don't distort, and so far haven't gotten brittle.  She sat down and tried to coordinate the wheel movement with her feet and it was obvious she hadn't done this before and was a bit frustrated. It does take time but like riding a bike, once you learn you don't forget it. Here's the compact insides of this treadle:

Head down with treadle mechanism intact

Everything is contained inside the box so it seems to keep clean and those exposed treadles can be a nuisance to dust! The sewing box was sold because I found another one that was in better shape so I transferred my stuff into it and decked the old one with a set of sewing supplies so it could make a nice gift. So it was bye-bye to the Minnesota S and a full sewing box all very quickly. Hey, it even fit into the back seat of her car! I think she will find herself practicing that treadle movement and get it right very soon.

So what took its place? Nothing. We just moved the sofa back into place and enjoyed more space in the living room.

Okay, that's not quite truthful. I wanted another machine in a cabinet and when my husband said where-are-you-going-to-put-it I confessed I was ready to sell the Minnesota. Now in front of the cabinet in the living room I'm back to three cabinets in front of it as they welcome a Singer 115:

Singer 115 dated 1921, year of my father's birth

For her age she is in very good shape, has a motor with some wiring that only needs to be freshened up, and a table that only needs a bit of sanding and maybe linseed oil. Here's a close-up of the center decal:

Singer 115 Tiffany decals

This sewing machine typically had Tiffany decals, as this one does, along with a large spoked handwheel but mine is electric so it has the solid handwheel. Note the small dial for stitch length: there's a lot of guess work going on there (plus no backstitch)! All in all, she's a beauty even if she came without a slide plate over the bobbin and is missing the spool holder. Those items are easily found (note I already tacked on the slide plate), and she came with her original manual and two bobbins! Am I going to keep her? Probably not but I think being able to move the sewing machines out that I no longer use is a good sign. Does this indicate I'm really not a horder? I hope so but don't go into my the basement. There are stories down there.

Aquarium Treadling

In my collection of vintage sewing machines, I "only" have two the run on people power, know as a treadle.There's my Singer 66 Red Eye in a traditional four drawer cabinet and my Minnesota S in a parlor cabinet:

Minnesota S

Lowered down into the compact parlor cabinet

This is a nice treadle, a smaller cabinet and it feels somewhat easier to treadle but it's always such a pain to put a new leather belt on let alone having to adjust it. Then I heard about using a belt that is made out of rubber tubing and how easy it was to hook up and make adjustments. Sounded great so I ordered one but it got backordered and then just cancelled. I was disappointed yet my current belts were working on both treadles. Then the Minnesota's belt broke, the metal staple putting right out and ripping the end off. I would have to make new holes and struggle and...I was just not up to it. The poor Minnesota S sat idle.

Note belt: brown leather before it broke

Reading the posts on Yahoo groups I found out the others used tubing from medical supply so I asked my husband about it since he was a respiratory therapist. Sure enough, that would work fine he said but where would I get it and what would it cost? It went to the back burner until I had a moment of inspiration: fish tank pump tubing! It's readily available, cheap, and worth a try. On my last trip to Walmart I bought the smaller package of tubing, about 12 feet, for less than $2. At home it seemed to be the right diameter so I went ahead and measured, cut, and stitched the ends together. Actually, I stitched two ends together for practice to see if it would hold, type of needle and thread, etc. and then, when it worked, I tried it on the real thing. Easy, quiet, and perfect:

The noise is coming from the vibrating shuttle, always a bit noisy, but the belt is smooth and silent. It's even easier to fold down because it is so pliable. This seems to be a marriage of old and new that I find perfect!

A Little Ingenuity

After writing about those great Singer bentwood cased sewing machines, I ran across two gems that just needed to be rescued. They were advertised together and the photos were pretty dark and without many details but I took a chance and drove over after work. In an upstairs apartment of a house in St. Paul, the owners were refinishing the attic and came across a Singer 99 in a bentwood case and a Minnesota vibrating shuttle sewing machine that were pretty badly rusted. They were pushed to the side until the house went on the market. In their rush to get the house ready to show they found the antique babes in a corner and now it was time to deal with them. They were pretty sorry looking, especially the Minnesota, but they went into the back of my car anyway.

I got them home and had to clean them up or they were not going to make it very far. While I was on the phone with my sister later that evening I wiped them down and then proceeded to wipe with sewing machine oil. The Singer had already been wiped down to remove surface dirt  but nothing was moving. Sewing machine oil was used to coax the presser foot up and then off, removal of the needle (now stuck in fabric under the foot) but eventually it started to move. It's in poor cosmetic shape but there is hope for a complete recovery:

Singer 99 dated June 1928

The Minnesota was not as happy. It had not been wiped down and there was quite a bit of debris on the bed. Think attic and years of dead bugs. Yup. But even worse were the very rusted parts like the tension mechanism on top and the shuttle slide plates.

Rusty little thing

It also got oiled and cleaned but nothing was moving. I turned it over and then I got another surprise: It was embedded into a plank of sorts, screwed down, and has large rubber cushions on the corners. The motor wasn't too bad either so this one had some kind of conversion from treadle to electric in its history.

What is going on underneath?

After sitting overnight, I looked them over again and this time used a large pair of pliers to remove the handwheel and force the needlebar to budge. It worked and now the oil went to work. I could tap the shuttle covers off with a hammer and screwdriver to find the shuttle and bobbin were in pristine condition. I think with some work on the rust this little Minnesota might actually sew. It seems smaller than my Minnesota S and this one doesn't even have a letter A or B or anything: it's just a Minnesota:

Minnesota (no letter)

What intrigued me about these finds was the bentwood case that was pictured with them. It's in pretty rough shape, too, with one end completely off and both end pieces have peeling  wood laminate. This is not so bad, though since I can clean, glue, and clamp to get it looking good again:

Bentwood case: at least it has a key

I hope to have a good report about these orphans, who huddled together under the eves of this old house, waiting for their hibernation to be over. I'll just have to tell them: it's spring, ladies! Time to get back to work!

On Stage

I've been trying to clean house so a few of the sewing machines are just going to have to go now. This prompted me to sell the Minnesota A treadle in the very ornate cabinet:

Isn't she pretty? That's why I brought her home in the first place. But then I found out she could only have a Minnesota head unless I wanted to have a new top insert made. Bummer. The Minnesota A was is sorry cosmetic shape but ran good enough:

Most of the decals are missing or silvered and the hand wheel was rusty looking. That prompted me to buy a Minnesota S in a parlor cabinet at an estate sale that was in great condition:

Parlor Cabinet

Minnesota S treadle

 I put the S in the A cabinet thinking it was the best of both worlds but I loved using the A in the S parlor cabinet. After months of practicing with both, I finally switched them back. The A was in it's ornate cabinet and the S was in the parlor cabinet just as they came to me. Why didn't I like the A's cabinet? I did: it was the action of the treadle that just wasn't comfortable for me. It felt like a little too much work. The parlor cabinet had shorter pumps but was easier while the larger treadle was just too much work. It's possible there could have been some adjustments but I knew I couldn't keep that many treadles since I already had a good Singer 66 Red Eye that was great. So the A in the ornate cabinet went on Craigslist.

Several emails later and even one visit, she went this afternoon to a high school drama department. That's right, she's going to be on stage! The man who came to pick her up said they perform Fiddler on the Roof every year  and had been borrowing a treadle but it was getting to be a big hassle. After one donation fell through they saw mine and said it was perfect for the part. They wanted one that would actually work and look good on stage. She even had a short audition to make sure she could actually act (it was no act but her natural state.) Although I think the cosmetic condition of the Minnesota A left much to be desired, it did look like it belonged in a tailors shop.

How exciting for a sad little treadle sewing machine to make it big on the stage. Maybe I'll have to be a stage mom and go see her perform. Nah, she wouldn't recognize me anyway.

The Herd

It seems I have fallen into a hole, just like Alice in Wonderland, and I'm wondering if I should seek a way out or just enjoy the stay. I have collected 4 treadle sewing machines and it looks like I will go get another later this week. Five treadles? Five cabinets? All but one are really hefty and take up quite a bit of room but, once again, hubby is more than tolerant as he encourages me and helps in sizing and installing the treadle belts.

It all started when I contacted a seller about a gold colored sewing machine. It was beautiful and sewed like a dream. Everyone loved it and I sold it in December-January as a portable plus a cabinet. A quilter wanted to take it back and forth from home to cabin in the off season but needed a cabinet for when they were going to stay up north. She got a good deal and a beautiful machine:

While I was asking about the gold machine the seller mentioned in a text that she also had a treadle. I said sure, a package deal, and I took them both home. A very nice Singer 66 Red Eye that only needed to have the belt shortened has graced the spot next to the front door, a bit crowded but still can fit. How much fun we had when three of the oldest grandchildren, aged 4-6, learned to sew simple bags either feeding the fabric while I treadled or doing the treadling while I watched the needle. Look, Grandma, I'm sewing!

Next a free treadle came my way with a Minnesota A sewing machine in a very ornate cabinet in excellent shape. How can you say no to free? Then I saw the head and it was in terrible cosmetic condition.

As a vibrating shuttle it worked great so I hated to delegate it to the junkyard but it was pretty pathetic. The search was on for another Minnesota A but, to be honest, they are all so old or maybe poorly painted or used, that almost all of the A's were in the same shape.

Of course, I found one! Not a Minnesota A but an S in a parlor cabinet. More research! It seems the Minnesota's, possibly they are Davis clones, have mounting holes/pins that are a different size from the Singers so only a Minnesota would fit in a Minnesota cabinet. Now I had 2 cabinets that I could only use very specific models. The A for traded for the S and one ornate cabinet has a beautiful S, all functioning and living across the room from the first treadle.

Parlor cabinet? The ugly old A went into it and it sits in the kitchen hallway waiting for a good condition A. In case you are wondering what a parlor cabinet looks like, it's all folded up in the picture on the left and open on the right with the treadle inside. My guess is this made a nice piece of furniture without seeing any of the mechanism. My cat, Meg, is wondering what's in there. No mice.

Found a good condition Minnesota A but refuse to pay over $100 so will have to be patient. While I'm being patient, another treadle falls into my lap from an estate sale, only $20 but a good head, a Singer 27 with Tiffany decals. Cabinet is pretty well trashed so think I'm going to do a bit of a switch around.

Just heard back from the person with the 5th treadle and she said her mother-in-law wanted it so it was off the market. I will have to keep waiting and searching for a new cabinet for the Singer 27. Love those Tiffany decals!