Atlas 618 Lathe Progress - Part IV: Tailstock Handle Repair and New Cross Slide Cover

The third and final handle to be fixed on the Atlas 618 lathe is for the tailstock hand wheel. The original handle was snapped off flush with the wheel.

Atlas 618 Lathe Progress - Part III: Compound Slide Handle Manufacture

Now that the cross slide handle is glued together, time to concentrate on the compound slide handle. The handle on the compound is currently two 1/4-20 nuts jammed together, which makes for slow going.

Atlas 618 Lathe Progress - Part II: Cross Slide Handle Repair

There were a couple pieces of broken handle bits in amongst the goodies I got with the mini Atlas lathe, and they happened to go with the broken handle on the cross slide. Not wanting to throw away perfectly good handle bits, I attempted to repair the handle. Besides, I'm cheap. Or Frugal. Not sure which.

Atlas 618 Lathe Progress - Part I: Drum Switch Repair

The first item to check off on the to-do list for my new miniature Atlas lathe was to fix the motor / switch issue so I didn't have to give it a kick start to get it going. First thing I did was pull the motor off the mounting board and tear into it, which in hindsight was the wrong thing to start on. I'd figured the motor was the most likely culprit, and it was either the start winding was toast or the centrifugal switch was not working. Nope. The motor was fine, albeit a little grimy inside. Next step was to pull the Furnas Electric Co. drum switch apart. Hopefully I'd find a clue to the problem at hand.

Atlas 618 Lathe

I knew this would happen. Even after I picked up my Sheldon lathe, I kept looking at the want ads (Craigslist and OfferUp) for that great deal of the day. Funny thing, or maybe not so funny if you ask my kids, an Atlas 618 lathe popped up on OfferUp for a good price. And surprise, surprise, it almost magically jumped in the back of our car.

Sheldon 11-inch lathe progress - Part IV: New Steady Rest and Clamp Modification

So, is it "IV" or "IIII" to depict the number 4 in Roman numerals? Watch dials usually have "IIII" (if they are sporting a Roman numeral dial) while pretty much everywhere else it is "IV". Moving right along to the real subject of this blog entry, I was able to purchase a steady rest for my 78-year-old Sheldon lathe. Here is a photo from the seller:

Rebuild of a Bendix Two Speed Automatic Hub on an early 60's Schwinn Bicycle

I've sort of inherited a couple of Schwinn bicycles. They were my parents' bikes when I was a kid. Somehow the bikes just kept following either my parents or me around during moves and whatnot. Both bikes have a two speed "automatic" Bendix hub. They've sat in one garage or another taking up space, but never got used in the last 30 or so years. Below is a photo of Dad's bike. I'm not sure if Dad had planned on painting the entire bike blue or if he was satisfied with the color scheme once he'd finished painting the fenders. The red paint is original.

Yet Another Singer 66 - Why, oh why do I keep buying these things?

Yep, another Singer 66. *sigh*
Straight stitch, no reverse, no real redeeming qualities. Ok, maybe that last sentiment was uncalled for. After all, it does look kinda nice even with the layers of grime, dirt, and crusty varnish. I guess it's called "patina" these days. And ooh-ooh, "barn find"! Yes, I can call it a barn find, right?! And it's old - from 1912.

So, an honest-to-goodness 106-year-old anty-que, with the "early" 6-spoke hand wheel, high-mount "treadle" bobbin winder, rear-mount foot.

Sewing Machine Stitch Length - an unscientific evaluation

A friend was wondering about which domestic sewing machine might have the longest stitch length. So I thought, hmm, I have a "few" sewing machines that I could test out to find an answer. And let me say right off the hop, I have no formal sewing machine training, so any opinions I might have are strictly from my own observations.

That being said, I was a bit surprised at one of the test subjects I used for this evaluation. But you'll have to read on to find out. Here are the results. DUHNNN.. DUH-DUH-DUH.. DUHN-DUHN-DUHN-DUHNNNN! And the winner is......

SewMor Class 15 clone (1950s, straight stitch, cast iron):

Sheldon 11-inch lathe progress - Part III: Tailstock Threads

Ok, I've realized that Super Glue has its place, but not where I used it on the lathe. My last post showed the tailstock screw insert that was just kind of floating in the spindle. I glued it in but the first time I tried extracting a chuck from the tailstock spindle, the threaded insert pulled free of the spindle. Soooooo, the option I chose was to repair what someone had previously done. There was a hole in the right end of the spindle that had been threaded at an angle to hold the insert in place but the both the insert and the 1/4-20 threads were damaged. I was able to drill the hole slightly larger and make new 5/16-18 threads, then insert a set screw. Here's the result:

That should hold things in place quite nicely. And me being a hobbyist, I'm sure it will last a long time.

Sheldon 11-inch lathe progress - Part II: Tailstock Threads, Chuck Key

I've been able to check two things off my to-do list for the Sheldon lathe. The first item was the tailstock threads that felt sub par. They were very rough to the feel and the threaded screw felt bent.

Sheldon 11-inch lathe progress - Part I: Reversing Tumbler, T-bolt

Here are the specs on my new/old lathe:
11 inch swing
44 inch bed length, 24 inches between centers
Mounted on a cast iron pedestal base with chip tray
Power carriage and cross slide
2-1/4 x 8 TPI spindle thread
MT5 spindle taper

Serial number KBU1764
  K - early 11 inch lathe
  B - ball bearing headstock (apparently very rare, most were either plain bearing or roller bearing)
  U - under drive motor system
  1764 - sequential serial number, dates to late '40 or early '41 (the company started in 1935)

The "under drive" motor system has a transmission of sorts with two levers that poke out the front of the pedestal door. Each lever has two positions, which gives the lathe 4 speeds in direct drive plus 4 more in back gear drive, giving spindle speeds of 45 RPM to 1200 RPM. Most lathes of this vintage required the operator to move belts between pulleys to get different spindle speeds, so this was quite an improvement at the time, and still is even today. The below photo shows the two levers poking out from the lower left door for selecting gears.

Look what followed me home - a Sheldon 11-inch lathe from 1941...

I don't really need another lathe. Or another project. But that doesn't stop me from perusing the local Craigslist for a good deal. This lathe popped up on CL last week and it was just what I was looking for. And it was advertised at a very good price (yes, I'm cheap, er, thrifty). The seller didn't know anything about lathes so he couldn't tell me much about it, other than it is a Sheldon lathe and is old. It did not have a power cord so the seller also didn't know if it actually ran (part of the reason it was cheap), but he'd been told by the previous owner that it did run. We've all heard that before. Here it sits in all its glory (seller's photo):

Singer 306K - Freeing up zig zag and needle position L-C-R levers, and eliminating clacking sound

I picked up this Singer 306K a little over 4 years ago. The thing actually showed up in a *free* ad! It was, however, in much need of some pretty serious attention and was missing some minor bits (one of two locking thumb screws on zig zag assembly and the stitch length stop, from what I recall). Oh, and the bobbin case lever was snapped off. Not sure how that could happen.

Be that as it may, I was still up for the challenge. Here the condition, before doing anything to it:

Downsizing...... a LOT.

I remember reading Ed Lamoureux's "Sometimes You Gotta Let Go!" blog a number of years ago, when I was but a novice sewing machine buff.
http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/2010/01/sometimes-you-gotta-let-go.html

In his blog in 2010, he reposted "The Phases of Sewing Machine Collecting" that he mentioned he'd written around 2000, when he was at Phase 3. It was accurate in many respects and humorous, although I didn't have the wild dream of retiring in luxury after selling my collection to a museum. I was probably nearing the end of Phase 3 when I came across Ed's list, since friends knew of my affliction. Between them and the local thrift stores, I was amassing a great empire in a hurry.

Alas, times change. I have achieved Phase 7, and have started to "dispose of [my] space-hogging old sewing machines". In other words, craigslist was my friend.

Garage Sale Score - Wright N-370 3/4"-Drive Ratchet

Most garage sale days come up empty, or at the very best, some small trinket is found. But last weekend my dear wife and I each scored majorly. At one particular "guy-stuff" sale the seller had a bunch of old wooden military boxes full of tractor parts and hydraulic fittings. I didn't need any of those but then one other box caught my eye. It contained an assortment of tap handles and a couple pipe threading handles. I didn't really need any of these items but they looked cool. The seller had remarked in passing that he'd make me a deal on any of the wooden boxes, $5 to $7 each, so when I ran across the box of tap handles, I just kind of figured they weren't in the same league as the tractor parts and I figured he would hit it out of the park with a $ figure for the box I was craving. I was very pleasantly surprised when he said, "How about 10 bucks?" SOLD.

Singer 319W - un-sticking the hook shaft and hook timing.

I was fiddling with my fairly new-to-me green 319W and it seemed to be running fine, but then all of a sudden it tightened up to the point that the motor would no longer operate the machine. I wondered if a piece of thread had bunged up the works but on inspection I didn't find anything. I ascertained that the lower main shaft (Singer terminology: "rotating hook driving shaft") was somehow the culprit, and from there I narrowed it down to the shaft going into the hook gearbox on the left end. At least, I hoped that was the problem because it was a major endeavor to pull the gearbox.

So......

Elna Supermatic Beige/Brown

I dragged out this machine from the far reaches of a basement corner and dusted it off a couple days ago. Don't know why, I guess it just looked dejected. When I bought it, the front needle plate and two itty bitty bobbin holder screws were missing. I also have an Elna Transforma that is the straight-stitch version of these Supermatics, so I thought it might be better to get the nicer Supermatic going by cannibalizing the parts I needed from the Transforma.

Homecraft "Hex Key" chuck disassembly

The "hex key" chuck on my "new" Homecraft 11-110 drill press is pretty simple, in terms of how many separate parts and ease of disassembly. Simply unscrew the outer sleeve and the parts seen below just drop free. The only remaining pieces to the chuck are the main body and the cam in the main body used for final tightening. A very simple chuck. Oh, and notice how nicely the drill press table turned out after cleaning it. I scraped off the heavy rust, then took 320 grit sandpaper and WD-40 to it. See the previous blog entry for a "before" view of the table.

Delta/Rockwell Homecraft Drill Press from the '40s

I needed... OK, "needed" may be a little strong. I desired to have a drill press for the garage because, well, you know, everyone needs (oops, there I go again) a drill press in their garage. This one popped up on the local Craigslist, and was advertised as made by Montgomery Ward. I took a look at the photos and tried to determine what model of Montgomery Ward it was. No joy. I then did a search using one of the casting numbers on the main body of the drill press (HDP125) and got many hits regarding Homecraft/Delta drill presses. Hmm. Is that what this one was?

As I've said before, I like the look of a green machine. - Elna Supermatic

As I mentioned in the previous blog post, the gentleman I bought my latest Singer 319W from also threw in an Elna sewing machine for free. And it was a Supermatic to boot. Score!

Singer 319W - What a cool 50's machine!

I already have one Singer 319W but it is not the most attractive of colors. It's a beige crinkle finish, but it was the color that came up for sale when I was looking for a 319W a few years back. Here's a photo of it.

Recently though, this mint green 319W showed it's face on Craigslist (yeah I know, why do I keep looking). Shiny two-tone mint green is much more pleasing to my eye.

Finally bit the bullet and got a Featherweight - Singer 221-1

Like many people that find sewing machines fascinating, the Singer Featherweight 221 is among those machines near the top of the list for acquiring. I'm no different. What to do, what to do....... Yes, I finally did the dastardly deed and bought one off Craigslist. It's hard finding a good one with a case for under $300 but in my case, patience paid off.

Singer 50D - SewHandy Electric

I've gotten to the point that I don't buy every cheap sewing machine I come across. There are exceptions though, and here's one I couldn't pass up. A Singer SewHandy Electric model 50D, for the princely sum of $4.99 plus tax.

Seneca Falls "Star" 10-inch lathe - cross slide chip guard

I have an old lathe in the basement, keeping the sewing machines company. The lathe is a little over 100 years old. How do I know that, you ask? It has several patent dates cast into the bed and the most recent is 1910 (the oldest is 1895). If it were made in 1916 or after, it would have a 1916 patent date also.

Recently I did get a new-to-me toy in the garage too. A Smithy lathe/mill:

Can you say "Rocketeer"? - Singer 500A -

Yes, I finally added a Singer model 500A to my ever-growing stash of sewing machines. Ok, I do have one other 500A but it's missing parts. These are called a Rocketeer, obviously due to their shape, and the 500 is the next iteration in the line of Singer's finest back in the early 60s.

Good deals are still out there. Singer 403A "Slant-O-Matic Special".

Ok, so maybe one man's junk is another man's treasure, and thus many may not consider five bucks for a 55-year-old sewing machine a "good deal". I, however, do. Take for instance this fine Singer 403A I picked up yesterday. Apparently the thrift store had been storing it long enough that they decided it needed to be in the half-off section of the store. And fortunately for me a friend was watching out for my best interest (debatable?), and emailed me a photo of four sewing machines at a particular thrift store 20 miles away. Here's the one that caught my eye, and it was the cheapest of the lot.

Should I create a new blog? Nah.

For this next entry I wondered if I should branch off and create a completely new blog for things that I want to write about that aren't sewing machine related. I actually went so far as to create the new blog, but then I contemplated....... and decided to just write about things outside the realm of Sewing Machine-dom on this blog. I actually have done that once or twice in the past, but I may do it more often from now on. So without further ado, here we go.

We have a camper. A truck camper to be more precise in RV lingo. Growing up I'd just called them campers though. So to me it is still just a camper. And here it be in all its glory, among the redwoods in Northern California. Oh, and there we are too.

The camper is a 2002 Bigfoot 25C8.11 that we purchased used in 2013. The truck is a 1996 Ford F250 4x4, with a 7.3L powerstroke diesel engine, crew cab (4-doors), and a short pickup bed. We also purchased it used, in 2002. The camper is designed specifically for short-bed pickups.

The reason for this blog entry is to document the electric rear steps I just got done installing on the camper.

My newest acquisition - A D9

I know what you're thinking. Isn't a D9 a Caterpillar bulldozer? Well, yes it is, and I'm sure if you did an online search, the first photo to pop up would be a very large shiny yellow bulldozer. But I digress. This isn't a heavy equipment blog. Although Heavy Equipment Nut does have a nice ring to it. But I digress even further.

The D9 that is the subject of this blog is a Wheeler & Wilson from the early 20th century. There is a fair amount of information online regarding the W&W D9. One fact that I read is that it was about 1905 when W&W was bought out by Singer, so any W&W D9s were most likely produced prior to that date.

Here is mine:

RAGS........ 401A

This is sort of a continuation of the last blog posting. And the title probably gave it away (for those sewing machine nuts out there - you know who you are). Here is my second purchase at RAGS.

So there my wife is, standing guard over two sewing machines on the floor at the Rotary Auction Garage Sale, one of them being the Spartan I blogged about yesterday, and the second one is today's subject. A Singer 401A from the late 1950s.

You see, a 401A is one of those sewing machine models that many people think is one of Singer's finest machines ever made. It has many features that make it so desirable, such as a direct-drive gear-drive motor, steel gearing (not belts or cams), rotary hook, hardly a plastic part to be found on it, a host of stitch patterns, and many more. So let's get to the one I picked up for $5 at RAGS.

The outer case is quite a mess, and one latch is broken, so I think this case is a total write-off, but that is one reason it was so cheap. I can look beyond the carrying case.

RAGS........ 192K

I think it's such a clever acronym - RAGS. It stands for Rotary Auction Garage Sale. And fortunately for me, it is an annual event, held in the Kitsap Pavillion.

So there we were, the lovely wife and myself, aimlessly wandering the aisles. My wife spotted a sewing machine case on a table. A lady had her arm on the case so we wondered if she was buying it. She took her arm off it and moved on. Ok, time for me to dive in. Twenty bucks. A little outside my price range. I popped the top and it was a Kenmore, about 1970 vintage. I wasn't interested. But wait, there are two more next to it. Hmm, they look like 70s vintage, a couple Singers. Both $5, and after a little inspection, both in need of repairs, as in they had things broken off. That put a damper on it for me, even though the $5 price for each would probably still be a good buy since they both had motor controllers and they may not take much to get them going. I put up a good fight with myself in my little pea brain though, and persevered. I walked away from them all.

Being just a slight bit disappointed, I started looking around again and just then the dear wife called out my name from a couple tables away. Oooh, what has she spotted but two more sewing machines on the floor under a table and out of people's sight. I like it.

I zipped over and had a look at the cases. They were quite the worse for wear. Here's the first. You can't see it but behind the handle is a large hole. There are also a couple large cracks across the top of the lid. Not to worry, though.

Merry Christmas 2015!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

So, today started out a little hectic. The wife and son are in the emergency room. Son has either appendicitis or (hopefully) something less serious. Blood work seems to indicate it isn't the former, praise the Lord.

Now on to things less important. A good friend's daughter is renting a place and offered to clean out the basement for the owners. She ran across the items below, which made their way to me via a Christmas present. How cool is that!

All these things are for a Class 301 Singer, of which I just happened to pick up not too long ago.
(click here)

First up is a Buttonholer:

Broken timing belt? We have a solution - Singer 111W155.

When I arrived at the 111W155 sewing machine seller's home to take a look at it, she said right off that "the belt broke". I naturally thought it was the main drive belt, not the timing belt. But alas, it was the timing belt. I assumed the upper main shaft had to be removed from the machine to get a new belt onto the shaft. I was taking a bit of a chance buying the sewing machine, not knowing how difficult (or easy as was the case) it would be to replace the timing belt, but I decided to take the leap. Below is a photo of the broken belt.

I ordered a new belt from an eBay seller for $19.95 with free expedited shipping. I got the new belt in 5 or 6 days.

Industrial Strength - Singer 111W155

It's been a long time coming but I finally got my first real-life honest-to-goodness industrial sewing machine. And as the title states, it's a Singer 111W155. This machine weighs in at a portly 61.5 pounds. Yes, that is only the sewing machine head unit. The table/motor is probably another 80 or 90 pounds, although I didn't weigh it. Here she be in all her glory ('scuse the previous owner's dust).

I've sewed through a lot of heavy duty things on my domestic machines such as leather and canvas, and they do quite well, but having a true industrial..... well, it's just cooler to a sewing machine nut such as myself.

Singer 301A LBOW

Another Singer followed me home from a garage sale a couple weeks back. And a model that I haven't owned before, to boot. A Singer 301A. Oh, and the LBOW, you ask? Those that are into the Singer lingo know that it stands for Light Beige / Oyster White, that once-ubiquitous two-tone color combination Singer used so much.

As you can see, this sewing machine needs a bit of cleaning. The lady I purchased it from said it was probably good for parts (!). I was thinking that it seemed to be in pretty nice condition to just become a parts machine.

Singer Golden Touch & Sew Deluxe Zig Zag Model 630

The title says it all. Ok, so maybe it doesn't, but we do know from Singer's name for this machine that it does zig zag stitches. What we don't know until we delve into it is that it has an electronic motor control, which has an automatic needle-up park feature. That's kind of cool. And it has very similar stitch controls to the much-revered Singer 401/500 series. And it has a built-in bobbin winding feature. You simply leave the bobbin in the machine, flip a lever, hit the gas, and don't let up until the bobbin is full. But enough of this. On to the photos, which by the way, were taken before I did anything to clean up the machine.

The carrying case leaves a little to be desired. Instead of gluing down the loose flaps, someone decided it was easier to just rip off the offending flaps. Bummer. But the big S is still proudly displayed.

Domestic 69 Hi Speed

This is an update of my blog post from a year and a half ago, of a Domestic model 69 Hi Speed sewing machine.
(click here to read it)

I'd mentioned in that posting that I was in need of motor parts to get my machine running. A kind man (thanks Keith) emailed me saying he had a 69 that he was getting rid of. He unfortunately lived on the other side of the country so shipping the machine to me would be nearly $50, a cost I wasn't ready to incur. So I asked if he'd want to part with some pieces. We came to an agreement that anything he could fit into a USPS flat rate box was mine for the cost of shipping plus a couple bucks for his time and effort. Here's what I got:

Elna Carina - Together at last!

I had left this poor Elna apart long enough. Time to get all its bits back in place. If I can remember where they all go. The first photo below is the shot that I showed in the previous blog post. I had taken the machine apart to this level to try and sort out a slow-speed jerkiness but didn't get the problem sorted. It's just a minor inconvenience, so back together it goes.

Necchi-Alco A709-4

Ok, so I'm a little delinquent on posting new stuff to this blog. It's been a busy 4 months. Below is a photo I took this morning of my sewing work bench, with a poor Elna that's been all ripped to pieces for 4 months or more, patiently waiting for me to reassemble it. I just hope I can remember where everything goes...

No Grasshoppers here - Elna Carina TSP cl. 56

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted something here (March to be exact, and now it's July). That's what happens when I don't stop at Goodwill stores. So, guess what? I stopped at the local Goodwill last night. And what did I find? Well, there was a Singer 404 for $19.99, some other generic plastic thing for $19.99, and this wonderful *Swiss Made* Elna for a paltry $12.99. As soon as I saw the price on the Elna, I promptly had to take the machine to the closest 120v outlet to see if it worked. Since the "air" foot control was missing its friction end plug, I could only get the machine to briefly go while I held the end of the tube against the air intake and simultaneously pushing the air bulb. The machine showed enough life that I felt confident that my $14.12 (after tax) was well-spent.

Yet another Kenmore - model 385.17928090

There's a reason there are so many older Kenmore sewing machines still floating around the thrift stores these days. They're built well (in my humble opinion) and just seem to keep on going with minimal upkeep. I've been sort of lax on my hunt for sewing machines lately but last night we stopped at the local Goodwill on the way home from dining out (hot date, huh). This Kenmore model 385 had just been put out on the shelf (Goodwill dates their price tags) and at $12.99 I couldn't pass it up. I could have waited a few weeks for the half-off sale but it wouldn't last that long at the low regular price. I have a couple other model 385s and they are both good machines so I figured, hey, one more? Why not.

How to wire in a motor controller

I have a 50s vintage Morse zig zag sewing machine in the basement that has the two plugs coming off the machine, one for the motor and one for the light. Here's what the plugs look like, along with the $2 motor control I picked up at Goodwill to connect up to the machine:

Mini Kenmore - reminds me of tax time coming up - Model 1040

I've heard of these miniature (well, maybe not that small) Kenmore sewing machines but haven't had one in the stable (actually, my basement) until recently. It's probably a 3/4-size machine. Cute little thing. Actually I saw one of these at a Goodwill a month ago but didn't buy it because the outer case was fairly trashed. I ran across the one pictured here last week and decided to take the plunge. It is missing its small tray for accessories, which the other machine had that I didn't buy... Oh well. Can't have everything.

This is a Kenmore 158.1040. Yes, it reminded me of the 1040 tax form. So I'm weird. Deal with it.

Something else has consumed my time lately... a car.

Not just any car, mind you. On the contrary, this is something you don't see every day. A 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury.

Ok, so maybe I should have dressed up a tiny bit for the photo... Just don't tell my wife I'm publishing a photo with "those pants" in it. The pants have since gone to that great pants fantasy land in the sky, much to my wife's delight. But I digress (I seem to do that a lot).

Merry Christmas! German Hand Crank

We sewing machine nuts are usually easy to buy for at Christmas time. Anything sewing machine related is fair game for the giver. This Christmas my wife gave me a cute hand crank sewing machine from the late 1800s/early 1900s. I can't pin down a more precise date because the sewing machine has no maker's name on it. It looks to be German but I'll need to do more digging in order to find out who made it.

What says 1950s more than a PINK sewing machine?

I have no clue as to the distributor of this sewing machine, only that it was made in Japan. It appears either someone took the badge off the front or it never had one. I would guess someone just removed it, or it fell off. It could have been a Brother, Remington or Morse, or any number of other branded machines from the era.

In any event, here it is in all its glory.

BelAir Bantam Model 33

I broke out of my comfort zone when buying this next little guy. It was more than I usually pay at a thrift store but I just couldn't pass it up (and how many previous times have I heard that statement in my brain?).