Singer Improved Family

I have more or less decided to fit the Nolting in the Sewing Loft.  Steven agrees.  I think he would like to have the guest apartment for guests. 

My sewing loft is in the upstairs of our Dutch Barn.  It is so called because it looks like it came out of a picture book of Holland.  It has a gambrel roof with shingle siding.  All that is missing is the windmill.  It gets nice and toasty out there with the little Jotul stove but the firebox holds only enough fuel for a few hours.    Anything larger would cook us right out of there.  My solution, which I had proposed YEARS ago, is a hard wired, electric baseboard heater complete with thermostat set a 45-50.  Steven finally thinks this is a good idea.  We must contact our electrician and once the heater is installed,  hire someone to blow in the expanding foam insulation.  It’s the dead of winter now.  This is a spring/summer project.  I don’t know when Steven will contact our electrician.  I might ask him, but he  might perceive that as nagging. 

“Honey, would you consider it nagging if I asked you when you were going to contact J.”

(Pregnant pause long enough to complete gestation and deliver the baby)

“I don’t know when I am going to contact J.”

“That wasn’t the question.”  OK, OK, I could be considered a manipulative bitch, but he does love me.

(Another pause.  We now have Twins).

“I don’t know….”

“Good,  I will take that as a No.”

Now  I know that he doesn’t know when he will contact J. and that he doesn’t consider it nagging that I asked. 

“I think I will wait until it is warmer before I call him.  Why, do you think you are going to have that space ready soon?”

I confessed that I will not have the loft ready at all soon.  But I am preparing.

Today we brought the Singer Improved Family from it’s storage space in my sewing loft to the shop.  I have an interested party coming to look at it on Saturday.  I thought that I had better make sure it works, since I advertised thusly.

Ever see an IF shuttle? 

It is a bit of a pain to get the bobbin in there and threaded but it is doable.  I am thankful that Singer abandoned this in favor of the central bobbin with removable bobbin case. 

I used Howard’s Restor-a-finish on the cabinet and the bonnet.  I cleaned the irons superficially with Tuff Stuff and then rubbed them with a Goo Gone rag I had used on my hands.  The machine looks fine.  Of course, I don’t want to sell it now.  It is from 1886 and is one of my oldest machines. 

There is a chance that the interested party wants it for the irons to use for a bathroom vanity or such  Something tells me so.  If that is the case, he will go home empty handed.

WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN ?

They, in this case, being me.   When I figured out that the Mystery Singer was actually an Improved Family modified for leather use, I thought it would be fun to use it to make a bag.
http://mysewingmachineobsession.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-mystery-singer-is-not-improved.html

older photo, the machine is now in its nice refinished stand.

It took me a while to adjust the tension, again.  Finally I declared it ready.   I started on the bag yesterday afternoon, late.  First I made the strap. That was pretty thick for this little machine.  The rest of the bag went together pretty quickly since I had so much experience with the pattern.  But I had an awful time making the final seams.  The machine just wouldn't handle the bulk.

I thought, some, of trying the 31-15 but by the time dinner was over and I had taken my cholesterol lowering, heart disease prevention medicine, I was spent.  Besides, I wanted to watch The Princess Bride.

This morning I surveyed the machines in the sewing loft; Singer 237, Singer 201, Kenmore 1760 and, of course, the Singer 15-90.

I popped it in the treadle stand, swiped the bobbin from the Non Improved Family and started to sew.  That machine went through the four layers of the strap and the two layers of the seam plus the lining with ease. I also gave up on the leather needles. I went through two, and the points on both needles failed. IOW, they became burred.  Back to microtex sharp Schmetz.

I think I will be able to use that Non Improved Family class 15 Gloversville Machine for sewing very fine leather.  I have some nice soft stuff.  I could try making little change purses.  I suppose I should keep the machine for the "museum."  Likely there aren't many of them around.  I wonder if this guy would want it. 
 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/fashion/22GLOVERSVILLE.html?pagewanted=all

Gloversville isn't THAT far from here.  Maybe on a lark I will load it into the car and trek up there to see. 

Why the Mystery Singer is not an Improved Family.

1896 Improved Family 

1890 Special Variant Singer AKA Mystery Singer

They look so similar, don't they?  In the manual there is a drawing of an I.F. with the same decals as on the S.V.  or Paff as I have named it.

I bought the machine from a very nice gentleman.  He has a passion for treadles and has restored many.  He and his wife are off on new adventures now.   They are, thus, divesting.  I named this machine Paff.  It is a combination of their two names.  I don't name many machines.  Because this one is unique, I named it. 

If you have been following, Rain commented on a previous post stating that likely this is a Special Variant.  I could call it that.  I like Paff better. 

There are differences even though the beds look the same.  They are the same size.  I measured.  They have the same tension assembly. (See previous post). 

Flower (the I.F.) does not have thumb screws on the needle bar.  Her BW is different and, the most important distinction, while she is an oscillating shuttle, her bobbin case is part of the race and is not removable

IMPROVED FAMILY

Paff

 

The underside of the IF looks less hefty to me.  Now I know that the two views aren't the same, but I think you can see what I mean.

Oh, and that crud that I removed?  Well, me thinks it was an oil wick.  I wondered about it when I was removing it.  It sure was stuck to that screw.  I think it was wicking oil to the roller.  It wasn't wicking anything in the shape it was in.  If I were to get really brave, I coud take this whole mess apart and replace it.  Yeah, like I am ever going to do that. 

I did some reading on line last night (Thank you Peg).  I found out that Singer did have shops that would outfit machines to certain specs.  I bet that's what happened here.  The cut out for the knee lifter looks as if it were meant to be there, not cut out as an afterthought. 

Paff needs more work (and it looks like Flower needs a good cleaning, too).  But it is so much cleaner now.

 I am using a 130/705H (15X1) needle.  I wish it threaded right to left.  The roller foot does lift up but now that it is so clean it wants to flop back down again.  Gets in the way when I am threading the needle.

I hope to get it installed in its stand soon.  I won't be putting another machine in that stand ever, so I think I will just use a leather belt for this machine.  I must look for a nice one.  The ones I have are rather red colored.  I'd prefer something more authentic to the time.