So how do preppers sew?

[ottbmare]

I have one like that. They’re easy to use and they make a nice lock stitch though of course thy don’t do the other useful stitches modern machines do. Getting the tension right is tricky. The only disadvantage is that they’re extremely heavy and you just can’t move them around to your last redoubt.

One thing I’ve learned is that hand sewing can be very fast and good. Doesn’t take nearly as long as you’d think.

[NEMDF]

My mother, who was enormously talented and resourceful, built a sewing table/desk that had a recess in one half of the top, so that the sewing level of her machine was even with the table top. The left side was hinged on the top, for a large storage area, then it had a shallow drawer under each side to hold thread, notions, etc. I have always thought it was the perfect sewing setup. I remember some of the older sewing tables would allow the machine to be folded down for storage, to look like normal furniture pieces. Sounds similar to what you have.

[5thGenTexan]

My Grandmother had one of those. I was tasked with giving it a tune up when I came to visit in the summers.

Worked until she sold it when she moved in town after my Grandfather died. I would love to have it.

[Ditter]

I learned to sew on a treadle sewing machine, it's easy. Unfortunately my parents threw the old thing out after I left home. ~sob~

I bought one last year at a sale at the house of a neighbor who had died. It is in perfect shape.

[wyokostur]

I have one just like that. It was my great aunts. I use it all the time. They work great. Any singer needle will work in it. I like them because you can sew heavier fabrics.

They are super easy to thread and wind bobbins on.

I like to make really nice flannel shirts for my husband and son for Christmas and birthdays. I’ve made all kinds to things with that machine.

Oil it often.

[NTHockey]

Amazon has a Janome treadle powered machine - $249.00

[Bigg Red]

Well, I do not sew, unless you count sewing on a button or repairing a hem.

I do, however, have a beautiful machine that had been my MIL’s. She used it frequently, too. When she passed, her daughter was not interested in having it, and she does sew. I took it because it just bothered me for it to be junked or whatever. Now, it makes an attractive little desk in my office. I am assuming it is from the 1940s, but I have never researched it.

[Albion Wilde]

Reg: One on't cross beams gone owt askew on treadle.
Lady: Pardon?

What is that from, Life of Brian? Never got around to seeing that piece of blasphemy; but I loved the Python tv show.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I think my sister took it. She sews. I made a D+ on my apron in Home Ec in High School.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

What is that from, Life of Brian?

Mo. It is from a regular skit from the Flying Circus in 1970.

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

That looks almost exactly like my Mom’s Singer...

My Great Grandmother had one identical to the photo, she even had the "buttonholer" attachment.

When I was in college my ex bought a White portable machine and I lugged it all the way from downtown Milwaukee to the upper east side. It looked just like the Singer treadle machine except for a small electric motor to drive the mechanism. I found out later that Singer had finely changed the design of their machine and sold the patterns and core boxes used to make the cast iron parts and the drawings for all the inner works to a Japanese firm. The import (Japenese) machines were identical to the old Singers (built like a brick outhouse) and even the accessories like Great Grandma's buttonholer bolted on and worked fine. These machines were considerably cheaper than Singers and were imported under various names (American Rose? and others). There are probably scads of them laying around in flea markets, garage sales, and estate sales. Keep your eyes peeled.

It wouldn't be too difficult to change the motor out for a 12VDC (with a little luck the old speed rheostat might even work for you) and run it off a solar cell/golf cart battery. Building a stand to hold it and adding a treadle powered flywheel driving a belt to the hand wheel doesn't sound too difficult either.

Regards,
GtG

[TigersEye]

My sister isn't interested in Mom's Singer so I'm getting it. Already have it actually. That's interesting about Singer's engineering specs being sold to Japanese manufacturers. That means replacement parts and accessories will always be abundant. I don't need to build a stand though because it has a complete wood cabinet that it folds into when not in use. Found this pic of one identical to it minus the matching seat which has storage under the cushion.

Here is a closeup of the foot control identical to the one on Mom's machine.

The drawers even lock. There is a keyed mechanism between the two drawers. Found the key in one of them and it works. Mom collected a bunch of accessories like a buttonholer, a zig-zagger and others. Not to mention a supply of elastics, button snaps, garment trims, needles, bobbins and lots of stuff I can't name. The 1960s prices on the packages are amazing.

It looks so much like the one pictured at the top of the thread I just wondered if the manual treadle system would "bolt" right in after removing the elec. motor. Like swapping engines that's probably not as easy as it sounds. Gonna need to find or manufacture the right "bell housing."

Someone upthread said theirs was AC or DC so I need to take a closer look at mine (Mom's) and see if it already has that option.

[TxGrandMom]

Treadle Singers are still sold today—primarily for those on Indian reservations, those who don’t use electricity, third-world countries. They have plenty of parts available.

A few years ago, I purchased one for a family member being posted to another country. However, she only used it for a neat piece of decorative furniture. :(

As a little child, I learned some basic sewing on my grandmother’s machine. Except for the extra types of stitches, I prefer the treadle.

[djf]

I am still learning about threading it, etc.
It came with a belt, but it was a couple inches too short so I ordered a longer, newer one. When I get it, I will try the whole threading thing and make sure it works.

I got loads of bobbins with it, but also ordered a pack of ten assorted needles.

Serial number search shows it is a Singer 99K, produced in 1941.

It’s more antique than me!

;-)

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

Someone upthread said theirs was AC or DC so I need to take a closer look at mine (Mom's) and see if it already has that option.

I believe that the electric motors used for sewing machines were of "series wound" configuration. That is, they have their armature and field windings in series. That allows the use of such "universal" motors with either AC or DC.

The overall resistance of the field and armature winding plus the resistance of the foot petal rheostat together with the applied voltage determine the current flowing through the series circuit (I=E/R). The current flowing through the windings produces a torque between the armature and field which causes the armature to rotate. The speed of rotation is limited by the load applied, too much load and the motor stalls, too little load and the speed increased until limited by bearing friction.

This is not a problem in small (fractional horsepower) motors. However series motors are also used for traction drives on Diesel electric locomotives, electric buses, hoisting engines, &c. If you lose the mechanical load under power the armature will accelerate until the centrifugal forces lifts the windings from the slots in the armature, or the commutator pads will pull lose and jam under the brushes. Either will pretty much destroy the motor unless you want to spend two or three days learning how to rewind a blown series motor. Don't ask me how I know that.

The motor runs on either AC or DC because in a series configuration running on DC there is no time varying component to the voltage and thus the current is steady and so is the torque. Running on AC, the varying voltage will add a time varying component to the current which will change polarity twice every 1/60th of a second. Since the torque is produced by the slots in the armature and field being S to S as they approach and S to N as they repel. One 1/20th of a second later they will be N to N on approach and N to S as they repel. The resultant torque will have a time varying ripple but the momentum of the armature will allow the mechanism to coast through the zero current intervals before accelerating back to full speed. Most machinery connected to a series motor will not respond to this small variation.

Now back to the sewing machine, it is true that you could run your machine on either AC or DC. But the voltage would have to be 120volts in either case to get the same output power. Running on 12volts DC (one battery) would only give one tenth the power and most likely fail to drive the mechanism. Ten car batteries in series would work but would constitute a serious problem designing a charging circuit and would be a serious safety hazard as 120VDC from batteries (very low internal resistance) can kill people dead as a door nail.

It would be much easier to find a small series motor with about one tenth of the internal resistance (nameplate rating of 12 to 20 volts). I would look via Google for places like "Science and Surplus". They buy old equipment and break it down for tinkers. I misspoke in my earlier post about the foot control. There is little likely hood of using the old controller on 12 volts. The only part that needs be changed is the variable resistance element contained inside the control box. A wire wound rheostat with a maximum value about 10% of the high voltage setup currently driving your machine (measure across the pins on the power plug w/ an ohmmeter while lightly stepping on the foot controller.

Regards,
GtG

[metmom]

I have two of those. One needs repair and I need the cord that runs the thing. It broke on one of mine and I would not be surprised if the other would go soon.

Anyone have any idea where to buy them?

[metmom]

Apparently, new machines that don’t requir electricity are still being made — probably for the Amish, etc. Probably not a bad investment just to have on hand for SHTF.

I'll bet you could find them in this catalog.

Lehman's Non-Electric Catalog

https://www.lehmans.com/?partner_id=bcbgoog&9gtype=search&9gkw=lehmans%20non%20electric%20catalog&9gad=23543976764.1&9gag=1868051564&atrkid=V1ADWB2C45253-1868051564-k-lehmans%20non%20electric%20catalog-23543976764-b-g-m-1t1&gclid=CI30n-2ZkbkCFYOe4AodcDEAXg

[TigersEye]

Thanks. I guess I’ll just stick with running it on AC the way it is.

[djf]

You can order them from Amazon. Under the category Arts, craft, and sewing search for Griswold B111

This part is a six footer.

If you want more, you can order 25 feet.

UPDATE!!!

I finally figured out how to thread the machine. So the upper threading is done, the bobbin is in place, I took an old piece of denim and ran the wheel by hand.
Ten stitches per inch.

IT WORKED PERFECTLY!!

The stitch ain’t the straightest in the world, I will need to practice feeding the material in, but I am very, very happy!

Amazing. This machine is almost 75 years old.

They really knew how to build stuff back then!

[metmom]

I should get mine out and run it.

One word, and that is that those machines apparently work better on 100% cotton than poly blends.

Something about how they stitch. I noticed that when you use poly blends they tend to pucker and it’s got to do with that. The newer machines were designed to work with that kind of fabric.

Thanks for the info.