Salter's Ideal sewing machine

 Just picked up this little beauty.

Salter's Ideal Model B

No serial, Salter only made these machines for one year, 1921/22.  Model B can be distinguished by it's faceplate marked Ideal and by it's adjustable foot height.

To expand on JW's question, the machine is very simple. It is a portable chain stitch (single thread) and the base measures 9 1/2" x 5".  The whole machine weights 7.6 lbs (with cover).  Compare that to a Singer 28 portable lockstitch (two threads), measuring 12 5/32" x 6 9/16" and weighing in at 24.6 lbs.

Wheeler & Wilson No. 3 treadle

 Wheeler & Wilson No. 3 Treadle

Serial number: 58754

Date: 1860

Bought this from a civil war reenactor who thought it would be fun to make civil war clothes from a machine available during the civil war.  Then discovered that it wasn't.  😁

1890 Singer VS3 hand crank with painted roses

Model: Singer VS3

Decals: Painted roses

Serial: 9680544

Year: 1890

Purchased from Ebay for $200 (plus shipping and tax), $300

I have a Singer 28*** hand crank in Victorian decals.  Pretty rough.  Bought it from a neighbor for $20 or so at his garage sale a few years ago.  It was his wife's and had a handwritten note to her in the base, explaining how to thread the machine.  Pretty cool.  I also have a 128 in quite nice shape, with La Vencedora decals.  The 28 hand crank won't fit on the 128 due to handwheel differences although it might be possible to also swap out the handwheel.  The fact is, I never really liked the LV decal set.

So when a VS3 (early version of the 28) came up for sale on ebay I started to give it serious thought.  Asking price $275 from Florida, so figure on adding another $75 to that for shipping, I threw out an offer of $200, thinking it would be rejected.  Next morning it was mine and on the way.  One of the pricier machines I've bought as most of my collectable acquisitions have ranged from free to $200 (OK, to be fair, most of the free machines aren't actually collectable, they are projects which may become collectible) but in general, my hobby has not been an expensive one.

*** The Model VS3 is the 3/4 size version of the VS2, the 28 and 128 are the same, respectively, with the 27 and 127.

Jones Family CS

 Jones Family CS Type 8

Date: 1927

Purchased in Wenatchee, WA 2025, $73

This one was picked up for me by a friend who wrapped it in a blanket and strapped it on the back of his motorcycle to get it home.  Somewhere there's a picture but now I can't find it.  That would make an interesting discussion: things you've carried on your motorcycle.  My list would include, to start, a four foot piece of 4" x 10" and an upright vacuum cleaner.  My friend Eric's list would include my dog Brutus after he passed away (the dog, not Eric) and the body needed to be taken to the vet for storage since I was on vacation.  

Jones made a lot of small changes to their machines which means that a lot of the parts aren't interchangeable, even though the machines look almost identical.  Often the only way to tell them apart is by the different decals.  This one is a Type 8 according to fiddlebase.com.

Junker & Ruh Erda

Junker & Ruh Erda model

Serial: 652825

Dated: 1899

Paulsbo, WA $50 purchased 2024

Attachment on the bed to the right of the machine is a "third hand" fabric holder.  It keeps the fabric from sliding toward you and putting pressure on your material as you work.  

Wheeler & Wilson D9

1898/9 Wheeler & Wilson D9

Serial 2499218

Purchased Penny Pinchers Estate Sale, $75 November 2024

Been sitting in there for a couple years.  She strips and sells for decoration.  Irons, tables, drawers.  Sad but $185.  I did get the full accessory box for $8 back then.

Last week, sewing machines 50% off.  Would you take $50?  Negotiated to $75.  OK.  Needs some work on some metal bits but it's all there.  Drawers are peeling veneer a bit so we'll see.  Pics are post first run cleanup.

How 'bout them roses!

1887 VS2 transitional

Serial 7491756

Bought in Ferndale, WA $100, October 2024.  Drawer loot included 1916 Ferndale High School grade report for Clara Nielsen

Clara became a school teacher, never married, passed away in 1981.  This had to have been her machine, perhaps inherited from her mother who passed away in 1918 or so.

Transitional machine was switch from VS1 to VS2 most obvious because of the nut on top of the pillar. 

Bradbury Family No 1

 Not chocolate, that's Cadbury.

I was fortunate enough to win an auction the other day.  Auctions, of course are horrible.  I was winning with a $63 bid right up til about five minutes before, then I was winning with a $170 bid.  Soft close meant that if the person who last minute bumped me up had thrown in another bid, the auction would have gone on for another five minutes, another chance for said bidder to bump me even higher.  None of it, of course, the end of the world.  I'd put in my max bid and wasn't going up under any circumstances.  But enough of that, you don't care how much I paid or who caused me to pay it.  Show us the machine, you are screaming!

There you go.  Bradbury Family No 1.  Haven't been able to pin down a date yet but sometime in the late 1800s.  The couple who seem to be the resident experts on Bradbury, having written several articles for a prestigious sewing machine collectors magazine, aren't answering their email.  Hopefully they're on holiday and will be back soon.

Quick  description: fiddle base, hand crank, transverse shuttle sewing machine, the Bradbury's were designed to be set into a treadle base as needed, hence the holes just under the balance wheel.

The case, unlike any other that I've seen, sets down over the machine with a lid that is hinged up, then the case is clamped to the arm of the machine with a J-bolt.  The lid closes and locks with a standard triangle shaped key, of which I have several.  The machine can then be picked up with the handles on the sides of the case.

The upside is that the weight is supported on the arm of the machine, a very strong hang point.  The downside is that the J-bolt has been digging into the finish of the machine for well over 125 years or so.  In the long run I'll add a rubber pad to the end of the J-bolt to minimize future damage.  I don't think we can blame the company for not anticipating 125+ years of use.

1902 Singer 48K

1902 Singer 48K

Serial: R686637

Purchase: Morro Bay, CA auction, approx $250

Picked this up at an auction in Morro Bay, CA.  Stayed down in California for several months until a friend was recently passing through the area and was able to pick it up for me.

I just used it to make a storage bag out of some light waxed canvas I got from Joanne Fabric and this thing is wonderful to sew on.  I like the handcrank better than the treadle although to be fair, the heavy fabric meant I was able to sew with one hand.  When I needed an extra hand I just let go of the hand crank and it would swing to the bottom and stop.  I suspect that playing with the position of the crank relative to the handwheel would allow you to set where it stopped so I'll be looking into that a bit moving forward.

Necchi BF Mira

Necchi (pron. Nekki) BF Mira

Date: 1955-ish

BF stands for Bobina Famiglia (Family model).  The other option from Necchi, introduced later, was the Bobina Universale (Universal model) which had zigzag.

Why did I buy this?  It isn't what I collect, I already have two modern (a Japanese Fleetwood and a Brother Select-o-matic) sewing machines for doing work I need to do.  It was, however, $18.75 at the 75% off, going out of business, thrift store sale.  And it is immaculate.  Necchi's are supposed to be a joy to sew on so why not?

Also, those more knowledgeable than I mentioned that it looks like the pedal has been re-wired, which is a good thing, because the original wiring was generally sketchy after all these years.

Collection: Singer 29-4 Patcher

 Singer 29-4 Patcher

Serial:15419810

Date: 1898

Treadle stand: cast iron

Summer 2022, $200

Picked this up two years ago as a surprise acquisition.  These usually go for $750 plus but I was down in Sedro Woolley and saw the ad pop up on Craigslist.  Called and discovered that the original purchaser wasn't able to make it due to back problems and it was newly available.  Told the seller I could be there in about 30 minutes and headed up Highway 9.  Took two of us to load but got it home and inside with the help of a neighbor.  Seller bought it to do some sails, never got around to using it, and was getting a divorce and needed stuff to go away.  I've already sewn some patches onto leather motorcycle vests and am building a table for it.  They came with wooden tables but those have often been lost or destroyed over the years as they aren't fixed to the stand but put into place when needed.

The shaft may be slightly bent at the end (you can see the hand wheel is canted slightly although it's not as bad in real life as it looks in this picture) but the machine sews flawlessly.  The only time this has been a problem is in winding bobbins as the bobbin winder tire doesn't press against the handwheel consistently.

Jones Serpent Neck model

 Jones Serpent Neck model

Serial No:

Date: 1893 - 1901 Fiddlebase Jones page

Acquired: Fall of 2023

Needle: 29x3

Purchased from Trevor (OldSewingStuff13) for $350 because I saw he had it for sale and had to have it.

A couple videos that Trevor made when he was cleaning it up.

Bobbin winding: https://youtu.be/fqfGQFTrxL0

Stitching: https://youtu.be/jybq2eR4Bl4?

Wilcox & Gibbs Automatic electric

Wilcox & Gibbs Automatic

Serial: A669877

Date: 1920/1

A gift from a friend, she thought I'd enjoy it more, as a collector, than she had, as a user of old sewing machines.  Much appreciated and I look forward to doing a bit of rewiring as it's a shade sketchy, so that I can do some sewing.

Singer 128 Blackside

Singer 128 Blackside

Serial AG869428

1946

Purchased for $CDN25 at a garage sale in Ladner, BC.  Locked bentwood case so didn't know what was in it.

Actually saw it when driving by the week before but garage sale was closed by the time I got back.  The next week my mum was driving by and it was still there.  So she bought it.  Happy Christmas to me.

Gritzner R badged Nicholls' Enterprise handcrank

 Gritzner R badged Nicholls' Enterprise (also Ntapryze)

Serial:

Year: approximately 1923

Price: $CDN100, Vancouver, BC, summer 2023

Came with instruction manual which told us that it was sold by Nicholls' in Rochdale, a small industrial town just outside of Manchester.  After a fair amount of research I identified it as a Gritzner Model R.  Sees reasonable as that's a lot of what Gritzner did, sold machines for badging.

The decals are in spectacular condition.  Really the whole thing is.

White VS Model IV

White VS Model IV

Serial: 763220

Date: 1890

Bonnet top treadle

Can't stop myself from rescuing things I don't have.  But $30?  OK it was $50, but I'm getting better at the "offer less and see what happens" game.  So $30.  I had to pick it up that day as I was down towards Seattle, and so was the machine.  It will need work.  See that antique-ee looking cream colored paint with olive and gold tones?  Gach!  I've been told it will be a nightmare to strip it all off and save the wood underneath, but what else will I have to do in my retirement.  When I don't have two jobs, a business, and two organizations to run.

Because I needed more to do

 Visited a local museum yesterday at the invitation of the curator.  They have sewing machines.  None of them work (or they don't know how to work them).  Would I come by and take a look.

Thing 1: Lots of really old sewing machines, at least five that I saw plus a sock knitting machine.  I was not aware that a sock knitting machine was even a thing.  I now need one and I need to make it work. If you are curious:

Thing 2: A WWII vintage Harley Davidson Flathead.  No idea how long it's been since it ran but it's been sitting inside for years.  I know this because even though I'd never been in the museum I remember seeing it in the window when I drove by 25 years ago.

Thing 3: A basement full of old cars in various states of repair and disrepair.  Not my thing, restoring old cars, but also, two Indian Chiefs.

Not sure of the ownership setup of many of these items as often with these small local museums things are loaned but I'm willing to spend some of my free time tinkering.  The curator is fairly new to the museum and apparently the previous director wasn't much for paperwork or keeping track of what they had, so she has her work cut out for her.

Anyway, here's a couple quick samples of sewing machines to pique your interest, if that's your thing.  I'll have more as I spend some time there.  A Wheeler and Wilson Number 1:

And a German made handcrank transverse shuttle.  This is a Singer 12 copy but had no identifying info that I could find in the initial quick tour.

All pretty dirty, all need oiling, but everything I touched has the potential to live again. 

Collection: Singer Model 66 (The machine that started it all)

Singer Model 66

Serial: AB723695

Date: 1927

Purchased: So this is the treadle that I found on the side of the road with a free sign, down in Vancouver, WA while visiting a buddy.  Stopped to look at the free treadle cabinet and discovered that there was a sewing machine inside.  Didn't sew, didn't have a sewing machine, but that was too cool to pass by.  Now I sew (occasionally) and collect (too much) and am involved in the collecting world (quite a bit).

On this machine I have made Christmas gift bags and pillowcases.  I plan to make more as time goes on.  This machine will not leave the collection no matter what happens to all the other stuff.  It sits in my living room and I can't believe I hadn't add it to this list yet.

Collection: Durkopp TS

Durkopp TS

Serial: 2198

Date:

Decals: Daisy

Purchased: Aladdin Antiques 2/2023 $50

Rare machine, only found one other picture and no information.  Resembles a couple F&R TSH (Transverse Shuttle Hybrid) models from between 1916 and 1924 but not exactly.

Missing lock from case.  Latch on front of machine torn out of base.  Bobbin winder hold down spring plate (not sure of its official name but it presses on the thread as the bobbin winds, presumably to keep thread tension) broken off.  I have the mechanism but the casting broke where it is attached with a pin.  Doesn't affect sewing and might not affect bobbin winding.  Haven't tried yet.

Did a little cleaning and oiling and it spins very smoothly.  Looking forward to sewing something on this.

Collection: Seawol Sew Magic

Seawol Sew Magic badged, Deluxe 15 clone

Serial GH14496S

Date:

Purchased: Aladdin Antiques 2/2023 $30

Japanese made Singer Model 15 clone with Juki parts inside.  Found another on Worthpoint badged as Universal, identical decals.  Theirs had a manual but all the 15 clones pretty much work the same so...