My hubby found another machine yesterday for The Sewing Machine Project. I had actually walked past it, because it was in a cabinet, and the cabinet was marked very very LOW in price. How could there be a machine in there? Alas, there was!
I cleaned and oiled it. It does have some plastic parts, which I am not thrilled with, but I believe this machine was a lonely one. Usually machines that have plastic housings discolor and turn yellow over the years. I don’t think this one ever saw sunlight. It looks very nice and sews very well too. I searched for a long time for a free manual, and I did not find the exact model number, but the manual I did find is very close to the number, and the machine in the manual is identical to this machine, so I was very happy. I printed it out to go with the machine.
The threading was a bit odd for me. I have cleaned many machines, but I have never had one that threaded from the top, down through the tension discs, then threaded to the RIGHT through the takeup lever . Usually, the threading moves from the right to the left. I’m glad I found a manual. This one would have really stumped me. It sews well, and I wound a bobbin. This one will make someone a very nice machine.
Hope your weekend is wonderful.
Michelle
Ps…Here’s a machine that did not fare sew well. It was unbelievably light, and full of plastic parts. The camstacks (two of them) have big splits in them, and I worked til the wee hours this morning trying to adjust the feed dogs so it would advance fabric. It never happened. I’m not complaining about the $5 I spent on it though, because it will be torn apart and I will replenish my ‘parts’ box. Foot controller alone is worth way more than $5.
Rest in peace BROTHER. I won’t be buying any more of your siblings unless they are ‘senior citizens’! (pre-1970)
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteSorry that your Brother machine was beyond repair. Your Singer looks lovely. That Lou of yours sure likes to find sewing machines for you to rescue. He is real sweetheart. You two are blessed to have each other.
What a great find! That is the EXACT Singer that I learned to sew on from my Mom! She gave it to me when I left for college, and I sewed many an outfit and art project on that thing. May it pass on some joy through your donation!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea to strip down a machine if you can't restore it for future parts if needed. You guys are so good in spotting and buying and fixing up machines, Michelle! I know I've said it before but such a great thing you started to do for this project!! Such a blessing for you and them!
ReplyDeletebetty
Your very lucky at
ReplyDeletefinding good machines ,one bad apple in the bunch is a small price to pay .
My daughter still uses the old singer grandma gave her..it is so heavy!! nothing on the whole thing is plastic..may be so old it was before plastic was invented.
ReplyDeleteplease share where you got the manual for the 5530. thanks
ReplyDeleteI am curious about your "dead" Brother machine. I saw one almost identical in a secondhand store a couple of weeks ago. Everything worked fine except I couldn't get the feed dogs to drop. The white button in the front wouldn't budge no matter what I did to it. Needless to say I didn't buy it but I still want to know if I had missed something about the drop feed button.
ReplyDeleteAlice, the reverse mechanism on the Brother you saw was STUCK, and could be freed up with oil and some heat from a hair dryer. Oil and Heat would probably free up the rest of the parts that are stuck, and it would probably all work again. The one I scrapped out had a broken plastic camstack, and I don't 'do' gears, so it got parted out.
ReplyDeleteHi Alice,
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me what model number is that alternative manual is, or where I can find it? I just got this used machine on Craig's List for my mom and was hoping to get a manual for her as well.
Thanks a bunch,
Lawrence
Hi Alice,
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me which alternative manual you found for the Singer 5530? or where I can find it? I bought this use machine off Craig's List for my mom, and was hoping to find a manual for her.
Singer charges almost as much as I paid for the machine for a replacement manual. :-(
Thanks for the help.
I just recently got my hands on a Singer 5530 as well, and have been searching all over the place for a free manual. No luck either. Can you tell me which manual you used? I am desperate to find one, as I'm eager to try my hand at sewing!! I'd greatly appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
http://www.singerco.com/uploads/download/695_5508_5528.pdf
ReplyDeleteI have sewing machine 5530 since 1985 .l love it . Now I have problem. about stitch palance. I need video to learn me to fix it. Thanks for help.
ReplyDelete