Singer 1748

A couple weeks ago, Louie and I picked up this sewing machine while out junkin’ (minus the manual you see here). We plugged it in before we bought it, and when we hit the ‘gas’, it sounded like a wounded baby seal barking! It was marked $5.95. We figured for that price we couldn’t go wrong, even if we just tore it apart for pieces. The foot control alone is worth about 5 times that amount.

It looked something like this. The light bulb socket was hanging, and the end cover was not screwed on. There was nowhere for a screw to attach itself to.

If you look closely, you will see that there is something ‘missing’. See the bracket with empty holes? It stumped me until I found and downloaded a manual for it. Ahhhhh….it’s missing an automatic needle threader!

Apparently, there was another bracket, or there was a bracket built into the needle threader that held the light bulb socket and the end piece on. When the needle threader left, so did some other important parts. Someone must have just gave up, not knowing what to do.

Well, who needs a needle threader anyway? Louie and I decided to see what we could do with it, and we also set out to quiet the baby seal! The first place I oiled quieted it right down!

We really wanted to make this machine work so we could donate it to The Sewing Machine Project. Louie fabricated a plate to secure the socket to, and that same plate served to hold the screw that would hold the end piece onto the machine. Of course, there were a few ‘tweaks’ for ‘clearance’ so the point of the screws weren’t in the way of the ‘swing of things’ but now, all is well, and the plate addition works like a charm.

Here it is all back together.

There are lots of stitches, plus stretch stitches. S1 and S2. Some of the stitches in S2 look like mirror images of some of the stitches in S1.

It doesn’t have an extension table/bed thing, but it will sew without one. Some lucky lady will really enjoy this machine. For a ‘newer’ Singer, I was impressed!