Gregory's ServerIn a way, modern material science is probably the reason that these kinds of ever-lasting machines are no longer manufactured today. We have gained the knowledge how thin and cheap we can manufacture parts so that they last exactly their intended life span, and not a year more. This knowledge has paved the way for capitalism to decrease the time between product cycles to their liking: if you want a well-built product, you better be ready to pay extra for it.
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 Sorry, I was only able to find one US catalog of Singer, so that's what my calculation is based on. But I suspect that the situation might be similar for other manufacturers and other (developed) countries. On a side note, I found out that you can still buy newly manufactured replacement parts for treadle sewing machines – but then that's no surprise given that these models still have a large user base in countries with insufficiently developed electrical grids. Speaking of sewing machines, and Things That Just Work… got a new old tool today: Pfaff Model 30 treadle sewing machine from 1950 🥰 And it just runs and runs and runs… this machine was obviously well cared for by its previous owner(s), I didn't have to oil anything at all (yet). Will still clean it up before its first productive use though. @daniel_bohrer I recently got a Köhler 11-30 (about the same age) and it runs so smoothly! I will have to replace the leather belt sooner or later, but everything else :blobcat_chefskiss: @daniel_bohrer would you be interested in comparing detailed photos? @gim yes probably, but I'll probably not gonna come around to it today… @daniel_bohrer me neither. I'm rather tired and prefer not to turn on bright lights to capture some photos^^ @gim btw this playlist was the start of my rabbit hole a few weeks ago, you might find good views there: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnWs0YbIPEEeYGvr-d3emeH66GLnnBYT0 Forgot to take a "before" picture, but here's a "during" picture. The insides was only a bit dusty, and the caked-up oil went away well with isopropyl alcohol. Okay, let's see if I can restore that nice lacquer finish with my home-made mixture of lamp black, isopropyl alcohol and shellac… Sadly the Pfaff logo on the back side is already too much gone, I don't think I'll be able to restore that. #AntiqueTools #ToolRestoration #SewingMachine #Pfaff #Pfaff30 "I don't like these old sewing machines, they can only do straight stitches. How are you gonna do button holes?!" Well, 1950's tech had a solution for that. (Disassembly in the thread above)  @Maker_of_Things went for 1€ on eBay, apparently it's a niche product :D search for Singer or Gerster brand, but there are probably some more our there @daniel_bohrer The first buttonholer I bought for my Singer 301 cost more than the machine (which came from a thrift store). This was pre-eBay, so I had to get the buttonholer at a local specialty shop that sold vintage parts *and* had the slant-needle version. Now I see them all over the place, and they're usually $10-$20--not a bad price for a bit of vintage wizardry. :-)  @daniel_bohrer My husband has been using these old Singer machines in his design class because of our power outages. The students love using them. @daniel_bohrer that's a cool gizmo but I'm extra impressed by your deft hand with a razor blade. Every time I've tried to do that I've sliced up my fingers. Weird how long it takes to feel the cuts from those things. @eamon I guess since my "main" hobby is hand tool woodworking, I'm kind of used to working with sharp objects… :) @eamon @daniel_bohrer A small chisel from the local hardware store and an old block of scrap wood is safer for me - don’t get ripped off by specialty sewing stores wanting to sell you a “Buttonhole chisel set”!! @daniel_bohrer And here's me not brave enough to use the automatic button holer on my modern machine!  @daniel_bohrer @frogglin You should see the number of attachments that came with both my Grandmother’s and my Great Grandmother’s treadle sewing machines! Amazing what they could do. I love the buttonhole attachments on the Singers - choice of buttonholes, even!  @daniel_bohrer @mos_8502 I remember my Mum having something like that on her mid century Singer - she had scissors which allowed her to cut the holes afterwards, too. Hard to describe – a U shaped piece of metal where when the U was compressed the triangular blades (thicker towards the closed end of U) would join first and you could just cut as far as needed. Safer than a razor blade! @daniel_bohrer impressive! I love sewing on my antique Singer, I had no idea buttonhole attachments like this existed for them. |
On the other hand, the decrease in cost to built a product also makes it affordable for more people.
For example let's have a look at household sewing machines. This ad [1] for the Singer "New Family" model puts the most basic model at $60, and these models were manufactured from ~1865–1900 [2]. The average wage in the US in 1870 was about $2.23 per day [3], so the machine cost about one month's wage.
[1]: https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/page1.html
[2]: https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/early_singer_history_new_family.html
[3]: https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/bulletin-united-states-bureau-labor-3943/september-1898-477571/wages-united-states-europe-1870-1898-498267?start_page=8
On the other hand, the decrease in cost to built a product also makes it affordable for more people.
For example let's have a look at household sewing machines. This ad [1] for the Singer "New Family" model puts the most basic model at $60, and these models were manufactured from ~1865–1900 [2]. The average wage in the US in 1870 was about $2.23 per day [3], so the machine cost about one month's wage.