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Daniel Bohrer

You can still get a used Singer "New Family" model for about $120 in today's money on eBay.

But for $350 you can also get a whole new sewing machine [4]. The difference is that today's average wages in the US have climbed to around $1000 per week [5], so you only have to work about three days to afford a sewing machine.

[4]: singer.com/machines/computeriz
[5]: fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/mo

22 February at 18:25 | Open on chaos.social
33 comments
Daniel Bohrer

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.

22 February at 18:35 | Open on chaos.social
Daniel Bohrer

Speaking of sewing machines, and Things That Just Work… got a new old tool today: Pfaff Model 30 treadle sewing machine from 1950 🥰

#Pfaff30 #AntiqueTools
24 February at 17:35 | Open on chaos.social
Daniel Bohrer

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.

24 February at 17:43 | Open on chaos.social
gim

@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:
I even got the original manual and uploaded it to archive.org
archive.org/details/kohler_11-

24 February at 18:58 | Open on queer.group
gim

@daniel_bohrer and they look extremely similar...

24 February at 18:59 | Open on queer.group
Daniel Bohrer

@gim oh yes, astonishingly similar!

24 February at 19:56 | Open on chaos.social
gim

@daniel_bohrer would you be interested in comparing detailed photos?
I'm kinda hooked :blobcat_idea:

24 February at 20:10 | Open on queer.group
Daniel Bohrer replied to gim

@gim yes probably, but I'll probably not gonna come around to it today…

24 February at 20:41 | Open on chaos.social
gim replied to Daniel

@daniel_bohrer me neither. I'm rather tired and prefer not to turn on bright lights to capture some photos^^

24 February at 20:42 | Open on queer.group
Daniel Bohrer replied to gim

@gim btw this playlist was the start of my rabbit hole a few weeks ago, you might find good views there: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnW

25 February at 0:45 | Open on chaos.social
Daniel Bohrer

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.
26 February at 20:25 | Open on chaos.social
Daniel Bohrer

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
23 March at 1:31 | Open on chaos.social
Daniel Bohrer

“The buttonholer is a truly magic device.”

Oh yes. Yes, it is!
25 March at 21:22 | Open on chaos.social
Daniel Bohrer

"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)

#sewing #antiqueSewingMachines #antiqueTools

25 March at 21:30 | Open on chaos.social
von Pearly replied to Daniel
Sandzwerg replied to Daniel
Anthony 🦘🐨🪃🕯🧙‍♂️🔆🇦🇺 replied to Daniel
Alfred Chow - Maker of Things replied to Daniel
Daniel Bohrer replied to Alfred Chow - Maker of Things

@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

26 March at 8:43 | Open on chaos.social
Molly B replied to Daniel

@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. :-)

26 March at 10:56 | Open on mastodon.social
Zumbador replied to Daniel

@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.

26 March at 11:15 | Open on mefi.social
Eamon replied to Daniel

@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.

26 March at 20:47 | Open on social.coop
Daniel Bohrer replied to Eamon

@eamon I guess since my "main" hobby is hand tool woodworking, I'm kind of used to working with sharp objects… :)

26 March at 23:26 | Open on chaos.social
Wonderdog replied to Eamon

@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”!!

28 March at 0:44 | Open on bne.social
Lyn replied to Daniel

@daniel_bohrer And here's me not brave enough to use the automatic button holer on my modern machine!

28 March at 0:39 | Open on theblower.au
Frances Larina replied to Lyn

@frogglin @daniel_bohrer

Some modern machines almost scare me with their speed.

28 March at 3:08 | Open on sfba.social
Lyn replied to Frances

@Frances_Larina Mine can go a lot faster than I can, that's for sure!

28 March at 5:53 | Open on theblower.au
Wonderdog replied to Daniel

@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!

28 March at 0:43 | Open on bne.social
Kermode replied to Daniel
europlus :autisminf: replied to Daniel

@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!

28 March at 7:49 | Open on social.europlus.zone
Gammapeak replied to Daniel

@daniel_bohrer impressive! I love sewing on my antique Singer, I had no idea buttonhole attachments like this existed for them.

28 March at 9:10 | Open on sauropods.win
Frances Larina

@daniel_bohrer

Oooh, that's a beautiful machine! Nice find!

28 March at 3:10 | Open on sfba.social
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