Playing with vintage machines

No grandson today, he is with his mom.  When he's gone I always have a hundred things I want to get accomplished, and I'm lucky to even touch on a small percentage of them.  Last week I stopped in at D&D Sewing in Plaistow, and that reminded me of my vintage "portable" machines in the basement.  I knew one of them needed a professional touch (it skips stitches) but I didn't remember which one.  This morning I pulled them out and spent a little time dusting them off and sewing a bit with each one.

This is a National machine.  It has a vibrating shuttle (my favorite!) and a beautiful case.  This is very similar to my Reliance treadle, one of the few I have kept.  I have collected, repaired, and sold off probably a dozen other treadles.  I have kept the Reliance treadle, a White Family Rotary, and a 1904 Singer "Sphynx" model.

It's a beautiful machine, with lovely decals.  And look at that foot pedal!  Adorable!

Sews very well too!  I did adjust the tension a bit when I started sewing with this one (top line of stitching, dark) and sewed a couple more lines, ending with the third line of stitching, which looks white.   Nice bentwood case top, too. I am looking for a key.  This case (below) and the drawers to my Reliance treadle use the same triangle shaped key.

This one is a Singer 128 vibrating shuttle machine, with La Vencedora decals.  I have converted this one to a hand crank machine (mostly because I couldn't find an affordable hand crank).  You can purchase newly-made hand crank mechanisms and use them on vintage machines.  Not sure if they work on machines other than Singers, but it works with this one.

The disadvantage to adding a hand crank is that the cover no longer fits properly.  It can't be closed and locked with the hand crank attached.  It's a lovely case, too.  Oh, well - it at least keeps the dust off the machine (mostly).

This is a Singer 99K.  Lovely machine, uses standard needles and easy to find Class 66 bobbins.  And it sews fast!  As it turns out, this is the machine with the problem.  It skips stitches.  I think it may be a timing problem.   With this one, the case is broken at the top near the handle, so this is another one with a non-functional top.  Like the previous machine, though, it does function to keep most of the dust off.