Yesterday I thought I would try to clean up the Singer 66-16 that I found at a thrift shop. I've read you should only clean these vintage machines with sewing machine oil. So I gave it a once over.
However I could not open the bottom so I was not able to oil that area. I need to get one of the men folk to lift it out for me.
It does have a nice even stitch.
Much like this sweet little beauty...........
I'd really love to try machine quilting with the 66-16. It has an 8 1/2" harp opening. However I need to find a darning foot to fit. Anyone have a source for attachments?
13 comments:
You have a couple of real beauties there! I used GoJo (without the pumice/grit) to clean the gunk and grunge off of my old machines. It works great, but you do have to be careful with it around the decals. Stick to using plain sewing machine oil in those areas if you can. After it's all clean, give it a good coat of Carnuba wax to protect it.
Today must be the day for posting about old Singers...I have a post up about sewing with my latest find too. There's just something about the way these old machines sew that can't beat the new machines!
Check out http://shop.sew-classic.com for anything you might need for your older machines. I've ordered from them before and have been very happy with all that I have received from them.
Good luck! I tried to quilt with an old Singer, but never could get the foot pressure right. Was always too tight and pulled the fabric:( Hope you are able to get it to work. Ebay works pretty well for feet. Yours is probably a low shank.
2 things I've always thought I'd like to experience: a featherweight and a treadle.....yours sounds like a gem.
I agree that Sew Classic is the go to place for your foot. I've bought many parts from her and she is great. You'll love quilting on your vintage machine. Be sure to frequently oil the hook race and stop if your foot pedal gets hot (could mean you need a new one of those or just to clean the dust out of it). Also, you might have to adjust your darning foot as these sometimes drag on the machine bed of vintage machines. They're easy enough to shorten tho. Enjoy! Lane
Vintage machines are the boom-diggity. They are workhorses and wear like iron!
"Cindy Peters" ; I order all my vintage machine parts from her. Tell her I sent you. She also has walking feet that work with vintage feed dogs (set up different than in modern machines).
How lovely that your old girls are still maintaining their sweet stitches. I love my old Featherweight :0)
Crispy
Such sweet machines. I enjoy them but never do the cleaning myself... it's nice to read the advise and sources you have been given. Have fun!
What a beauty! I have no idea where to get the feet except there are dealers that restore these machines that might know or source or be one...maybe your local quilt shop would know such a place...good luck!! Have a wonderful weekend!!
What beauties--hope you are able to find the needed parts and have the old girls working again
The 66 uses standard short shank feet. You can use a darning foot from you other short shank machines or order one from Cindy Peters.
Because of the threadpath for the bobbin thread on the 66, it takes an extra bend, but many people quilt quite successfully on them.
(I prefer to quilt on a Class 15 Singer and Necchi, but that's because they have larger bobbins, so I don't have to stop as often.)
Enjoy!
I highly recommend either Cindy Peters or Jenny at SewClassic for any replacement items for these old gems! I've never attempted to FMQ with a model 66 but I love my Singer 15-91 for FMQ. I'm told but don't have direct experience that FMQ on a machine with a vertical bobbin works better than the horizontal bobbin. The 15-91 bobbin also holds a lot more thread than the Class 66. Have fun!
such beautiful machines... they really were CRAFTED in a very creative way. love it!
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