DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Too true!
I saw it land so to speak while listening to it bouncing about in the most messy part o the garage.
Even took the compressor shroud off as it must have gone in there.
Even Mrs HC couldn't find it!
I spotted it hiding in the back of the 3/8 socket set case lid in the end, not where I saw it go....

You are lucky it didn't fly into the darkest recesses of the crankcase at
mach 20. It wouldn't be the first.

Bought another classic today, runs as smoothly as the day it was made... hand-cranked... described as the "Rolls Royce" of its class... high-carbon super-hardened steel gears... (forward and reverse) with no synchromesh. First manufactured 90 years ago in Scotland... Any guesses?

...you guessed it. I got a Singer 201K sewing machine in the hope of repairing my upholstery. https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/201

Would you believe I have a collection of vintage sewing machines!
Love the design and engineering quality from over 100 years ago, fantastic.
My mother was a seamstress (sp?) in the 50/60's and I grew up to the whirr of a Singer at full chat most evenings.

That example looks great, should give hears of fun!

I can believe you have a few as they're great things. I know where to come now, if I have any problems.

When new it would have cost four months wages. It was built in the biggest sewing machine factory in the world, located on the Clyde and was the most advanced factory in the world at its time of building and with its Singer tower, was visible for miles around. Despite doubling the number of storeys, the factory still couldn't keep up with demand. Over 9 million sewing machines were made in the factory. Mine is cast iron, but later models were lightweighted with aluminium bodies made from recycled spitfires.

The Queen had a Singer 201. Many enthusiasts say no machine before or since has ever stitched as finely as the 201, but by 1961 they were simply too expensive to produce in the face of cheaper Japanese imports.

I'm going to hot rod it with a period-correct oem motor, seriously. My mum has the later 185K since before I was born so I know how great they are engineered. The 201 doesn't do as much stuff but is renowned in sewing circles for being particularly robust, apparently. The story goes that Rolls Royce used them for a long time to sew all their leather interiors so hopefully should be a great choice for car vinyl and leather.



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It's a thing of beauty

Singer was a ruthless man like many others, and crushed many other players by patent infringement fought out in the courts, David and Goliath stuff.
He won.
However, the machines are fantastic designs and above all manufactured to a very high level of precision.
My mum's had the motor on the back and infinite speed control. She used the 'flywheel' quite a bit too.

All those reels of Silko, bobbins of thread under the foot plate!
Hers would roll over to reveal a flat wood surface for other sewing work, machine and work top in one, typical of the Singer way.

I remember she worked all hours for very little.

That these machines still work well after so many years well used or laying dormant until awoken is testament to the industry that created them.
I look forward to your adventures at the needle!

I vote we start a new thread: 'What did you do in/on/for your sewing machine today?'

KS wrote:I vote we start a new thread: 'What did you do in/on/for your sewing machine today?'

Expect pics of wonky trim and lumpy seats in due course.

RobFrost wrote:I got a Singer 201K sewing machine

Nice. How much was it?

Including auction fees, £45.92 from Winterton's yesterday. Although it comes with an unwanted modern sewing machine which will fetch about that on eBay. It also came with a sewing box with scissors, thimbles, needles, ribbon etc. which I'll give to my daughters. My daughters already have a modern machine and I didn't want to break that sewing vinyl and leather so I did a bit of research into the best thing to get and I was lucky there was one in the local auction.

Some sewing machines are rather special. This is an early twentieth century Singer 132K, so made in Cumbernauld and for very heavy work like sails, tarpaulins, saddles and upholstery work.

It was bought new by the Forman of the trim shop at the Stroud Bus Company. They bought chassis, fitted bodies and trimmed them in those days. When he died he left it to a well known local trimmer famous for making sex pervert, child molester, liberal and fatty Cyril Smith an oversize armchair.

In 1962 my mum needed some Victorian leather seats retrimming and I went with her to off load them with John Hemmings. I saw this gleaming machine, admired it and got its life story. They only used it for making tarpaulins for a local haulier.

When my son left Apline Eagle and set up on his own, he needed a heavier machine for carpet binding and trimming R-R&B and other high end cars. Connolleys Vaumol is 1.7mm thick when most is about 1mm and you need to sew up to 8 pieces together. John wouldn’t sell it because he was leaving it to his son. Sadly, a few years later he committed suicide. John was devastated and that was that, but a few more years and with dementia and heart trouble, John contacted me to offer Rich the machine and he bought it, had it overhauled and still uses it for really heavy work now.

It weighs 110lbs on its own and has a needle like a six inch nail, but it still has the Singer Work light, it’s original Singer table and electric motor as well as its original finish and it works beautifully if slowly.

And at the other end of the scale, a picture of a Moldacot machine, I have one, rare as can be in it's original tin.
Quite a story behind these machines.

Is this the oddest thread-drift ever on here?

You know what a sewing machine discussion needs? A THREAD all of its own.

Put your FOOT DOWN and get one started.

Something something SPOOL.

That’s all the bits of a sewing machine I know. Bobbin? Is that one?