Accidentally, On Purpose

Well, what do you know?  I’m now the  proud owner of a Singer Featherweight….accidentally, on purpose, that is!

So, I was trolling ShopGoodwill.com, like I’m prone to do, and I saw a listing for a 1940’s Featherweight…with a scroll plate, no less!!…. no power cord or foot control, no case, but a few accessories with a very low price.  So, I bid on it.  That happens a lot.

I got curious because I got outbid each time, and I wasn’t bidding a whole lot higher than the listed price.  But it was still a low price, and I was hooked, like the rat pressing the button for more treats, I wanted to know the high bid…I don’t know why, because, hey, I wasn’t going to buy it anyway, right?

Well, the 3rd time was the charm and I was now the high bidder.  And there was still about 3 hours left before the end of the auction.  No problem, I’m heading to bed and I KNOW someone will come in and scoop this up ahead of me while I’m in dreamland.

But wait.  What’s this?  An email from ShopGoodwill.com?  I’m the what?  High bidder?  No way!  Uhh….I was only curious, I didn’t really mean to buy it….

After about a week long wait, the box arrived and I….couldn’t open it.  I had to put in some overtime on the night it arrived, and I KNEW I wouldn’t want to open it and then walk away from it.  So, it was just easier to leave this big box next to the couch, unopened.  It was killing my friend, Julie, that I didn’t open it.  That was even more incentive to wait!  Hee hee, I’m such a stinker!

I’d emailed to ask about how it was going to be packed because I’ve heard lots of stories of machines broken on arrival.  They replied that they would take extra care with it, and it arrived protected with a whole bunch of air filled packing bags.

I could tell it had quite a trip from Florida because the outside of the box was gouged in a few places, and I was a bit nervous about it when I first saw everything; as I removed the bags I found the top panel to the machine, where the thread holder attaches, was askew, but ultimately everything came out just fine.   I’ve purchased 3 machines from ShopGoodwill.com,  so far, located all over the country, and they’ve all arrived in great condition, so I feel very lucky.  

 

So, last Friday night I turned off my phone and just enjoyed getting to know her.  She was bone dry, needed both grease and oil, and a good rub down.  I even removed a couple of pieces of thread that had wrapped themselves around the shaft behind the bobbin case.  I’m suspecting those threads were the culprits behind the overall good condition of the machine, if someone didn’t know how to find them to remove them.  There are a few deep scratches in the bed of the machine, but the decals are in absolutely wonderful condition.

I contacted my OSMG, Jerry, at Treasure Valley Sew n Vac, and he has the power cord for my machine, he just didn’t have the button control foot for it.  I asked him to wire in a regular clam shell control instead; I’m really not a fan of the button controls and at this point I’m not looking to sell it so it doesn’t need to be in “original” condition.I’ve been patient so far, but now I’m really getting excited to sew on her and find out what so many people like about the Featherweight. 

I tried to set the tension on it, but moving the hand wheel by hand just wasn’t working for me, so I’ll have to wait until I get the power cord.

I haven’t looked inside the motor yet, either; I’ve never serviced a motor before and I’m just a tad worried about what I might find.   I’ll get over that once I’ve reviewed all of the wonderful documentation I know exists on the multitude of forums out there, though.

And, since it’s 73 years old, I’m sure it will need to be re-wired; I’m just hoping it’s in good enough condition right now so I can play with it for awhile before I have to take on that project.   That’s another thing I haven’t done before.

I’ve been patient so far, but now I’m really getting excited to sew on her and find out what so many people like about the Featherweight.  And, that’s the story of how Josephine, my 1940’s Singer Featherweight came to live at my house.