|
Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
|
Thread Tools |
14th Mar 2012, 7:16 pm | #1 |
Hexode
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 354
|
Sewing machine
Hi, I have recently acquired a Singer sewing machine. I wonder if any one has a treadle switch as the one I have has a burnt out mains dropper for speed control.
|
14th Mar 2012, 8:12 pm | #2 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,936
|
Re: Sewing machine
Do you mean the speed control pedal? 'Treadle' is a way of operating a sewing machine mechanically using your feet.
I've never known the resistor burn out in these pedals, but they are prone to various wiring failures and the interference capacitors will be about to fail if they haven't been changed. They are simple things so easy to troubleshoot with a test meter. There are replacement speed control pedals available on eBay all the time. These are modern designs using triacs and give better motor control that the original tapped rheostat, but you lose the originality of course. I still use an original pedal with my 1935 Singer 201K. |
14th Mar 2012, 8:49 pm | #3 |
Hexode
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 354
|
Re: Sewing machine
Hi,
Yes I did mean speed control pedal. The windings on the rheostat seem to have burnt out. The Singer in question is a 1915 vintage with motorising kit added, probably added in the 1930s. I am also after a copy of the manual, even a scanned copy will do. Regards, Robin. |
14th Mar 2012, 9:46 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 3,233
|
Re: Sewing machine
I didn't realise that even sewing machines had capacitors! We have a 201k in a table - type cabinet wth a knee operated motor control. Will this have capacitors and do they do any damage if they fail?
Paul |
14th Mar 2012, 11:01 pm | #5 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,936
|
Re: Sewing machine
Yes, this will have two capacitors in the rheostat box controlled by the knee lever. If they fail the machine will start to run regardless of the position of the speed control if it's plugged into the mains. I don't think there are any safety implications though.
Robin, I can scan my copy of the motor manual, but it won't tell you anything that you don't know already. These are standard 1930s AC/DC motors, and the pedal is just a rheostat. |
14th Mar 2012, 11:27 pm | #6 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Buckingham
Posts: 20
|
Re: Sewing machine
Robin,
Could you post a picture of the pedal and motor please I may have a singer motor and pedal but a picture would help. Kind regards Steve |
15th Mar 2012, 12:03 am | #7 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Hertfordshire, UK.
Posts: 208
|
Re: Sewing machine
Your best bet is to look on the Net for a replacement, they do give up when you least expect then too, its a common fault.
I only have one Singer with a motor, 0.3amp. I don't think that it's possible to fix them. |
15th Mar 2012, 1:10 am | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 16,535
|
Re: Sewing machine
Would one of the more modern type of control using some sort of stack of resistive pellets that get squeezed hard to reduce the resistance, work perhaps? A rheostat is only a posh name for variable resistor.
__________________
....__________ ....|____||__|__\_____ .=.| _---\__|__|_---_|. .........O..Chris....O |
15th Mar 2012, 11:43 am | #9 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Matlock, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 1,378
|
Re: Sewing machine
What about a lamp dimmer?
Trevor |
15th Mar 2012, 12:29 pm | #10 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,936
|
Re: Sewing machine
Modern plug in replacements are effectively triac light dimmers operated by a pedal. You could use an off the shelf light dimmer if you wired up the required pluggery, but it would be difficult to operate.
Singer made a single motor and pedal without significant changes from the 30s to the 60s. They also sold them separately so owners of other makes could convert from hand crank operation, so you sometimes find Singer motors on Jones machines for example. |
15th Mar 2012, 3:26 pm | #11 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Hertfordshire, UK.
Posts: 208
|
Re: Sewing machine
I have a vintage Singer with the added motor/light set up, its using a resistive pellets 60's pedal and it works perfectly well.
|