Anne Bonnys Locker

DBX1 is the needle system which defines the length and shank diameter. The 130/705 AKA 15X1 or HAX1 is a flat shank needle used in domestic machines. The needle system and "size" are unrelated and you choose needle size based on the thread size you want to use. Also you need to select the point style you want for your particular work. Also you need to look at the limitations of the machine and I would not want to any heavier than about 20 ticket (#138) with this machine for which would use a 140/22 needle. 22 gauge is an old measurement and the 140 is metric and says the needle is 1.4mm wide. Why not pick up the phone, ring a dealer from the forum and order what you need?

Hi Jeremy, Can do one for $220 as you don't pay sales tax here and I cannot ship it with the base or oil. Uninsured semail is $130 but will take a while to get there. Airmail is $210

Without doubt Singer was the best at marketing and globalising production was a brilliant move that also gave the board a great reason to ship IM Singer off to Europe where his personal life would not be considered so scandalous! Philip Diehl was the man who made their manufacturing work as early on every machine had to be hand fitted then disassembled, painted and rebuilt. Diehl had to fight Singer and the board to introduce the "arsenal" system where parts were interchangeable SInger wanted to "put a sledgehammer through" the prototype of the 12 but he relented and of course it really established the household market. The 15 and 27 probably would not have been the success they were if the 12 had not paved the way.

Thanks Art! Most of us who know a bit about machines could buy anything off ebay and get it doing but for the novice it is a different story. I dislike dumping on other dealers but people need to be wary and I suspect that this is the guy I tried to help get going by telling him the mods he needed to make but he refused to listen to me. Then the prick had the temerity to steal my photographs off flikr for his listing and when challenged by my business partner (the owner of the photographs) he said that he had my permission! Unmodified and untested these machines have about a 30% chance of working when they arrive from China. The last batch I bought from the supplier of the one shown on ebay had a problem with the milling of the slot on the handwheel for the locating pin. The machines must be tested with one handwheel which has the correct milling but when the one supplied in the kit is used the timing between needle and foot is out so you have to adjust the two cams for foot lift and foot feed.

Great work!

Like dirtclod said - make something up yourself! When using machines you really need to learn to improvise to get the best out of it.

Oh yeah! The crude Chinese patcher I sell (based on the 1860's German design) can be had here for $129 from an ebay seller but I sell them at ten times the rate he does for $295. The other guy imports beads, jewelery, sunglasses, beachballs and other assorted crap. I modify, test, make a new bobbin winder, supply a timber base and write my own instructions for the machine. My mobile number is on my sticker on each machine so customers can call if they have a problem! I even tell customers they can buy the machine cheaper - in my ebay ad and on the phone - but they still buy from me because I have a good reputation. Often I even tell them the machine is not ideal for what they need but they buy it as an entry point machine to learn how to sew. Honesty is everything. I have been unwell for the last 12 months and unable to expand the business and import the products I need but still my customers have stuck by me because I tell them the truth.

The last picture on the ebay ad pretty much proves it is not a Juki. The finish on the parts is rough as guts and Juki would not let it out of the factory looking like that!

The -15 and -20 use the same bobbin even though the old parts list use different part numbers - a typical Singer ploy to sell more parts. I have some new -15 shuttles and shuttle drivers so I will do some experimenting. A grinder and file may be required - no parts out of China/Taiwan till mid February at the earliest. Thanks for the info Bob.

Most cylinder bed machines used a standard heavy weight treadle base. The 29 series was different in that the left side was lower then the right. An angle grinder and a bit of ad hoc engineering will get around the problem. The 29 base had two band wheels - smaller and much smaller - unlike a standard model. Some later models had a groove cut into the handwheel and if you use one of these you will reduce the speed.

Glad you said "less concerned ebay dealers" because some of us are very protective about our reputation.

Sorry Steve but at the time it was introduced - 1930's - the Germans were already building much better machines. The most notable thing about the 201 is that it had reverse! It was also a rotary but Singer kept building the W&W rotary for a number of years after they bought them out. Even though they had no reverse the White rotary was a better machine and the Free VS nailed anything anyone else ever built for smoothness and quietness. Many machines from Standard and National were better built and finished with many variations of design and even colour. But, when it comes down to it, the German companies had reverse on their VS machines before the turn of the century and had many wonderful design variations. When it was released the 201 was a very good machine, probably the best Singer built, but they were still building the same thing 30 years later when it was obsolete and a base model Pfaff 30 or even a Czech Minerva - the company that now builds Adler machines - could sew rings around it. The various 15 style German machines in the 20's were simpler to service and built like tanks which is not odd considering many of these companies built tank parts in the late 1930's.

If in doubt contact "TROX" as he knows more about Adler than anyone else and has even given them advice at times!

Hi, I sell these machines in Australia but modify them and add my own instructions as the machine is very ordinary when it arrives from China. If the machine is unmodified and untested then it is possible you will have problems getting it going properly. There is a kit I am developing that uses a 700W variable speed drill (supplied by the owner) and a foot switch to allow electric running. I could probably supply you a machine - delivered - for slightly more than this but it will come with a tool kit and ongoing support. As I am regular here you always have the option of dumping shit on me if you are not happy

What a bloody annoying company Singer was! I am rebuilding a batch of 31's at the moment and for the most part they work with generic parts. However: 31k18 (roller foot/roller feed) I rebuilt a while back uses a different needle bar, fortunately I had two, and a special needle clamp - nothing a standard clamp and a grinder cannot cope with. 31KSV7. Looks standard but is in fact a rotary shuttle machine. Everything else is standard and fortunately one of my modern Hirose shuttles slotted straight in. 31K47 "walking Foot". For some obscure reason the foot set is still in production so YAY! 31k20. I have not got to this beast yet but for some reason it takes a different @#$?ing bobbin case, according to the parts list, to almost every other 31! What were they thinking. Another version (31-29) uses the long beak shuttle found in the 15-1, 17, 18 and some 42 models. I have worked as a design engineer and one of the factors in our process was to use parts 'off the shelf' wherever possible and not reinvent the wheel. The 31 could have used the same shuttle and bobbin case as the model 15 and 16 but they chose to come up with new ones. At the moment I do not have an original 31-20 bobbin case so would any of the experts mind telling me what the difference is?

Most people now use the alternative needle as Wiz said. There are however a couple of other names for them: Leather DPX16, 135X16 Fabric DPX17, 135X17

Great machine to learn basic sewing on but pushing it up hill when it comes to saddlery.

We have a bunch of dealers here with decades of experience! It bothers me that you guys pay for links and offer lots of free advice but people don't bother to actually ask you for product!

A true 45K25! Technically, once you put a normal presser foot on it, it becomes a 45K21!

Eric, Anyone who shares knowledge is special! There are a bunch of guys here who share that knowledge when they could be charging for it but you are right in saying that when we are done what we have is useless unless shared!

If anyone has an older 29 or pre WWII industrial with very good decals then this guy needs patterns to work from to create more designs. We help him and he can provide more to us!

Maybe have a look at the GA5/Singer 45k group of machines. They have limitations but can be had quite cheaply.

Yes, we are blinded by our own prejudices. Your tag line says it all.

The bottom tension should be set so that when you pull the thread through the needle plate it comes relatively easily. On the 45k/Ga5 style machines there are no tension disks as such so you actually wrap the thread around the tension not just under it. Also ensure that the take-up spring is under the spur not sitting on top. Whenever you remove the faceplate for cleaning you must check this detail.