Needlebar.org

[amuckart]

Hi all,

This is slightly off-topic, sorry. I couldn't think of anywhere better to ask.

I'm working on restoring a number of machines at the moment and I'm trying to find people who are members of the needlebar.org forum who might be able to PM the admin on my behalf and see if he'll let me sign up. Currently the whole forum is locked down to members only and registrations are apparently closed.

I've emailed admin@ but got no response.

Thanks.

[Kate]

Well, this is really fascinating. I've been a fairly inactive member of Needlebar for a LOOOONG time, but when I tried to log on today, I find that I nave been "manually deleted". In checking into Alan's latest pronouncement from above, it appears that he has co-opted ALL of the images etc on the site as his own property - that would include several that I provided of machines I have owned, just to add to the knowledge base.

I guess it's a logical progression of what has been going on there for the past several years - getting stickier and ickier.

What machines did you need info on? I know a LOT of people who are purely into old machines Possibly could hook you up!

Kate (was Kate on the Left Coast on Needlebar and Treadleon)

[amuckart]

Hi Kate,

Thanks for that. Sounds like Needlebar is a goner and I should forget about it, which is a shame. I've had quite a few people recommend it. Are there any other good technical fora on restoring old sewing machines?

In terms of sewing machines, right now I have two Junker & Ruh Sd.28s, a Singer 45K (which is pretty much under control, I just need to get a few parts for it) and a Pearson & Bennion A1 which needs to be completely restored. There are pictures of it in this thread on the History board. It used to be blue, which will be fun to see when its restored. I'm vaguely seriously considering japanning rather than painting it, but I don't know how I'd do the stand and get it to match because I don't have an oven big enough to get the stand parts in.

In the pipeline I have:

• a Pearson/BUSM #6 which is going to need to be completely stripped, cleaned, repainted and rebuilt.
• a Singer 29k13
• a Singer 29k58 with a broken bit in the head somewhere
• two Pfaff flat bed roller-foot machines
• two Singer post-bed machines

On top of that there's a marshall bell skiver and the Sørensen splitter in my other thread.

I have a very tolerant wife. She wants to get a pretty Singer 201 in a nice old cabinet now

[Kate]

Hi Kate,

Thanks for that. Sounds like Needlebar is a goner and I should forget about it, which is a shame. I've had quite a few people recommend it. Are there any other good technical fora on restoring old sewing machines?

<SNIP>

I have a very tolerant wife. She wants to get a pretty Singer 201 in a nice old cabinet now

Well, I sent Alan (Mister Needlebar) a kinda snippy offended note regarding his co-option of MY photos of MY machines on there, and lo and behold, he said he'd benevolently reinstate my LAPSED AND DELETED membership. However, the provided login password doesn't work, so.....

There's always ISMACS, http://www.ismacs.net/home.html but they are not necessarily involved much with heavies - though GRaham has an encyclopedic knowledge of most things sewing machine and may likely be able to point you in a good direction. Your loving wife would likely enjoy Treadleon, especially if she QUILTS.

Seriously, there are people right here who know as much as you are likely to find about the old heavies you are looking at working on - Henry in Canada has a depth of knowledge of restoration on leather stitchers, Bob Kovar (sewmun) is a treasure trove of minutiae and parts knowledge, and I'm sure there are others.

Best of luck in your journey - and have fun at it!

Kate

[UKRay]

Well, I sent Alan (Mister Needlebar) a kinda snippy offended note regarding his co-option of MY photos of MY machines on there, and lo and behold, he said he'd benevolently reinstate my LAPSED AND DELETED membership. However, the provided login password doesn't work, so.....

Just in case anyone is interested, I have just logged in to Needlebar.org for the first time in months and had no problems... This is an exceptional resource for old machine owners and Alan has always been very helpful when I have dealt with him. I'll gladly ask if there are any changes afoot if you like but it seems that nothing has changed.

Ray

[TwinOaks]

Keep an eye out for posts from Sewmum (as mentioned), Art, Barra, and Wizcrafts, as they have a tremendous amount of knowledge on the old machines. If you don't see anything on the open forum, try PMing them.

[TorontoBoy]

I'm new to Leatherworker.net and Needlebar (I joined up a couple of months ago), but not to leather work, sewing and the Internet. I found joining Needlebar a real kick in the pants. I'm a good boy and behave myself on the many forums that I join and participate.

Joining was strict, and you have to justify why you should be granted entry into this elite group. Odd is the forced introduction of yourself. Ok, very atypical of a forum. If you don't introduce yourself (and get an official greetingl) you can't read not post to any of the other forums. Most internet forums are friendly places, but Needlebar is of a different stripe.

Still as stated, Needlebar has depth of knowledge and seemingly nice people that post. Unfortunate for the all non-Needlebar members, this is not shared with the rest of the Internet. It's like there is a Great Firewall of Needlebar, and if you don't like it you can go away.

The rules of the Needlebar forum are:

Do not ask for values or how to sell machines: fair enough, I don't do this anyway.

Do not offer anything for sale or post any ads: fair enough, I don't do this anyway.

Do not tout for offers or post personal email addresses: fair enough, I don't do this anyway.

Do not post links to commercially-operated picture sites

Do not post links to commercial sales sites

Do not post live auction links

Do not post pictures in the forums: These conditions are against the openness of the Internet.

Some people like to post all their pictures on picture sites. It is efficient to do this if you have a lot of photos to manage, and is a very common and accepted Internet practice. Nor can you post your photos in forums. Nor can you link to photos from commercial sites. Therefore there are no photos of any kind in the forums. I've sent Needlebar some photos and I've yet to hear back from anyone nor see my photos displayed. I believe in the "a picture is worth a thousand words" camp, so by not posting any photos at any time makes it difficult to describe a problem or to show a solution that you have found.

I'm not a big fan of commercial content on forums, but sometimes there are some people who are knowledgeable and happen to have turned their hobby into a means of living. There are many commercial sites that have great content, but all this is excluded on Needlebar.

I don't mean to grumble, but I feel Needlebar is trying to be the one and only place for all sewing machine knowledge on the Internet, and as intelligent as Needlebar participants are, they are flowing against the spirit of openness of the Internet. I feel disappointed that they would not foster increasing the knowledge of sewing machines, not just on their one site but throughout the world. Needlebar compels me to lurk rather than to contribute, to take and not to give back.

Then again I am not a sewing machine expert. Maybe they don't want people who are not experts to contribute, but don't mind allowing them to join their club.

[Johanna]

That forum sound Draconian. Just tell the needlebar folks that they are welcome here, and I'll put on more coffee and find extra chairs. We don't have all those rules. You can read or not read what you want, and post what you think. If you ask for help, you'll get it, and everyone has opinions if you want those, too. If you sewing machine guys want an expanded section, we can do that for you. Tell me how you want it set up.

Johanna

[Wizcrafts]

I'm new to Leatherworker.net and Needlebar (I joined up a couple of months ago), but not to leather work, sewing and the Internet. I found joining Needlebar a real kick in the pants. I'm a good boy and behave myself on the many forums that I join and participate.

snip

Then again I am not a sewing machine expert. Maybe they don't want people who are not experts to contribute, but don't mind allowing them to join their club.

TorontoBoy;

Welcome to the LeatherWorker Forums! As you may have noticed, we also have a lot of experts in the needle trade on this particular section and also in the Sewing Leather section of LeatherWorker.net. Our experts will be more than happy to answer any questions you post in these forums.

Furthermore, you are more than welcome to post pictures or links to commercial sites, or to mention that you have items for sale. We have a For Sale section should you wish to buy or sell anything related to leather working tools or sewing machines.

Enjoy you time here!

[TorontoBoy]

Thanks All,

I prefer an honest, laid back and open minded forum! I think I found one here.

Hello from Canada!

[china]

Just to add my two cents worth people should make sure of their facts before they blagard others

[qarawol]

Some of my so-called privileges were removed from NB and I never knew why until a recent reply from the Admin. His reply was made and the topic was then locked and remains for all members to read.

I then wrote a formal apology letter to Admin, which is as follows...

"Alan,

Thank you for the response.

I understand that this is your website and you will do as you please but for what it is worth… I would like to formally apologize for any and all wrong doings here on NB.

My avatar was removed with no explanation until now. How was I to know that my user name and what it meant written around it in picture form was going to be a problem? I never had any so called hand slap so I never knew I was in the wrong. I have read many posts that you have removed links to and you added a few words (not exact) of "Don't Do That! Not Allowed!" - I never had that.

Yes I knew about no posting of commercial sites on the forums but 'not' in the profile section that has a 'website' field to fill in. I noticed it kept disappearing and I have re-typed it several times thinking it was a glitch. It would have been nice to be told what was going on and not to fill it in again. Also, would you like me to change my user name?

As for my so-called 'overlarge posts'… isn't it better to write it out in detail at first so that most info is out front and spelled out clearly? If you are referring to the one when I talked about the types of electricity available here in the states, that thread started as me just saying I had a 220v motor that broke apart and I was going to change it to a 120v one.

If I write too much detail, tell me, I'll tone it down. If I write nonsense, tell me that too. Tell me when I am doing wrong or what you would like changed in my writing, I have no problem with that via open forum or PM. But I do need to be informed of it in order to better myself here.

I know I don't know it all when it comes to these antique sewing machines but I have grown/learned a lot and fast. A total of 13 or 14 antique machines in fewer than 3 months time. Most were not usable at first. I am not just a taker of info on forums that I join. I'll do my best to contribute. I have done this here by finding problems with the machines I have and posted my findings and how I solved them. Pictures were sent in but never posted.

I know it costs to run a website. I'll donate money if it is accepted. I've also have sold items on other forums to where 100% of sales went to the forum to help out. I wanted to offer FREE items here to members and I did ask first. I'll build simple custom tabletops, drawers or slides and you can have 100% of the sales if it will help. All I ask is exact shipping cost and cost for any special wood request. Again, I am not just a taker of info.

Most here collect and use an antique sewing machine. We talk about collecting and restoring them. Many have wrote about what needle is needed as well as correcting the stitch length and timing. We write about what the optional feet are used for as well as other attachments… so why is it not about sewing also but using a pre 1960 machine to do it? That is what these machines were designed to do… sew. But no more from me about sewing since you have said something about it.

This site has a lot to offer and I know I can do my part to contribute as well. Though without the use of the 'Search' or PM's it does not make it enjoyable to use this site. I am not going to request my membership be removed but I do ask if I can get a fresh start.

Again, I apologize!

Thanks for reading.

Rick"

This 'EXACT" apology was posted in the open forum for all to read and has been deleted with no reply.

Njoy Life...