Angebe Report post Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) Hi how do I find out age of singer sewing machine . im assuming it’s very old as has the bobbin winder attached to machine, not to the side. cant find a serial no on machine but there are some numbers and writing on some of the parts one being simanco 97730. It’s the black singer thks Edited February 21, 2018 by Angebe Wrong Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted February 21, 2018 you can date most Singer machines by the serial number - or - you can try to narrow down the mfg. date by the kind of badge the attached to the machine Serial number on the 132K6 usually is on the right backside of the flat bed. Please post some pictures of your machine Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Angebe Report post Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) I actually haven’t bought it yet, its not allowing me to put a photo up here I have found another singer on this forum exactly the same but don’t know how to add it here Edited February 21, 2018 by Angebe . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt S Report post Posted February 21, 2018 @Angebe, I think that 97730 is a part number -- can't remember off the top of my head but I think it's a fairly common part for Singer flatbed industrials. Those body-mounted bobbin winders continued for a while, parallel with the use of table-mounted types. Shiny black Singers were common until the 1960s, when they changed to a blue-grey hammered colour, barring a period from the 1940s-50s when they used a crinkled matt black. Are you curious about the date for a reason other than pure curiosity? I find that it's not a reliable indication of condition -- an old machine can have been used very little and stored carefully, whereas a machine just a few years old can have been ridden hard and put away wet. Also, older machines can have been rebuilt with new parts where it counts, and this can be hard to tell from a few photos and a description. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Angebe Report post Posted February 21, 2018 Thks for reply I guess a little hesitant because of age, I’m guessing around seventy years old but it hasn’t been used in years, don’t know how well it’s been looked after and I’m not sure how to tell but been told it wasn’t used too harshly. I’m concerned about parts as well, not sure whether they’d still be about? It looked like it sewed well when I demo’d it, yes you are so right, a new machine may have been flogged so age sometimes doesn’t count. It the same as this one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted February 21, 2018 Well these machines are like tanks! I have a 133K3 from 1932 and it is working very smooth and I also have a 132K6 from the 1950s. You still get a lot of parts for these machines. New clones of these machine are still made by some companies. F.I. Seiko has the Model SK-8 and Mitsubishi making the DY-253. Not sure where you live but College Sewing in the UK has a lot of parts: https://www.college-sewing.co.uk/store/Singer132B,132K,133KSewingMachineParts You can download a manual here: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted February 21, 2018 @Angebe appears to be located in Berwick, Victoria, 3806, Australia I would recommend that all members add their location to their profile so other members can provide the best help. There are leather sewing machine dealers in Australia that can fix, recommend, provide parts etc. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Angebe Report post Posted February 21, 2018 (edited) ,yes, from Victoria, Austraila. So the one I'm looking at is around 70-80 years old, I'm looking at this as a useable machine. It' in pretty ordinary condition to look at but I'm getting the impression they are quite collectable, especially the black head ones?? Probably worth getting and hanging on to as a collectable machine? I guess if it does its job it's meant to do its a win win or should I look for something a little newer? sorry for questions but all new to me and I'm getting dizzy from googling all night :). thks Edited February 21, 2018 by Angebe . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites