Got a Pearson #6!!!! wee hooo!!!

[plinkercases]

I just closed a deal for a functioning Pearson #6 after humming and hawing around the likes of 441 clones and the older Landis #1... and for much less than any of those new or used.

Now off the Aaron Martin's to pick up a stand and some pointers as soon as I can. - need to sort out a bobbin winder or make one....

I am now very happy with my stable - something suited to almost any project and all nice old machines:

1. Singer 95K51
2. Pfaff 1245
3. Pfaff 335
4. Pearson #6

[dikman]

Well done! You are now officially a collector, no point denying it!!

[plinkercases]

naaaaaahhhhhh just well tooled....

I do like looking at them though!

[JD62]

Good for you! That's excellent!  

[ScoobyNewbie]

Now, this is a situation I have seen before. Many of the guys I work with have multiple sewing machines. Do you really need more than one machine? Or is this just tool junky behavior?

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

15 hours ago, plinkercases said:

naaaaaahhhhhh just well tooled....

I do like looking at them though!

It does provide a warm fuzzy feeling, doesn't it?

 

14 hours ago, ScoobyNewbie said:

Now, this is a situation I have seen before. Many of the guys I work with have multiple sewing machines. Do you really need more than one machine? Or is this just tool junky behavior?

I can't answer for the OP, but it is possible to spend way too much time changing machinery over to do a different job, even in a small shop.  For example, I have frequent projects that require several needle/thread size/thread color throughout the project.  I hate spending 5-15 minutes changing a machine, and then have to change it back again, and TRY to get it set back where it was.  So yes, there are very good reasons for having multiples of even the same type of machine.  Time is money.

[plinkercases]

1 hour ago, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

I can't answer for the OP, but it is possible to spend way too much time changing machinery over to do a different job, even in a small shop.  For example, I have frequent projects that require several needle/thread size/thread color throughout the project.  I hate spending 5-15 minutes changing a machine, and then have to change it back again, and TRY to get it set back where it was.  So yes, there are very good reasons for having multiples of even the same type of machine.  Time is money.

Well said. While I am a small shop (to be bigger when I retire from the day job) I have several different products that all required different weight thread and walking foot versus non - cylinder versus flat - upholstery leather versus veg tan of various thicknesses. If I am to see any return then I am not doing everything by hand (just the custom stuff) and I  need to be properly tooled up for the different project requirements.

And what may look like, or even be for that matter, tool junky behaviour can also be that I work hard for my money and I can spend it on what I appreciate and feel is worth the money... and these machines will out last me and if my son goes into the business as he is thinking about then he has a leg up the other start ups from his old man. Not to mention there is a story behind each machine and who it came from and how I got it that means something to me and my sense of history, tradition, even connected to my Mennonite faith and traditions.

And as with my firearms there is a line on one side of which you are a "shooter" whose sports/disciplines require various types of firearms (and if your a competitor then back ups of them) or you are a "collector" who has safe full of unused tools. With my firearms I am a "shooter" with my sewing machines I am a "user"... to some they just look like collections but perception is a personal thing and you are free to have yours ScoobieNewby.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

1 hour ago, plinkercases said:

And what may look like, or even be for that matter, tool junky behaviour can also be that I work hard for my money and I can spend it on what I appreciate and feel is worth the money... and these machines will out last me and if my son goes into the business as he is thinking about then he has a leg up the other start ups from his old man. Not to mention there is a story behind each machine and who it came from and how I got it that means something to me and my sense of history, tradition, even connected to my Mennonite faith and traditions.

Ditto, except I'm not Mennonite, but my mother was, if that counts for anything.

[rodneywt1180b]

Congrats!

I fall on the tool junkie side of the line.  The older the better. Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

[dikman]

I just collect things. There!! I've admitted it! I feel better already......

[ScoobyNewbie]

Goodness, sorry if I sounded snappy. I was just asking. 

That makes a lot of sense to not be changing thread sizes and colors out all the time. Bobbins. The eternal enemy...

[dikman]

Don't sweat it. Not snappy at all, in fact it's a very valid question. Some of us just don't bother trying to rationalise it.........

[plinkercases]

2 hours ago, ScoobyNewbie said:

Goodness, sorry if I sounded snappy. I was just asking. 

That makes a lot of sense to not be changing thread sizes and colors out all the time. Bobbins. The eternal enemy...

No worries as dikman says... if only we could hear the tone of voice in which things are written and no I don think emogies help.  Written communications can go south pretty quick sometimes when we don't read what the writer hears in their head.  And to be honest I am sure those of us (at least me for sure) with a few machines (now) are primed to be a little defensive since some folks close to us just don't get it! and it is worth a discussion since this is a forum.

Edited September 20, 2018 by plinkercases

[Constabulary]

It´s time to post some pictures of your machine 

[plinkercases]

Its being shipped and the one from the add is crappy... stand by

[plinkercases]

Here is the pic from the add. Leaving out west today in a crate to be here Wednesday.

The seller bought it from an "old guy" then had it worked over thoroughly by a saddlermaker he says was an expert on them. Seller used it to make "bronc halters" and "horse flanks".

[ScoobyNewbie]

OH! What a wonderful old girl!

I have my greatgrandmother’s 1920? Maybe 30’s Singer. Maybe 40’s? It’s electric, knee pressure advance. It’s buried under boxes in the basement. I’m a little gun shy I guess. I haven’t plugged her in for 12 years or more. I’m sure any oil is gone, and I need to get a leather needle. I have sewn through 5 layers of denim with her, but still, I would hate to hurt her...

[plinkercases]

Get her out and give her a clean and oil and some fresh air and sunlight. I have my grandmothers singer too in the wooden vase woth the knee control and have made tool roles with old couch hide. The paint and detailing is in excellent shape and i just love the look and feel of it. Form and Function and a little style too boot. Show us yours and ill shown you mine!

[Matt S]

 

14 hours ago, plinkercases said:

Here is the pic from the add. Leaving out west today in a crate to be here Wednesday.

Well she's obviously got some miles on her but looks intact. The only obvious part you might be missing is that wax pot, but that's not the end of the world. The handle looks like an improvised replacement but functional.

If you've read the manual you'll realise there's not a great deal to adjust or time on a #6 -- most of it is fixed and what adjustments exist are primarily for compensating for wear over time. Apart from the obvious ones like shuttle tension and needle thread take-up (which does not work on the same principle as the common 111-type tension unit -- took me a while to get my little brain around that) off the top of my head there is only the needle assist slide, the gibs on the needle bar assembly and the tuning stud for the stitch length dial. (These may not be exactly what the manual calls em.)

I found mine was a little sluggish and reluctant for the needle bar assembly to snap back towards me after completing each stitch, which meant that the stitch length didn't always tie up with the dial setting. I found that the slides were full of very old oil, which was making it drag. A couple hours' relaxing with a set of spanners, the girlfriend's toothbrush and a can of brake cleaner sorted out that problem. There's a knack to adjusting the gibs tight enough for minimal slop but loose enough to cycle without binding. As always with this sort of thing though my recommendation would be "if it ain't broke don't fix it". (Shame I rarely follow my own advice...)

Beautiful as this piece of late Victorian engineering is, try to resist putting it anywhere the floor may be harmed by oil. Like all British engineering these things are thirsty brutes and have two modes:

(1) If it's not leaking oil it's run dry so you'd better top up.

(2) if it's leaking oil it has sufficient for now but it's about to run out so you better top up.

[plinkercases]

Thanks Matt for all that. It will be on a concrete floor so th oil situatiion is no concern. I could see the handle and would look to do something about eventually but it is functional. Wax pot i will find eventually if i can just for cometeness but iwont be waxing the thread. 4 more sleeps!

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, plinkercases said:

Wax pot i will find eventually if i can just for cometeness

Huh? Please 'splain that.

[plinkercases]

Completeness!!! (Of the machine as made)

Always exciting/confusing when i thumb type on my phone without my glasses and when tired with the dyslexia kicking in... usually i write then wait before sending and come back with fresh eyes to proof read but not that time.

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

15 hours ago, Matt S said:

A couple hours' relaxing with a set of spanners, the girlfriend's toothbrush and a can of brake cleaner sorted out that problem.

I sure hope you got her a new toothbrush!  Lol

15 hours ago, Matt S said:

Beautiful as this piece of late Victorian engineering is, try to resist putting it anywhere the floor may be harmed by oil. Like all British engineering these things are thirsty brutes and have two modes:

(1) If it's not leaking oil it's run dry so you'd better top up.

(2) if it's leaking oil it has sufficient for now but it's about to run out so you better top up

That is my rule of thumb with ALL vintage machinery. If metal rubs against metal, it better be running in oil.

[Matt S]

17 hours ago, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

I sure hope you got her a new toothbrush!

Well she just read this over my shoulder so it looks like I'm going to have to!

17 hours ago, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

That is my rule of thumb with ALL vintage machinery. If metal rubs against metal, it better be running in oil.

I agree, with one slight modification: oil goes on parts that are entirely or partly in contact with its mate most of the time, and parts that are intermittently in contact receive grease. The way I figure it those cams on the back of the #6's wheel won't hold oil except where the roller bearings happen to be at that moment -- needs something thicker to reduce the rate at which it drips out. I use bog standard lithium grease but just about anything ought to work. However where there's frequent or constant contact the oil will (mostly) be held in by surface tension. At least in my little mind.

[plinkercases]

35 minutes ago, Matt S said:

Well she just read this over my shoulder so it looks like I'm going to have to!

I agree, with one slight modification: oil goes on parts that are entirely or partly in contact with its mate most of the time, and parts that are intermittently in contact receive grease. The way I figure it those cams on the back of the #6's wheel won't hold oil except where the roller bearings happen to be at that moment -- needs something thicker to reduce the rate at which it drips out. I use bog standard lithium grease but just about anything ought to work. However where there's frequent or constant contact the oil will (mostly) be held in by surface tension. At least in my little mind.

Makes very good mechanical sense and I will keep this in mind for all my machines. When I bought the 335 it came with a litre of purpose made "sewing machine oil" which I understand has to do with it properties such that it doesn't stain the material. Would Moly Grease work as well as lithium grease?