The Finesse 833

 

 

This is an interesting machine. When I first saw it, on the shelf in a thrift store, I thought it was a Singer 500 series machine. But it isn't. It's a Polish knock off, made in Poland in the 1990s and it has a curious history.

Once I had figured out that Finesse was the name of the line, not a model designation, I went looking for info on it. Couldn't find a darn thing about them. Then, I remembered Alex Askarov who lives in the UK and asked him if he knew anything about them. Turns out, he does. He tells me that the machine was made in many different models under license from Singer and sold well, world wide.

However, there was a problem...The factory that made them, had never built anything like a sewing machine before and they inadvertently made the very strong drive belt too tight. This apparently resulted in about 30% of the motors burning out and killed the brands reputation.

That's too bad, it's a decent, easy to use machine.

The Tingler!

 

Pink, more pink and purple, the Tingler is here!

This Brother Tingler 031, came by for service this morning. The owner wants me to get it going before he puts it up for sale..

I've never seen one of these, so I suspect they are kind of rare. It looks to be a decent old school straight stitcher with a 140 watt motor so it should be a powerful machine.

Boy is it pink though! My eyes are trying to cope with that much pink.......

The Brother SQ9050 exposed

 Computerized sewing machines are difficult to understand if you have only dealt with mechanical machines. They rely on optical sensors, timing belts and computer logic.

This one came to me with the dreaded E1 error message. This error is particularly frustrating because the machine is telling you that the presser foot is up when it's obviously down. It locks up the entire machine and you can't do anything with it at all.

The solution requires that you take the front cover off of unit (carefully) and apply about 3 drops of oil to the pivot pin that the pressure foot position indicator level is attached to. That's all it really requires, but how many people are willing to take the cover off and deal with the electronics? This machine got it's three drops of oil and now operates perfectly.

It's kind of fascinating though to see this view of the machine, running with the front cover removed....

 

 

The ugly and the cool

Here we have a Baycrest vintage machine and a red York vintage machine. Both machines are pretty much the same in terms of mechanical design.

Which one do you like more? Odds are it's the York because of the color, the chrome and the styling.

The Baycrest, on the other hand, is unappealing to look at. It is, in fact the least appealing sewing machine that I have ever come across. The more you look at it, the less you  will like it.

Makes you wonder how one company can design such a pretty machine and the next can do so poorly at the task of making their machine appealing. I guess the Hudson's Bay Company, figured that bland was more more likely to be popular because it really doesn't clash with any decor.

Now, I just have to find someone to take the Baycrest off my hands...lol

 

The Wee Red Beastie

I've been reading M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth novels about an easygoing policeman stationed in northwest Scotland, the Highlands. The plots aren't bad and there are lots of quirky characters. The local dialect is infectious though. Hence, when it came time to name this restored and repainted Singer 201, The Wee Red Beastie came to mind and it stuck.

It is a beast, because I have upgraded the motor, hand wheel and controller from a much newer and more powerful machine. It will sew pretty much anything you can shove under it's presser foot. But it's red and white colors, I think, make it a too cheerful and friendly machine, to really qualify for the title of Beast...... So it's the Wee Red Beastie!

Truth In Advertising

So, I found this "Electronic" JC Penny sewing machine going cheap in a thrift store. I've never had an electronic machine before and I was curious. So, I forked over my $24.99 plus tax, and headed home all excited about leaning about electronic sewing machines.

 I plugged it in and a whole bunch of lights came on and when I pushed the pedal down, things started to move like they should. This is good, I thought, now let's see how this baby works. Popped the top cover off and had a good look inside. What I see is standard mechanical sewing machine. In fact, I recognize some of those mechanical parts. I saw them the day before on a Kenmore sewing machine. Much like my befuddled Pfaff, This is a JC Penny branded Janome.

So what makes it an "Electronic" sewing machine? Well, they hooked the mechanical switch selector knob to a multi-position electrical switch. So for every stitch position you select, a different set of lights come on. Apparently, the addition of a switch and some LEDs on a circuit board, catapults this machine into the 21st century and a higher price range...

Grrrrrrr!

CAST IRON

 Have you ever wondered why vintage Singers are still sewing half a century or more since they were built?
I was at my local sewing center picking up some leather needles the other day and came across some cutaway modern sewing machine displays. The were made of cast aluminum, intelligently designed, and won't be sewing in 50 years. They aren't rigid enough, because they weren't designed for farm use in the 1880's, and they aren't made out cast iron.