Adler 189A Adlermatic Zig-Zag

There are times when there is a particular model a collector has wanted for years and after spending those years looking high and low (price and location), that collector finally realizes that in order to acquire it, some fairly serious cash will need to be spent or a refurbishment will be necessary.

That collector is myself and the machine is the Adler 189A Adlermatic.  I knew I had to have one the first moment I spied a dark, grainy picture of its gorgeous green self.  The rounded, bulbous shapes, the beautiful levers with red increments and numbers, the cam door that slides up and open, the nose plate that opens clam-shell style toward the left, the Pfaff 130-like rear access plate, the steel cams, the belt cover, the speed and strength, the ungodly smoothness -- it was a heady mix for a still-learning collector and perhaps these shapes and features imprinted my impressionable mind so deeply that I couldn't let go.  And now I finally have one.  Well, almost.

I decided not to spend a fortune and bought a 'For Parts or Repair' example.  It's missing the motor.  (Yes, you read that correctly.  I bought an electric, heavy-duty sewing machine with its motor missing.)  It's missing the thread tension assembly (except the post, check spring, etc.).  The thread take-up lever has been broken right off at the face plate.  No cord, no controller.  The cord that it has was a seller attempt and he actually wired the lamp correctly, so that works.  The hand wheel turns very smoothly and the knobs and levers all appear to be working as intended, although I need access to a manual to be sure.  This is not a simple machine.  No cams, no presser feet, no bobbin case (although the Pfaff 130's does fit and that means they are plentiful and fairly inexpensive).  It also needs a very thorough cleaning and adjusting.

But I didn't just buy it on impulse.  I knew it was a project machine and so the question with any somewhat rare machine is where to buy parts.  How much would it cost to purchase all these necessities for a working machine -- preferably original parts?  Well, I found an eBay seller who sold me a huge lot of Adler 189A parts (including the motor, the rear access plate, the hand wheel, the face plate with the cam door, levers, hook, innards, take-up lever, gears, etc., zig-zag and cam assemblies, rods and shafts, etc.) for the princely sum of $50.  So I bought the machine with a pending Best Offer on the parts and had my shorts in a wad for only about 2 hours hoping I could have a complete machine in about a month of studying the service manual.

Cosmetically, I've seen better examples of this machine but nearly every other 189A I've seen has at least some small areas of paint loss.  Since I'm very interested in a complete refurb, a paint-matching trip to the auto parts store is on the agenda not only because I want the machine to look its best but also to keep the existing paint around the dings from flaking.  However, I think the machine looks pretty good for a 'For Parts or Repair' -- what do you think?

Elna Supermatic

A watershed in sewing machine innovation, the Elna Supermatic is a core component of any collection.  I've owned this machine for just a few days and despite two issues that are eminently fixable, this Supermatic has won a place of honor in my house.

This is an example of the two-toned models that were several years later than the all-green Supermatic -- the Elna 2 -- that followed the Grasshopper model, the Elna 1.  Despite its obvious vintage look and appeal, it's quite a modern machine in that it takes single- and double-layered cams in a clever mechanism whereupon the following arms adjust for both length and width, a remarkable innovation in the 1950s.  There is no food pedal; rather, the machine is operated via knee bar and the light switch is not an interlock, allowing for operation without the use of the built-in light.

The bobbin/needle area is interesting.  There is no bobbin case for the drop-in design: just drop it in under the door behind the needle, threading upwards to the needle.  A low shank design, feet and other attachments are easily and inexpensively found.  Feed dogs surround the needle area, so the feed is unusually steady.

The tension dial is above and slightly left of the needle area, as the thread path is from behind.  Not only does the 1 - 9 dial offer a lot of variation in tension, the discs are large so that surface area provides superior tension control on all types of threads.

There are controls for needle position, width, length, etc. and an Automatic setting for buttonhole sewing.  My machine has two issues: the small knob on the end of the width lever has snapped off and the seller kept the knob; also, the needle clamp is hitting the edge of the nose plate door in the widest zig-zag setting.  The first problem involves repairing with the old knob or finding a replacement part -- easy.  I haven't figure out what is causing the second issue.  It doesn't appear to be timing but rather an alignment adjustment.  I'm guessing the home position of the needle bar has vibrated out of alignment over the years and a screw needs tightening.

The machine runs like a top.  It was extremely dirty but I've mostly cleaned in up on the outside and am in the process of getting the insides in better shape.  The smoothness and low humming sound it makes is such a pleasure, particularly at the speeds it achieves.  (Rotary hook, natch.)

I love this machine and am looking forward to adding more Supermatics to the collection.
 

Kenmore 158.1813

Here is yet another Kenmore I found at a thrift store.  This is one of the wonderful 1970s machines with a built-in cam stack, cam assembly, and many other features -- a deluxe machine.  It's in very good shape, as is the cabinet.

There's only one problem: it's missing the stitch selector knob that spins within the width dial.  These knobs are common to several Kenmore models.  Logging into eBay, I quickly found one, placed my order, and I will be fixing this machine within the next week or so.

This machine runs beautifully.  Strong, quiet, smooth, makes excellent stitches that are uniform, and the tension is balanced.  Everything you'd want in a domestic machine and all for $10.  Once the $5 knob is added, this will have been another great score that I'll enjoy using.

Singer 306K No. 2

Kenmore 158.18150

 

Walking through a thrift store near my home, I spied two Kenmore sewing machine cases sitting snugly next to one another on the lowest shelf gathering dust.  It was 50% Off Day at the local St. Vincent de Paul and I began to open the hard plastic cases (one in golden yellow, the other a mint green) with the odd mixture of hope, intrigue, amusement, trepidation, and excitement common to my other thrift store jaunts.  

At this point in my collecting, I wasn't a fan of Kenmores.  I grew up in a Singer household and we looked down on those who bought Kenmore machines.  These two machines I purchased that fateful day convinced me that while Singer began to cut corners and produce inferior machines in the late '60s and 1970s, Sears' contracts with Jaguar/Maruzen and Soryu in Japan ensured they would be selling wonderful, all-metal, powerful machines into the early '80s.

I tested both machines at the store's testing station.  The 1815 hummed as if it were brand new and despite a series of small scratches on the front rim of the bed, is in great shape.  The other machine, a near-mint 158.19461, stalled and moaned.  I tried moving the stitch selector, moving the needle bar by hand, checked under the top -- nothing changed.  I took both to the register, explained the problem, and the employee very generously lowered the price of the 1946 from $20 to $2.  And since this was 50% Off Day, I paid $10 for the 1815 pictured here and a whopping $0.99 for the 1946.

After figuring out the 1946, I soon found that I had purchased two very, very nice sewing machines.  Smooth, powerful, quiet, beautiful stitches, consistent tensions -- these are keepers.  The 1815 is a higher end model, as it has a substantial cam stack with utility stitches as well as a cam assembly for decorative options.  That it's in a portable carrying case makes the machine even more valuable to me as I'm 6'2" and the tables in which one often finds these machines are too small for my long legs, often of questionable quality after decades of Big Wheel dents and science projects, and take up space in my increasingly small sewing space.  

Have you ever engaged in Kenmore discrimination?   

Kenmore 158.18023