Wheeler & Wilson No 8 - How to sell?
I happened upon a Wheeler & Wilson No 8 with the original treadle in great condition for its age- bill of sale says it was purchased October 1879. What kind of demand have you seen for a machine like this? I'm guessing they are common enough to not be a super valuable antique. I can certainly just put it up on marketplace or craiglist and see what it fetches if that's my only route. Hoping to find it a good home. Not so concerned about the money.
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Welcome! ?I¡¯m newish to the group myself. I have a 3, four 8 treadles, an 8 hand crank, and a 9W treadle. The WW history is pretty neat. ?
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Re: Making New Early Model 8 Bobbins? #8
they were not too expensive
last year a girl in england made bobbin for old seing machinesthat she sold on ebay.? ? they works very well. in US you surely will find easily the ones you search!
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Re: Making New Early Model 8 Bobbins? #8
last year a girl in england made bobbin for old seing machinesthat she sold on ebay.? ? they works very well. in US you surely will find easily the ones you search!
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Re: Need needles for my
#8
ah, you are lucky in US, you can find treadle WW8? in the cabinets at flea market.? in Italy is quite different and most of people knows only 'the Singer of my grandma'... if they know her...
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Re: Need needles for my
#8
I¡¯m anxious to see pictures of your new W&W 8. I just found one at flea market. Was in cabinet. Had most of the attachments, 4 bobbins, 4 glass feet, needles and a mouse chewed owner¡¯s manual that I was able to make copies of on my printer/ copier. Will be working on getting it cleaned up and running soon.? Also recently got a Singer 9W and a W&W 9 for parts or restoration. Love the unique look of these machines.? Hope you have good luck finding all the parts you need to get your machine going.
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On May 5, 2024, at 10:48 AM, Joshua Rivers via groups.io <joshua.rvrs@...> wrote:
?On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 06:06 AM, Miller Fulks <mmf38@...> wrote:
These are the 128x1 & the DBx1 needles. ? ?Both of these needles have a length to eye of 33.9mm so have to be pulled down off the stop by about 5mm.
How sensitive should I expect the WW8 be to that ~5mm? Is it closer to +/-0.1 mm or +/- 1mm? I'm about to start cleaning and getting my WW8 up and running. Also, I had a fun find with this machine... there was a WW MFG Co number 4 needle in the needle bar!?!? I'm so glad that I didn't just absent-mindedly toss out the needle w/out taking a close look at it. I wonder how old that needle is and how long it has been since this machine was actually used. (Also, sorry I don't have any fancy digital calipers, so no pics w/measurements... yet ? ) -Joshua/TX  
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Re: Need needles for my
#8
On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 06:06 AM, Miller Fulks <mmf38@...> wrote:
These are the 128x1 & the DBx1 needles. ? ?Both of these needles have a length to eye of 33.9mm so have to be pulled down off the stop by about 5mm.
How sensitive should I expect the WW8 be to that ~5mm? Is it closer to +/-0.1 mm or +/- 1mm? I'm about to start cleaning and getting my WW8 up and running. Also, I had a fun find with this machine... there was a WW MFG Co number 4 needle in the needle bar!?!? I'm so glad that I didn't just absent-mindedly toss out the needle w/out taking a close look at it. I wonder how old that needle is and how long it has been since this machine was actually used. (Also, sorry I don't have any fancy digital calipers, so no pics w/measurements... yet ? ) -Joshua/TX
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Re: Making New Early Model 8 Bobbins? #8
Joshua,
Not having experience printing and using?any of the available stl bobbin?files,?I can¡¯t answer your questions. ?I can tell you there are stl files for some bobbins on Thingiverse and in some other groups already. ?One day I intend to print out a few and try them.?
I have also read about individuals who have machined their own metal?bobbins. ?When the bobbins are rare and hard to find,?I would image the cost could become?competitive with purchasing originals.?
Carol Kio ?May 4, 2024, 2:01 PM, Joshua Rivers <joshua.rvrs@...> wrote: ?My main concerns/questions are:? 1. ?Not sure about how the 3D print material will handle being spun and the heat from that. Will it gunk up the inside of the bobbin case.? 2. ?I really have no idea about the cost of getting these machined from metal. I'm sure it can be done... but I can also see it being cost prohibitive.
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Re: Making New Early Model 8 Bobbins? #8
Unfortunately, I probably won't have any results to report back for a while.... There were TWO bobbins with the machine!! (Plus the original manual?!! Plus 2 glass presser foot inserts!!) Well, if I've inspired anyone else to give bobbin making a shot, please let us know. In theory, it should be very doable... My main concerns/questions are:
- Not sure about how the 3D print material will handle being spun and the heat from that. Will it gunk up the inside of the bobbin case?
- I really have no idea about the cost of getting these machined from metal. I'm sure it can be done... but I can also see it being cost prohibitive.
Anyway I'll be sure to post something on here whenever I get around to trying out this little bobbin production experiment. But that could be quite a while... I mean two bobbins? That's all anyone "really" needs, right? ;) [1] A half-circle chunk, roughly 1.5" in diameter, is missing from the bottom center of the first 1/2 of the pages in the manual. It looks like a mouse found the book and thought it would make a good snack. -Joshua
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Re: Making New Early Model 8 Bobbins? #8
joshua wrote:
> Has anyone around here had any luck, or attempted, to make any of the
> early style model 8 bobbins with 3D-printing or finding a machine shop to
> crank some out?
I suspect many here will be waiting to hear your results! (I don't recall
anyone trying this before.)
paul
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paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 58.1 degrees)
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Making New Early Model 8 Bobbins? #8
Has anyone around here had any luck, or attempted, to make any of the early style model 8 bobbins with 3D-printing or finding a machine shop to crank some out?
Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'm picking up a model 8 with a S/N in the lower 300,000's. From the pictures, it looks like there is a little bit of thread coming out of the bobbin case. So I'm hopeful that I'll have at least one bobbin. But it would be nice to have a few more...?
I know some people w/3D printers, although I haven't tested their capabilities or the material capabilities. There are also several machinist shops in the area. I was thinking that making a bobbin couldn't be too difficult for either the 3D printer or the machinist. I have no idea on the pricing yet for the machinist route.
(I'm also going to modify a spare D9 needle bar to accept 15x1 needles for my 9W machine.)
Anyway, if anyone has tried this and failed or succeeded I'd appreciate any advice before I dive into this.
My apologies if this has already been brought up, I did a brief search and didn't see this covered.
Best,
Joshua
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Thanks for sharing. I¡¯ve admired his knowledge from afar. Sad to hear of his passing.?
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On Apr 16, 2024, at 8:56 AM, LISA A via groups.io <Wiklundfamily@...> wrote:
? Paul, thank you for sharing that. So sorry to hear of his passing.? Great loss for our community.? Lisa
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Paul, thank you for sharing that. So sorry to hear of his passing.? Great loss for our community.? Lisa
On Apr 16, 2024 8:26 AM, Paul Fox <pgf@...> wrote: Bill Wells was a valuable contributor to this list, and will be
missed.? I got the following note last night from his son, Scott.
> My father Bill Wells avidly repaired and rebuilt Wheeler and Wilson
> sewing machines, and I believe he was an active member of your
> community.? Dad died at home on April 9.? His public-facing
> obituary may be found at
>?? https://www.starlingfuneralhome.com/m/obituaries/William-Wells-34/Memories
> and on Facebook.
> He really enjoyed that pastime, and we often spoke of it, down
> to the technical challenges of repair and renovation.? I didn't
> want the people he encountered to wonder what become of him.
> Sincerely yours,
> Scott Wells
I smiled to see Bill's obituary photo, posed with two No.9-class machines.
paul
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paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 60.3 degrees)
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Bill Wells was a valuable contributor to this list, and will be
missed. I got the following note last night from his son, Scott.
> My father Bill Wells avidly repaired and rebuilt Wheeler and Wilson
> sewing machines, and I believe he was an active member of your
> community. Dad died at home on April 9. His public-facing
> obituary may be found at
>
> and on Facebook.
> He really enjoyed that pastime, and we often spoke of it, down
> to the technical challenges of repair and renovation. I didn't
> want the people he encountered to wonder what become of him.
> Sincerely yours,
> Scott Wells
I smiled to see Bill's obituary photo, posed with two No.9-class machines.
paul
=----------------------
paul fox, pgf@... (arlington, ma, where it's 60.3 degrees)
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Hi all,
I¡¯m joining you from Texas. Winters down here are much more tolerable than those I grew up with in Minnesota.
Anyway, a long unlikely path of multiple factors has brought me here¡ from my dislike of shopping, trail running, outdoor gear repair, and the disposable nature of modern domestic sewing machines.
Oh, and of course my discovery of Facebook marketplace and EstateSales.net¡
To make a long story not so long suffice it to say over the last year I¡¯ve been hit hard by the VSM bug and have acquired at least one ¡°really good¡± sewing machine from every decade from 1910 through 1970. I may have the 1900¡¯s covered, but only if my singer 9W is from that decade, which I don¡¯t believe it is.
Anyway the 9W is the most recent addition to the family, and I was mainly intrigued by it because by this point I¡¯ve become pretty familiar with all the different Singers and I found a listing for a ¡°vintage singer¡±¡ but it didn¡¯t look like any Singer I¡¯d ever seen, no serial number visible, square pillar, what the heck? Just a beat up paint job and the Singer logo and badge. So I dismissed it as some weird counterfeit¡ but I was curious because the paint was in pretty rough shape, and it looked age appropriate, so that all seemed odd for a counterfeit. Then I finally discovered the Singer 9W¡¯s and their story. So I pounced on the deal.
From what I¡¯ve pieced together, I likely have a 9W-7. It¡¯s Singer branded, with the standard Singer mounts for their treadles, and it takes the FW type bobbins. I haven¡¯t tested this, but the bobbin that was in the bobbin case was that type, not the bagel style. Serial number is W70686, so I¡¯m guessing this one is from near the end of the 9W production.
I just got it oiled up, everything broken loose, and I can¡¯t wait to finish cleaning it up and then taking it for a whirl¡ so smooth. Love the rotary hook.
Also, I¡¯ve really enjoyed learning about the story from W&W to singer, if you can¡¯t beat them, buy them!
Looking forward to reading through the archives here and continuing a bit further down this rabbit hole.
Regards,
Joshua
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Thank you. The information is helpful. It¡¯s exciting following the leads and learning about this beautiful machine.?
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On Apr 9, 2024, at 11:02 AM, MB Freeman <bumby3@...> wrote:
? Linda,
Here are three links that have information relevant to what you are looking for. ?Unfortunately, they provide more questions than answers but that is history and we can¡¯t change it. ?I to had the same questions as you when I first began trying to establish what model of Singer machine I inherited, its serial number has no letter in it. ?The W in your serial numbder stands for Bridgeport Conn.
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Carol Tallytwo Kio
LISA A