Wheeler & Wilsons are the Cadillac of sewing machines. They are delightful to use and wonderfully engineered. Those who remember Ray Sew Slow Waganka, know he gave me my first W&W. He told me ¡°You will love this!¡± He was correct.
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I own a few industrial W&Ws (#7, 10W and 12W) as well as the curved needle treadles used by shirt manufacturers, #8s, #9s, D9s and #9Ws. One of my #9Ws uses low shank feet. The adapter and the needle bar do not fit on any of my other W&W machines. This machine lives in a Singer tailor style treadle. The combination treadles like silk.
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W&W manufactured the curved needle sewing machines for 70 years due to manufacturer demand. My 10W must have been dropped and was converted to a hand crank. The take up lever had been broken and the tip was welded/soldered in place.
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A decade ago, I discovered that a Singer tension spring could be adapted to the 9s and 9Ws. The reverse direction of the spring did not cause a problem. I did need to shorten the ¡°elbow¡± for want of a better word. I showed the process at a RR TOGA, Lake City, MN, a gathering of vintage and antique sewing machine collectors and users.
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Phyllis in Iowa
