GraybaR : It Followed Me Home!

 

Today, we decided to go on a little adventure driving around Phoenix. We stumbled upon the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall and decided to poke our noses in to see if there was anything of interest there. 

Indeed there was!!

I spotted some treadle machines - a Singer 15, a Butterfly ("Made in China", but it looked very much like the Singer 15), and a really beat up looking one (forgot the brand, but it was very rusty and seemed to be missing parts). I also spotted a White Rotary 77 in a suitcase which is probably a relic of the 1950s. I was considering purchasing the White, but really didn't get that "take me home vibe" from it.

Just as we were wandering down the last few aisles, I spotted the GreybaR (look at the machine: they capitalize the "R" at the end of the name. I'm just imitating their spelling). This little guy was begging me, "Please take me home." Ok, I'm a softie, so I purchased it and took it home safely seat-belted in the back of the car. 

It's challenging to find information on GreybaR, so all I can go by is the badge underneath which says "Model RBR". I don't see a serial number anywhere on it, so I can't put an exact manufacture date on it, but it does have two patents listed on it: 1711792 (1929) and 2001966 (1935). 

Both patents are assigned to the National Sewing Machine Company... and when we look at the underside, we see the NSMCO badge listing the model number "RBR":

This correlates to the article I found on the Greybar, which mentions that the GreybaR machines were made by the National Sewing Machine Company. I haven't found any dating information for the machine, so I only know it was made after 1935 (date of second patent listed), and I'm guessing by the electrical connections that it was made before the 1950s, since I think that's about when they moved away from those odd round 2-prong plugs. 

One plug attaches the power cord and the other attaches the pedal.

Interesting factoid: the pictures don't seem to show it, but this machine is actually a dark chocolate brown rather than the usual black one sees with machines of similar vintage. I don't know why it looks black in most of the photos. I guess it's the lighting in my sewing room? Or perhaps it's my camera that's adjusting the color? 

Time for the GreybaR fashion show (you've already seen the front):

Close up on the bobbin winder flipped up into winding mode. The lever down below appears to be stitch length selector. I haven't yet experimented with its settings so cannot comment on it other than I'm guessing the numbers are stitches per inch since that was standard for many American machines.

Bird's eye view of top of machine.

So, what's under the spool pin? The plate has a big hole labeled "Oil here," so we definitely need to put some oil in there before sewing. 

Totally retro looking design on this side plate. Has late 1930s vibes to it. Also, without a manual, it's going to be fun figuring out how to thread it. I saw a National Sewing Machine machine that has similar plate on it, so hopefully I can find a manual for the NSM machine which will work for this GreybaR. 

Pulled off that plate to check out the innards. Glad to see it's not full of crud and rust. Just a little dry, but one expects that in Arizona (I have found that I have to oil all my machines more often in Phoenix's dry climate than I had to when I lived in Oregon - chalk that up to drastic humidity differences). Thankfully, I've oiled enough machines to have caught on to where it needs oil without having to look it up - basically, if two metal pieces touch, it's a good spot to drop on some oil.

Needle plate rotates to the back to provide access to the bobbin and case. Interesting bobbin case - it's a bit different from most of the other machines I've seen. The bobbin looks like its center hole is larger than what is usually seen on Singer models. I will check my bobbin collection to see if I have any other bobbins that are the same configuration as this one. 

Back side. The light is cast as part of the rest of the machine as opposed to being a separate object like some other machines I've seen. The motor is also cast in as part of the machine, which differs from many other machines of this time period which typically have a motor that's separate from the machine. Also note that small wheel to the left of the motor  - instead of needing a belt, this little wheel is spun directly by the motor and the wheel in turn rotates the larger wheel to move the needle up and down. 

Right side view. Interesting how the stich length lever is on the outside of the machine. You can also see the wheel from the motor which drives the machine. Bobbin winder is lifted half way. I found that if I push the bobbin winder all the way down, it gets in the way of the stitch selector. 

Underside of machine. Thankfully, it's pretty clean. Just needs lubrication.

 Oh, that latch you see at the top of the photo locks the machine down on the wooden base. It takes coordination to push that button and tilt back the machine without getting pinched or losing your balance. The machine tips the scales at 27.9 lbs, so it's pretty hefty, but not insanely so.

Looking up the main post from the bottom. I think that's old grease which looks a bit yellow in this photo. Will have to clean that up before using and re-grease it with new grease.

Other end of the shaft on the underside looking up at the bobbin case on left.

Bobbin case. Interesting that it's got these indentations on both sides where you can grab it to remove the bobbin.

Foot pedal. Total retro look here. I'm not sure about the gnarled wheel on the right side. Does it have a purpose or is it just a funky design?

Side view of the pedal. You can more clearly see the gnarled wheel on the upper right here. It spins, but doesn't seem to have much of a purpose as it doesn't appear to be connected to anything significant. 

So, that's the story of my new toy. I'm glad to say that it seems to run well - that is, we plugged it in and pressed down on the pedal and the needle moved up and down smoothly and quietly. I'll have to come up with a project that I can have it work on for me. 

I only have the one presser foot that came with it, however, I think it can be compatible with some of the random attachments that I have in my stash (some of my machines came with attachments that don't go with them so it's experimentation time!!)

Hope you enjoyed meeting the GreybaR. 

HAPPY SEWING!