A Tale of Two Singer 15s : 1921 vs 1953. What Changed? What Stayed the Same?

 In my last post, I introduced my "newest" (yet oldest) Singer 15 ~ a Singer 15 manufactured in 1921. 

This wasn't my first Singer 15. My other Singer 15 I own I posted about a while ago. The other Singer 15 is known as a Singer 15-91 and it was made in 1953. 

Let's play "Spot the Difference": 

The 1953 is in the front. 

Note the difference in decals: the '21 has a lot of swirls and bobs in its decals. The 1953 is very modestly decorated. 

The tensioners differ, and the youngster has reverse gear, which the older one lacks. The bobbin winders differ as well - the older one has a gear to help control the loading, and the younger one doesn't have that, but instead it has a spool pin on the base of the machine and a guide that helps load the thread evenly on the bobbin. 

The '21 is on the left; '53 on the right. 

Side view, we see the tensioners are different - they added numbers for the newer tensioner. The old one has the grape leaves design while the youngster has simple vertical lines. Finally, the foot pedals are two different styles - the old one has a lever and the younger one has the little buttons on the pedal. 

1953 on left, 1921 on right.

Note that the younger one now has a solid wheel, whereas the old one has the classic spoked wheel, allowing for hand crank or treadle to be used instead of the motor. The '53 also has a potted motor, so we won't see a belt on this one, but we do see a belt on the '21. 

Back side. Foreground is 1921, and background is 1953. 

Again, we have grape leaves ('21) vs plain vertical lines ('53). The light on the older one is attached via a ring behind the metal disk, but the light for the younger machine is attached to the machine. The older machine has a bolt-on motor (it could have been a treadle or hand crank if the initial purchaser chose that version) while the younger one has the classic potted motor (attached permanently to the machine). 

Cases are nearly identical, but the '21 has "Singer" on the handle, while the younger machine just has more of the burgundy "leather" covering the handle. 

On the left, you see a tuck marker attachment that came with one of my other machines, on the right is the one that came with the '21 Singer 15. Sadly, it's missing a critical part (the left-most bar), so it's not exactly useful except as spare parts for my "good" one. 

But wait, there's MORE!!

Addendum

When I was sewing with the 1921 Singer 15, I observed that it seemed very different from my 15-19 from 1953. In addition to the above observations, check THIS out: 

 

The bobbin case for the 1921 Singer 15. Note the groove. You put the bobbin in with the thread going off to the right. You thread the needle from LEFT to RIGHT. 

The bobbin case for the 1953 Singer 15-91. Note the groove. You put the bobbin in with the thread going off to the left. You thread the needle from RIGHT to LEFT.

The bobbin cases for both machines. The one on the LEFT is the 1953 Singer 15-91's bobbin and the one on the right is the 1921 Singer 15's bobbin. 

THEY ARE MIRROR IMAGES OF EACH OTHER!!

So you have to thread the bobbins and the needles in opposite directions. 

After discovering this difference, I checked ALL of my machines and put a note in each machine's case showing the direction that the bobbin has to face for threading and which way to thread the needle (left to right, right to left, or front to back).  I think Singer reversed the machine because so may right handed people complained that it was difficult for them to thread left to right (lefties LOVE this threading!!) and since righties outnumber lefties, they won. As a lefty, I slightly prefer the older machine because it's easier to thread and easier to turn the wheel by hand to go over difficult / thick spots. 

HAPPY SEWING!!

Latest Find: 1921 Singer 15

 Antique shops are always dangerous to my wallet. Case in point: we visited a new to us antique shop in Phoenix, and this Singer 15 demanded that it come home with me. 

She's pretty, runs well, and comes with most of her attachments, how could I say no? 

Let's check her out:

The shop had labeled the machine as a "Singer 30", which isn't correct. I think they didn't notice the last digit, and thought it was a model 31 from 1910. It isn't, but it would be cool to find one in similar condition. Just look at those decals! Beautiful. 

Decals in nice shape. Some expected wear, although I'm surprised that what's worn off is further to the right than where I'd expect wear. I guess the original owner sewed a lot of wider projects? 

Top view to catch more of the designs and to see the top of machine. 

THIS is what sold me. Love, love, LOVE that decal section. 

Also. take note that this machine only has stitch length adjustment, and there aren't any markings to identify the chosen stitch length, so you have to do multiple test stitching exercises to determine the best setting for the current project. 

The '20s certainly got into decorating everything. I always enjoy seeing a beautiful machine with grape leaves design on this section. 

Back side of the machine. The light is attached to the machine behind the metal access port. There's a ring and stick that holds it on. See below.

Light removed and laying on the floor. Metal access port disk nearby. The disk covers the ring and the screw holds both in place. 

Light in place without the metal disk to show how it's placed behind the disk. 

Metal disk with grape leaves pattern covering the large oiling hole and the ring that holds the light in place. 

Original looking outboard motor for the machine. 

Closeup of the back of the head of the machine showing the tensioner and decals. 

In the '20s, you could get a treadle, hand crank, or motorized version of the machine. The motor bolts on along the right side, and the freewheel is spoked so a hand crank could be installed instead. The treadle belt guard is also present on this model. 

The collection of attachments that came with the machine. I always love it when the attachments are included because occasionally I find something new or in better shape than what I already have in stock from my other machines. 

I am not sure what this is... here's the "top" view? 

Rolled onto its side.

Bottom view? (or is this upside down? I am not sure what it is). 

Other side side view. Yeah, that's a strange gadget. I'll figure it out eventually or perhaps someone recognizes it and will comment with its identification. 

I recently used this machine to sew a top. It did a great job. I'm still not a fan of the Singer rolled hem foot, but I used it for this project to hem the top and except for near the seam intersections, it worked well. I suppose it just take practice to get it working well. 

Happy Sewing!!