Last night my husband and I traveled to another county and came back with me a beautiful (and working!) 1930 New Home sewing machine!!!

Do any of you have copies of the original instructions that came with this machine? Or do you know where I could buy copies of them?

I think it is pretty much like the Singer treadle machine I learned on as a kid but that has been A LONG TIME ago!!!

It has just been sitting up in a lady's house for about 20 years and not used so it needed oiling so husband is getting some three-in-one oil today. Also, it didn't have a belt on it but had a replacement belt and the old belt in one of the drawers so we put on the new belt when we got it home. Everything seems like it works o.k. but I may need some help in setting the tension, etc.

I AM SO EXCITED!!! I have been actively looking for a good treadle machine for more than four years and last night saw an ad in the newspaper. EVerytime before when I've seen an ad, the machine has always been snapped up before I called. I got this one for only $100...most of the good ones around here have been going for at least $300!!!

The head does not fold down into the cabinet but sits on top with a beautiful carved box covering the head when you're not sewing! The "New Home" name is entwined in the ornamental type black iron of the treadle and on each side of the stand. The little metal plate under the sewing foot has "New Home" and "1930."

When we were putting the two left drawers back in when we got home, we found a woman's name, "Margaret", written in pencil on the side of the drawer. I'm going to write my entire name and yesterday's date on that same drawer under her name!!!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), January 29, 2001

Answers

Suzy, that's great! A few years ago I bought a Singer treadle sewing machine. I was curious about it so I called Singer and by giving them the model # and some other # on it, they were able to tell me it was Manufactured April 4, 1928 in Eizabeth N. J. They also sent me free a copy of the instruction manual and answered some other questions about it for me. I don't know if New Home is still in business but I would check to see and if they are, call them and see what you can find out. They may even have an 800# as Singer did. I would do a search for New Home on the web. Enjoy your new machine!!!

-- bwilliams (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 29, 2001.

bwilliams,

If you still have the 800# for Singer would you please post it here. I have a singer treadle and would be interested in knowing that info. about mine also. It is in very good shape and the original instruction book came with it but is so brittle that I hate to use it. Thanks.

-- Terry-NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 29, 2001.

We use to have a few antique Singers and I have a treadle Singer that was my grandmothers. Here are a few website that have info of interest. http://www.ismacs.net/ http://www.demon.co.uk/quinn/dates/index.html http://www.demon.co.uk/quinn/

Have fun in your research and enjoy those old machines! nancy

-- Nancy (sonflower35@icqmail.com), January 29, 2001.

Thank you Nancy.

-- Terry-NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 29, 2001.

I am not sure if this is the # that gave me the info on my Singer tredle or not but if it isn't they can give you the #. It is 1-800- 989-6772. You can also order parts at this #.

-- bwilliams (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 30, 2001.

I've discovered it is an 1884 Treadle machine instead of a 1930!!!

I am ordering an instruction manual from Bob Bannen at Sew2go.com

They have info on all kinds of treadle machines!!! He is located in Canada.

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), January 30, 2001.

bwilliams - Thanks so much for posting the number.

-- Terry-NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 30, 2001.

I just now went to Sew2go.com and found the date for my singer treadle. It is from 1906-1907. The head is in wonderful shape and still has all the pretty gold paint on it and the cabinet is still very beautiful. Has a carved flower design on sides of drawers and fronts of drawers have a carved design also. The stand has gold on the ends where it says Singer trademark. Does anyone else have a cabinet looking like this? I'm just wondering if the cabinet has been refinished. My son bought it for me from a man he worked with. His wife just wanted to get rid of it because they had too much "stuff". They sold it for $125.00. I was delighted - even had the leather belt for the treadle on it.

-- Terry-NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 30, 2001.

I used to have a New Home treadle machine but sold it because I couldn't get it to work right. The tension was hard to adjust. I found an old instruction book at a sewing machine repair shop but I sold it with the machine. You might check with repair shops in your area. They might know someone with the same kind of sewing machine. Good luck! Bonnie

-- Bonnie Stichart (stichart@firstworld.net), January 31, 2001.

I just purchased a New Home treadle sewing machine at an auction for $20. I'm very frustrated because I can't find a website dedicated to New Home treadle sewing machines! The cabinet is very ornate, with three NEW HOME insignias on the iron base, and on the wooden cabinet as well! The machine has beautiful gold and red decals, and after hours of applying WD-40, I got most of the parts workable. Not only do I have the original key, I also have a box of the machine parts. When you open the lid a wire pulls the machine up. I would date this machine at least back to the 1920's, 1930's or earlier because of the ornate victorian design. I sure wish I could find a manual about this machine. I haven't seen anything like it before. Any ideas?

-- Denise (dimplz@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001.

well, i found a 1890-1910 new home sewing machine in my shanty, which belonged to my great great grandmother. our machine goes back into the casing, which is solid wood, instead of cast iron. it still is original, though, because the treadle matches the un branded versions new home used. the drawers pull out, and there was minimal water damage, and no rust at all. it even has the original leather belt, which is still functional. last week we lemon oiled the wood, which turned out to be a DARK maroon finish.

i was looking for a good value for such a piece, since it is about 100 years old, and it still works like new.

i am writing because i found it with all the original attachments in one of the drawers, and i was wondering how exactly it was that they are used. this is mainly because i intend to use it for all my own sewing. the shuttle plate on mine unfortunately had no date on it, but my we have traced it back to my great great grandparents, who must have bought it in the late 1800's. the head of the machine(i THINK thats the word for it?) is shellaced with the new home in what looks almost like rosemauling.

but i digress. anyway, i was wondering if you had any information on the attachemnts. i have absolutely no clue how to use them. well, thats not quite true. i know how they are attached, but i dont know how to thread them, or make them function. if you have any information to help me with this i would greatly appreciate it

as for the tension, on mine, the tension was way too tight, and it kept on breaking the thread, and so i loosened it slightly, and it worked right. try to find a good tension for the shuttle, and from then on, only adjust the top tension. thats what it says in the instruction book i found in one of the drawers. unfortunately the instructions on mine were pretty badly beaten up, and someone had accidentally spilled oil on it, so the pages are slightly fragile (according to my grandpa)

the most amazing part is that except for the top, it had hardly any dust, and practically no water damage, even after being stored in a leaky shanty for almost 20 years. there are parts that need to be air dusted, but the metal wasnt even pitted. that just goes to show they dont make them like they used to. i would like to see that tried with an electric sewing machine... BOOM. we also found an old electirc singer stored in the cardboatd box it was shipped in. it had been made into a home for a family of mice, and was full of mouse crap, hair, and rust from the urine. it dosnt even work, and it is way beyond repair. i know the new home had a standard set of attachments, that continued for a long time. as for the last person who posted, i have a manual for all new home vibrating shuttle styles, but as i said before the book is kind of fragile, so i cant scan it. the WD40 was the right move for using on the parts, because cleaners and other things have a bad habit of disolving the shellac on the machine. the funny thing is, my machine only needed minor oiling and it worked like new. 5 minutes of work at most

as for the history of new home, a good site is http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3081/newhome.html

the serial # on the machine is 3267332. as for dating it, the build and design EXACTLY match a design in the 1890-1910 section on the site, so it has to be around then. probably about 1895.

the new home sewing company was absorbed by Janome in about 1957, so i sent them an e-mail asking about it, but i doubt i will recieve a reply like i had hoped.

unfortunately, the sewing machine i have has been used heavily, and it is evident from the worn down parts on the shellac. some of the beautiful paint has worn off, but it is to be expected, since it was used for over 50 years before it was retired to display, and ultimately to our shanty. despite the heavy use, it functioned(albiet poorly) the second we removed it from the shanty. anyway, thanks for the help.

that is a real jewel that you found. a mint contition display model from the 1880's... whew... lets just hope mine is as old when i find out... hehe.

-- Jerin Drake Flyght (dragon_in_flight@hotmail.com), August 22, 2001.