BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Sewing manufacture dates of sewing machines

I have an old Fleetwood sewing machine that my mother bought about 35 years ago and she said it was used when she bought it. It was still sewing really good now I need to replace the motor. It is trying to burn up. I was wondering if anyone knows of a website that I might use to find out when it was made. I have the numbers from the machine.

Fleetwood was one of a zillion models made in the late 1950's through the 1960's as a "Japanese Clone". Made at first in post-war Japan, and later in Taiwan, these machines were sold by department stores, independent sewing machine dealers, and other, non-branded sewing machine dealers. (For example, these were not Singer or PFaff, etc...).
ALL made based on the classic Singer 15 model design - take a size 15 bobbin and bobbin case, and have either a front or side loading bobbin. Serial number records generally are not available, since these makers are long gone. Value - $10-50.00. Many times they have plastic gears, deco camstacks or bushings, and need new wiring, but those that are of all metal construction are real workhorses. Not collectibler, but certainly can be good to have around the house!
I restore and trade vintage sewing machines and am a quilting maniac...
For more info on old sewing machines, visit www.ismacs.net or www.needlebar.org. There are several good Yahoogroups for sewing: WeFixIt (do it yourself SM repair), Vintage Singers and others...at yahoogroups.com
Karen A.

I am in a similar situation and have inherited an old Fleetwood with foot pedal and cabinet and am hoping to use it to learn to sew well (all I've done is the most simple hand stuff). Can anyone advise where in San Francisco or on the net I can get advice on being sure it works well and that it has all the parts it needs?

hello,if your Fleetwood is like my mum's or like mine, she was made in the mid 1960's.

about the motor, are you sure you need a new motor? maybe the carbon brushes are sticking in their channels and are causing excessive sparking. I do repair on small appliances, mechanical sewing machines included. I do have some good used motors, and I could sell you one, but would like to help you save the original.

-Caryl

I just bought one at an auction. It was so pretty, but I don't have any instructions and can't get it to stop zigzagging. Don't understand all the knobs.

If you have the manufacturer's name and model number, the instruction manual might be on-line. We purchase everything we can used and have found several operating manuals to print out. It might not be the exact model number, but close enough for the instructions to help get you out of zigzag mode and figure out the other functions, what all those knobs are for.

Picked up a Simplicity serger a few weeks ago at "Sally's Boutique" (aka Salvation Army) and need the intstruction manual too. Haven't had time to look for it on-line yet.

Thank you for good communication.