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[Ricky&Jack]

Finally upgraded from a cheap $20 battery powered mini machine, to a Brother VX-808 machine. Saw the ad on craigslist for $50. So I went to the sewing machine store where it was being held at in chattanooga. So far, I am impressed. a huge upgrade from my previous piece of cr@p.




came with the manuals. And 1 needle. I need to learn what all types of needles I will need. Im a complete newbie.

[FJRpilot]

Finally upgraded from a cheap $20 battery powered mini machine, to a Brother VX-808 machine. Saw the ad on craigslist for $50. So I went to the sewing machine store where it was being held at in chattanooga. So far, I am impressed. a huge upgrade from my previous piece of

Congrats of the acquisition, use it in good health and above all... Have fun..

[bc2020]

This was my grandmother's machine. I've had it for a while but until the past couple of weeks haven't really had anything to do with it or knew anything about it. I figured one day I'd get around to checking it out and using it and I figured it would be a good machine but I know nothing about sewing machines.

After a couple of weeks on here, I'm ready to start making my own UL stuff sacks, hammocks for my boys, UQs and on and on!

So, I broke it out to see what I had the other day and I think I'm pretty happy about it?!?!

It's a 70's model Sears / Kenmore 1601 Zig Zag Sewing Machine with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time oh, wait...

It's like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeCyhHjcqEA

I'm pretty excited now that I've got something to do with it. I have Hammock Forums (and Shug) to thank for that!

grannys-machine-2.jpg grannys-machine-1.jpg grannys-machine-3.jpg

[Ricky&Jack]

Are bobbins NOT universal?

I only received 1 bobbin with the machine I picked up yesterday. (the clear plastic one on the right)...... I had about 20 metal bobbins from an old portable machine (the metal one on the right).

I was able to thread the clear bobbin with no problem. But the 20 metal bobbins that I already had, do not fit. they a BARELY thicker. It's almost hard to see the difference, even in person. But they are just slightly bigger.... And they do not fit....... Well, i mean, they spin, but will not pull the thread to spool itself..... but my 1 plastic one works perfect.

Is there a way to know which one I need to buy? (I plan to take my clear one with me for comparison, but Im guessing since they will be in a package, it will be hard to make certain its the same exact size...... since the metal ones I have look almost identical, and its hard to see that there is infact a difference)

Photo 821.jpg

[VictoriaGuy]

Are bobbins NOT universal?

Definitely not.
They can vary 'every which way'...some have one flat and one curved face, center hole can be different size, width varies, etc. Within one brand in my machine collection they tend to be the same (Pfaff-style bobbins, Viking/Husqvarna-style, etc. ) but I'm not sure this is a 'rule'.

Your local sewing machine shop (if you have one) or eBay are good sources for bobbins, IME. Fortunately the generic plastic ones are the cheapest - I bought a bobbin box online (for the box) and it came loaded with 20+ clear bobbins - cost was a couple of dollars, including shipping.

It IS important to get the right bobbin in the bobbin case as the wrong one can cause all sorts of frustration in sewing. On top of that there is the problem of winding the bobbin on the machine as you have discovered.

[Bubba]

Are bobbins NOT universal?

I only received 1 bobbin with the machine I picked up yesterday. (the clear plastic one on the right)...... I had about 20 metal bobbins from an old portable machine (the metal one on the right).

I was able to thread the clear bobbin with no problem. But the 20 metal bobbins that I already had, do not fit. they a BARELY thicker. It's almost hard to see the difference, even in person. But they are just slightly bigger.... And they do not fit....... Well, i mean, they spin, but will not pull the thread to spool itself..... but my 1 plastic one works perfect.

Is there a way to know which one I need to buy? (I plan to take my clear one with me for comparison, but Im guessing since they will be in a package, it will be hard to make certain its the same exact size...... since the metal ones I have look almost identical, and its hard to see that there is infact a difference)

Photo 821.jpg

The machine looks like it takes a class 15 bobbin and bobbin case but there are differences among cases. Do you have the bobbin case that fits the metal bobbins? Maybe that bobbin case will fit into the Brother?

[gmcttr]

The machine looks like it takes a class 15 bobbin...

Yep, what little I'm finding says it takes a class 15 bobbin.

[Ricky&Jack]

thanks. I was able to get a link to http://www.sewingpartsonline.com/bro...utm_creative=e over on the WB forum.

I still can not for the life of me, find the year this machine came from. Didn't even see a date on its box or in the manual. Im thinking mid 80's tho.

[fishbait]

My Thread Injector more or less gave up the ghost, it really needs to be serviced. It's a Singer 237 that sat unused in my wife's grandmother's house. I kept talking about getting it serviced, but my Mother-in-Law insists that it's not worth the effort. So just to make sure I didn't spend the money on getting it serviced, my wife and Mother-in-Law bought me a Viking Emerald 116 for my Birthday in May. I finally set the machine up last night, will post some picks tonight then try running some thread through it. I have a couple tree straps I want to make, so that should be a could test.

[gmcttr]

Now go ahead and get the Singer 237 back in good running condition. It is one of the last models Singer made with all metal gears. Chances are all it needs is a thorough cleaning in the bobbin/hook area and oil in all the right places.